Lucidity - Questioning disease b/c of medication

mariaperezhuff0212

Greetings,

 

My LO, was diagnosed with Dementia June 2017.  Last year around November the sudden drastic decline happened.  Incontinence, agitation, sun downing, aggressiveness, verbal abuse, hallucinations, accusations of her money being stolen grew more intense.  We started her off on Risperidone .25 mg as needed.  I met with her geriatric doctor on December 18, 2020 to explain that we did not need something as needed but something for everyday use. 

 

She was prescribed Seroquel (Quetiapine) 25 mg 2x per day.  That worked until December 26, 2020 when she had a major issue and I became a loose woman whoring around b/c I came back to the house from seeing my husband and taking our daughter to see her daddy. Mind you, I had given her the medication prior to going to see my husband, and I was able to calm her down by giving her a Melatonin.  I emailed her doctor via the patient portal immediately to report the incident and the medication method I had to take.   

 

Her doctor upgraded her to 50 mg 2x a day by January 2, 2021.  On January 6, 2021, grandmother became physical, not violent to the point of calling for help, but physical in the aspect that she grabbed my daughter by the arm b/c she was leaving with her as in her mind my daughter, her great granddaughter, was her child and she needed to leave.  It took my sister and me to calm her down and trick her within 2 hours to take a Tylenol, which was in reality the first time I gave her 100 mg of Seroquel. 

 

By January 7, 2021, the doctor increased her dosage to 100 mg 2x a day as well as her Memantine to 14 mg vs. 10 mg. During this time since January 7, 2021 all has been calm, even to the point that I dare say as the poem goes, ‘when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse’.  My concern is, she has become even lucid, which many tell me enjoy it, its normal, however, it makes me question the disease, the diagnosis.  Yes, she is still confused, many times she does not know who I am.  She can’t cook, clean, nor make coffee anymore.  She can’t dress herself anymore without assistance.  She’s diabetic, chronic, stage 3 of CKD (chronic kidney disease), eats very well, yet this lucidity has me confused as all of sudden. 

I have requested another CT scan, as she is calm now with the medication, I know she will be able to stay still and this will not be a detrimental test that will scare her.  It’s just making me question and I hope that there is someone on this message board that perhaps experienced this, is experiencing this that can help me or guide me.  

RobOT

Maria, I wouldn't tell you not to investigate further on your questions about your mother's diagnosis, however, sometimes a phase of relative lucidity does happen in dementia.  It's usually fairly brief, very confusing for caregivers, and when it disappears, leaves the PWD less able than they were before.  My father's mentation swings around wildly--one day he's hallucinating this "little blue guy with no pants" the next day he's asking appropriate questions  about friends and relatives, and the day after he's digging through every cabinet and drawer looking for something that "I'll know when I find it."  Although I really don't know, it almost sounds like the medications have calmed her stress and anxiety to the point where she's found the ability to organized herself a little better.  I hope for both your sakes this continues.  Hugs.

Cynbar

Certainly go ahead with the CT scan if you have questions. But I have to say, this doesn't sound too unusual to me. My DH is late stage 6 , and he has times when he is more lucid than others. Your overall picture of your grandmother does sound like late stage dementia, although sometimes it's hard to get a firm diagnosis of exactly which kind.

Doityourselfer

Your grandmother's behaviors are very similar to my husband's behaviors.  He takes between 100-150 mg Seroquel twice a day now - one in the morning with Zoloft, and one after dinner along with Trazodone and melatonin.  This combination is working best for him and me for now anyway.  He is and has been difficult to take care of most of the time.

Your grandmother is lucky to have you in her life.

mariaperezhuff0212

Thank you all for the comments and guidance.  Grandmother is back to the confusion and yesterday evening experienced an episode where my daughter was not mine and she was going to prove me wrong.  I will not lie and say I didn't challenge her b/c I am so TIRED as many of us are.  I was able to give her her medication by distracting her with questions after questions that she took them and then went to bed before 8:00 pm CST.  This morning she woke up like nothing happened, but she said she dreamt that they were trying to take my daughter from her and once again, she was questioning, who was my daughter's mother and I looked her firmly in the eyes and said I am and we are not discussing this again like last night.  The morning meds kicked in and she's in and out of sleep.  Her doctor does want to see her on Thursday as I reported to her that her legs are getting swollen, look blue and purple and she's been complaining about the back of her head, right side and the lower portion of her back.  Grandmother has stage 3a CKD and refuses, but refuses, no matter how many times I ask, I put down a cup of water, to drink water.  Its a hard situation to be in when you cannot make someone drink water, very hard.