Risperidol, but my sister wants me to try CBD

madfoot

I know this might be a familiar problem for many here. (I'm new here. Hi!) 

My mom's doctor put her on .25mg Risperidol to help with sundowning. My mom is not violent, but last night she got up and took a shower at 2am. My dad found her in there, got her dried off and in bed, and she said she was uncomfortable (she often feels as if she can't breathe even when her lungs are clear, due to her heart being weird), and then she sent him to get her a snack. I found him doing that, and decided to sleep downstairs for the rest of the night in case she wandered. Dad said she was up a couple more times and then woke up for the day at 7am, early for her. 

This'll kill Dad if it goes on. I was planning to ask for something like an extended version of the Xanax she takes when she "can't breathe," but the doctor was like "this sounds like sundowning. See if this helps." 

I have three sisters, two of whom live out in California. One of them really wants me to try CBD first. My younger sister, also in California, is like "that is stupid. Do what the doctor says." I'm reading online and I just don't know. I don't want my sister to blame me if --

You know what? Typing it out I can see how absurd it is for me to spiral down over this. I am going to do what the doctor says. But I'll leave this up as I guess an introduction and in case anyone has more to say.

jfkoc

Just my opinion:

I tried to get marijuana  for my husband years ago with no success. 

My son has a license to grow medical marijuana. He started down that path after a not terribly successful back surgery. Another family member also uses it for cronic back pain. Truly, I think it may be safer than a lot of the drugs prescribed but one really needs to know how to use it. I think I would try brownies and just take a tiny bite.

Marijuana is now being used medically. I know it is frequently prescribed for Parkinson's. 

I know little to nothing about the oil. 

Xanax is addictive. Here is an article and you can always check it online using drugs.com or the like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2n3qZi9Idk

harshedbuzz

Welcome madfoot-

I am sorry you have a need to be here, but so glad you found us.

The atypical antipsychotics are often used for sundowning behavior as well as aggression. 25mg is a low dose. Since they can help with anxiety, you may find she needs Xanax less often. Benzos like Xanax aren't ideal. Yes they can be addictive, but that's less of a concern in someone with a terminal diagnosis. The bigger worry would be needing higher doses as the body become accustomed to using it- it could stop working for her if doctors can't safely increase the dose because of her heart condition.

I kind of agree with your sister in wanting to try CBD or weed. I dearly would have loved to get some gummies for dad as cannabis had always mellowed him out in the past. But it wasn't done legally where I am at the time, so we went with meds offered by his neurologist and geriatric psychiatrist. That said, care decisions should be made by those people who are hands-on and seeing the PWD daily. It's dad's call. If your sisters aren't part of the care team, they don't get a vote. 

HB

May flowers

I don’t have experience with CBD, except the oil which stopped my FIL’s skin picking behavior. It was the only thing that worked.

Have they considered reflux? When my DH had it, he felt he couldn’t breathe at night (also caused high blood pressure).

Iris L.

One of our members, Alz+, posted extensively about her personal experience using cbd for a PWD (person with dementia).  She goes into detail.  You can find her posts on the I Have Alzheimer's and the Younger Onset boards.  You will have to go back several years, because she posted a lot.  A few other members also posted on this topic, including Lane Simonian.  

Iris L.

Rescue mom

CBD did nothing for my DH with Alzheimer’s; members of my support group in real life also tried it and said it did nothing. (Also, CBD is mimimally regulated if at all, you’re not sure what’s really in there. If it had worked with no bad effects, I would not have cared, but basically, it just did not work for him)

We also tried the medical marijuana gummies and oils that are legal here. They maybe had some calming effects (hard to tell if it was the MM or just happened that way), but nothing like the effectiveness from Rx drugs.

Jo C.

Hello madfoot and welcome to you, this is a very soft place to land where there is much support, information and sharing.

The following is a copy of a Post I wrote a little earlier, it contains credible and important information regarding CBD Oil:  Here it is:

First priority:  Do No Harm.   This is a substance that can interact with other medications, so please discuss initiating this with your LOs physician and pharmacist which will be specific in regard to your LO.    What has been lacking are good, large, credible studies performed by credible science based groups.  

Consumer Reports magazine has done articles on CBD Oil and used input from credible medical sources;  they give good information re how to purchase the oil safely; that is important as there are definite risks from some of the purchases including contamination, harmful additives, doseage inaccuracies, etc., so if you decide to purchase cbd oil, be sure to check out the safety of what you are getting by reading their advice.

For anyone who is going to use cbd oil for a LO or themselves, it would be good to read the  following before buying so that one can make an educated purchase and be much safer.  

https://www.consumerreports.org/cbd/how-to-shop-for-cbd/

  https://www.consumerreports.org/cbd/cbd-goes-mainstream/

Here is an article re CBD from Harvard University:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cbd-and-other-medications-proceed-with-caution-2021011121743https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cbd-and-other-medications-proceed-with-caution-2021011121743

Grapefruit and CBD Oil:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2019/06/30/what-cbd-and-grapefruit-have-in-common-when-it-comes-to-drug-interactions-risks-you-should-know/

Every person is different in how they will react to any substance; cbd oil included.   Interestingly, though some use cbd oil to assist with anxiety; in some people, cbd oil has actually caused anxiety up to panic attacks. If you are going to use cbd oil after clearing it with your LOs physician, it would probably be best to start low and go slow.

J.