What to do?(9)

Sold01

My dad has Hallucinations and for the past week struggles with frustration and anger towards them. The medication were not working so we took him off them. Has anyone had experience where you found the medication did more harm than good?  

Thank you

Nerdyblond

My Mom has hallucinations but she is not on meds for them, visual and audio. I kind of turn that into a joke. 

She does not want to be on more meds so she does not speak of what she sees or hears.

It sounds like it will have to be trial and error. 

I am so sorry. I wish I could help more.

Sold01

Grateful for the response.  Your correct on the meds being trial and error. We have trued 4 now. I’ve trued to keep track of the mood and it just seams he handles it better with no meds. Best to u and your family

May flowers

My FIL was on so many drugs when he first came home he was a real mess in January. We tried some of the drugs back one at a time, but they did the opposite of what they were meant to do. He became more, agitated, delirious, anxious, had insomnia, etc. But we recently tried Risperdone and for now (for him) it is working. He is calm, at peace but also very alert.

It was very hit or miss, but my advice is don’t give up because there may be something that helps that he hasn’t tried yet.

​fesk

It is trial and error. We have tried several and, unfortunately, have not found one that will keep my mother's symptoms controlled, while keeping her calm/alert/functioning well. And, yes, some have definitely made her worse. It is extremely frustrating and breaks my heart she's going through this. 

I am sorry you are dealing with this as well and hope they are able to find the right combination for your dad. I hope that a specialist is advising you.

Sold01

Thank you for your store.  It’s hard to know if you should keep trying drugs when they have the bad reactions.

jmlarue

I sure understand your point. This trial and error on meds is often times worse than the original problem we hoped to fix. Thing is - what is the alternative? I just know that I cannot care for a person that should probably be in a psych unit. Forget about placing my LO in a memory care facility with anger, aggression, and wild hallucinations. They won't accept him. So, I keep on keeping on trying something different and holding out hope that something will finally work. All that being said, if you are in a state with legal marijuana, you might be interested in the thread on this forum about THC/CBD gummies. It's not a miracle cure, but it does tamp down my DH's anger, aggression, and over the top disagreeable behavior - even if it only lasts about 4 hours, I'll take what I can get.

​fesk

Sold01 wrote:

Thank you for your store.  It’s hard to know if you should keep trying drugs when they have the bad reactions.

That is why it is important to have a specialist/geriatric psychiatrist handle. They would be the most qualified to figure out the right medication or combination. Also, these medications come with a lot of risk and undesirable side effects so I find it nerve-racking whenever a change needs to be made. I do want her to have a comfortable, calm existence and the best quality of life that she can, so I continue to try for her recognizing that there won't be a perfect solution.

MN Chickadee

Make sure he has been checked for a UTI, any behavior changes that are sudden can often be a symptom of UTI in people with dementia and have none of the typical symptoms.

What kind of physician is prescribing the meds? A dementia specialist such as psych, neuro, or geriatric specialist should be doing it. Preferably a geriatric psychiatrist. They are the best experienced and trained to tinker with doses to handle dementia behaviors. They can often find what works but it can take some trial and error to find the right drug and the right dose. 

Sold01

I want to thank everyone that responded. We are working with doctor who has the qualifications to treat this dresses  it’s very helpful to hear what our experience have been are what others have experienced and we are doing all we can to bring pease to my dad  my all your families find pease

Sold01

Great suggestion.