Suggestions for Sundowning and Agitation? Medications?

Alex_K

I am getting stressed out!

 DH has been Sun-downing for the past several months to the point where he gets into everything, gets agitated, will not sit down and when it comes to bed time he becomes angry.  He had a brother, now passed away, who had this issue but his wife did not remember what medications the doctor put him on to keep him calm in the evening.  For now my DH takes 25. mg Seroquel in the morning at 8:00 am, one at 1:00 pm, and one at bedtime.  It does not seem to help his agitation and restlessness from 3:00 pm until bedtime. The doctor said we could up the dosage but I am not sure extra would help. 

As for a caregiver other than me this would not help because he does not want anyone else to touch him.  He does not trust anyone else and sometimes not even me.

He cannot be easily distracted and I let him pace but he can get into all kinds of things and that makes me nervous.  Are there other medications I could mention to the doctor that we could try or is Seroquel the best one? 

The sundowning has been going on for 3 months and I am at the point where we need to do something different.  We are not at the point for him to go into a facility since he can walk, eat, uses the toilet.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

M1

alex, I would reassure you to follow the doc's directions.  You've got lots of room to move on the Seroquel dose; doses of up to 400 mg/day are used and you're only at 75 mg.  Check with your doctor, but you could easily double the afternoon dose to start.  Usually they'll want to change just one dose at a time so you can see what works.  Good luck--

LaurenB

I second the idea of calling the doctor and seeing what they suggest.  It could be as easy as increasing the dose of medication or changing the times that it is given.  As a therapist who has worked in nursing homes for 20+ years with PWD, many of my patients can walk, talk, use the bathroom and still need 24 hour care for their safety and/or their family is not able to provide the care at the level that they need.  It's a tough journey.

Lauren

physicsmom

It's kind of a last resort, but we give my dad Ativan in the evening when nothing else works.  You get a bit of a zombie effect, but at least he's not punching people with it.