Alprazolam

LaneyG

Need some thoughts and input. My DH’s psychiatrist prescribed alprazolam. Everything I’ve read recently indicates that it should never be used for dementia as it can make symptoms worse. His primary care and neurologist have had no concerns about it. It has always worked real well for him with a nice calming affect. However the last month or so my husband has been getting more agitated and angry and the alprazolam dose was increased. Yes he is calmer but I feel like he has more of that far away, sad, vacant look. Now I keep thinking about how he was initially prescribed this for panic around time he was initially diagnosed with MCI about 6 years ago. There had been significant decline since then….really making me wonder….

storycrafter

Agitation and anger increasing - to me that's a red flag that it could be time for consulting with the doctor about meds adjustments and revisiting the cocktail of prescriptions.

My husband was also prescribed alprazolam/xanax early in this journey. In his case it was for panic/anxiety attacks. After several weeks his doctor took him off a daily dose and changed it to only "as needed" for anxiety/panic.

In the meantime my husband eventually was stabilized by Seroquel, an anti-psychotic. It was increased by small increments over time (it caused sleepiness until his body adjusted after a couple weeks following each increase) until a therapeutic dose for him was reached for maintenance, 300 mg daily. At the full dose of Seroquel he no longer needed the alprazolam except on rare occasion. For us, if it weren't for the stability this med provides for him, he/we would have no quality of life. There are still times of some agitation and anger, but it's less frequent, less intense, less long-lived.

Every situation is different. If his symptoms don't seem to have specific temporary cause/stressor that you know of, it would be worth consulting with his doctor/s. Wishing you peace and calm and a return of more ease in your life.