posterior cortical atrophy

SherriR

My brother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in 2020, with PCA ,We believe his symptom's started in 2018, He started having aggression and hallucinations about 1 1/2 ago where he thinks people are following him, he also can't seem to find the right door, he was placed in memory care in August 2023, As he needs full time help with dressing and eating, He was also taking off to run, he would run miles, but no one was able to stop him from taking off as he is young and healthy. When he first moved in he was calm and doing really well. Two months ago, he started getting angry and damaging the facility property, He first smashed a picture, then at night he would move his furniture around his room, Not sure why his room was locked, but he tore the door off the hindges and also punched the bathroom door. After a visit with his Nuero they prescribed ablify, His wife decided it wasn't working and stop putting in his meds and did not tell the facility. A week later he assaulted another patient. They sent to the hospital for a geratic physh elvauation.He ended up spending 5 days in the emergency room, He was great there, He was in the hallway when they tried to put him in a room he flipped out so they put him back in the hallway. As a result of the visit I believe they gave him the abilfy, I asked about meds and she said they gave him what was on the meds list. The Dr. in the ER cleared him to go back to the facility. I questioned it, as his aggression was an issue and she assured me that he is were he belongs. The facility took him back. I informed them that she had stopped the meds he was getting and giving him Trazadone. The Nuero Dr wanted to put him olanzapine, but his wife refused, His PC put him on mirtazapine, fast forward a week, they insited on a one on one aide 24 hours, no warning because he broke the bathroom door handle, which was not aggressive. they gave him an eviction notice, My question is has anyone had these issues, have you used the meds described , what was the outcome, he has moved to a better memory care, but I'm really concerned that is won't work out, and I also have a difficult time talking to his wife and daughter. But this last incident it fell on me because his wife and daughter were out of town.

M1

Welcome to the forum Sherri. I am so sorry for your dilemma. Yes, the antipsychotics like Abilify or olanzapine (generic for Zyprexa) would be the drugs of choice in this situation. There are others--Seroquel and Risperidone are also frequently prescribed in dementia. Who holds power of attorney for him? Likely his wife? Unfortunately, there is probably little you can do from a practical standpoint without legal standing. If I were in your shoes and they called you, I would probably insist that they contact the person who holds power of attorney, even if she were out of town. It is not fair to put you in the position of trying to handle something like this when you don't have the authority to do so. but I know it is hard to sit on your hands and watch it play out.