Is Remission Possible in Lewy Body Dementia?

Dio

It's been over 6 months since Depakote was added to DH's meds. He continues to do extremely well, as if the disease never happened—a complete turnaround from the aggressive, combative and deranged psychopath he displayed last October (not caused by UTI infection). If you didn't know it, he appears/behaves as normal as can be. He's pleasant, sweet, alert, aware, with short and long-term memories in tact. He addresses staff and residents by name and greets them whenever passing by in hallways or the activity room. Around same time last year, he was a recluse opting to lie in bed all day staring at the ceiling, and refusing to eat at times or scarfing food down as if there's no tomorrow. Now, he wants to watch his favorite movies, so I got him a portable blu ray DVD player, and he started to operate it on his own without so much as even a peek at the instruction manual. Every morning, he's the first to go to the dining hall to wait for breakfast and eats at a normal pace. He does sit-ups and pushups in his room, reads the daily newspaper, even watches CNN in a neighbor's room and is now asking for his own TV. Says he's already finished all the movies including the original Star Trek series and is asking for the Star Trek Next Generation series among other favorites. The only remnant of the illness is that he still resists showers and pushes back when staff removes dirty laundry, although the resistance meter is way lower. Moreover, his urinary incontinence is completely gone! All of these changes just by having Depakote added.

Is this for real?! I know fluctuations are a hallmark of LBD, but lasting this long and seemingly getting better each month? Has anyone else seen this happen to their LOs? Is remission even possible? This is blowing my mind.

M1

That is quite remarkable Dio. Does he have a neuroloogist? That would be the person Id want to talk to....

Quilting brings calm

DIo- I’m confused . I thought you had mentioned in other posts that you had been unable to visit him more than once. If so, how are you getting the detailed information about these changes? And are you sure you are getting valid information? Am I confusing you with a different member?

Dio

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/211239#Comment_211239

My family and his 3 best friends visit regularly and provide me reports each time. I speak to the lead med tech almost weekly to get updates. I also get reports from the night shift staff directly when I call in the evenings. So while all the info has been via third parties, the picture of his situation is quite well rounded.

Dio

M1, his neurologist was reluctant to add the Depakote and is also surprised by DH's improvement. He just said, "hope this lasts a long while, cheers!" And his psychiatrist was extremely pleased to hear of the improvements and took down detail notes on DH's dosages and time(s) of consumption. It's a conundrum to them. This is why I'm hoping our forum members may know or have experienced this to provide more insight.

jfkoc

I suggest you go online and contact the Lewy Body Association for any current updates on drugs. My husband had this disease and I found them helpful.