Serequol

BethMimi

Mom seems to be worse on it.  She's getting 200 mgs a day.  Either she's getting worse or my expectation is making it seem so.  She won't get up to go to the bathroom even when she's soaking wet and then won't sit down on the toilet so I can change her.  It takes me and my brother to get through this. I hoped this med would help make this better.   It's horrible.  I have a message to her NP and hear from her on Monday but anyone have a similar experience or advice?  I don't understand.

Love&Light

Hi Beth. Sorry to hear your going through this and that the Seroquel is not working. It didn't work for my Dad either. In my experience (1.5 years into this) finding the right med dosage and combination is a long and complicated process and takes time.

I recommend documenting, starting now. I use a spreadsheet and record every med change, dosage and who prescribed it as well as the effect it has on my LO.

I cant tell you how many times someone has suggested we try a med that we've already tried and I pull up the spreadsheet to remind myself of the details of when and why it didn't work.

Best of luck to you.

Olly_Bake

Hi BethMimi. Sorry to hear that seroquel is not working for your mom. It did not work for my dad. 100mg was prescribed by a hospital behavioral unit to help with sundowning and sleep. It did not work for either. Dad always had a tuff guy attitude but oh man on this med. The primary thought 100 mg may have been too much so he lowered to 50. Same results. In the midst of the third week, I pleaded with his primary and he removed seroquel. He replaced that with 10mg of lexapro and asked me to resume lorazepam 1.0 mg (not crazy about lorazepam) but behold dad was pleasant again and getting SOME sleep. He is on hospice now (long story) and they added 2.5 mg of olanzapine at bedtime and upped the Lexapro he takes, during the day, to 20. I wish he could have come back to my home to monitor how this addition, olanzapine, would work but he is back at his home under the care of another sibling I can't put total trust in unfortunately.

Love&Light is correct saying it's going to take some work to find the right combination and dosage.

ImMaggieMae

My DH was taking the generic version of Seroquel in August when he first started experiencing obsessive compulsive behaviors. His GP started him on a small dose which helped for a few weeks and then needed to be increased. After another week or two it didn’t seem to work at all. He is now taking Risperadone which has been effective for most behaviors and helps a lot with sleeping well at night. He takes it in the morning and at night and has been taking it for about 5 months.

towhee

Hi Beth-When my LO was first started on seroquel (25mg twice a day) it affected their ability to walk, made them drowsy most of the day, and made it harder for them to follow directions. This did get better in a few days.

I like Love and Lights idea of a spreadsheet. I would add to intentionally think about their usual condition, i.e. how they walk, how they do feeding themselves, how they are doing other ADLs, what time of day or triggers they have for getting upset, do they get constipated, usual temperature, etc. This is called their baseline. We all note this automatically, but it helps in determining side effects if we specifically consider these things.

When I get a medication from the doctor I always ask the following: 1)What symptom, behavior or problem is this supposed to address- 2) Is this the lowest possible effective dose- 3) What are the most common side effects-  4) Which side effects should I be most concerned about.

Then I come home and run everything thru the drugs.com medication interaction checker and look up side effects. Yes, I look them up again. 

So when the doctor answers these questions tomorrow, you can come back to the board with more information. Unfortunately unless you have a combination of a geriatric psychiatrist and neurologist, doctors might not be familiar with how medications work in people with dementia.

I hope matters improve.

BethMimi

That's good advice.  I have a whole composition book filled and tabbed by providers, agencies, doctors, and numbers and dates as to when I left messages, who I talked to, what I was told, etc.  This medication part is new to me.  Thanks everyone