Mom combative when having brief changed

LucyStone

Hello. My 87-year-old mother is the best person in the world. This horrible disease has caused her to become combative in her nursing home. She is mostly pleasant, but when the staff has to change her Depends. Lately, she has been screaming, biting, hitting, and yelling. She is on

Mematine: ( Namenda) 10mg for Alzheimer's

Mirtazapine Tablet 7.5 MG for major depressive disorder

Ativan: .5mg for agitation

Trazadone: 75mg for agitation

Lexapro: 5 mg for major depressive disorder

As well as

Tramadol: 50mg for Pain

Please help! Thank you!

easy23

She might need to be put on an antipsychotic, such as Seroquel or Risperdal, for agitation. They are in the same category as Rexulti, which has been approved by the FDA for agitation in Alzheimer's patients. Check with her Dr.

Anonymousjpl123

I’m not a doctor, but that seems like a lot of medication for agitation and depression. Seroquel helped my anxious/depressed mom with Alzheimer’s a LOT. She’s not a zombie, either.

I don’t know your mom, but i can say what she’s going through is common. My mom had had enormous challenges with depends/keeping her briefs on. I thought it would do us both in - her first MC couldn’t deal with it.

Her current place has a rhythm. They get them on in the morning, if she needs to change and won’t put new ones on, they try again in 2 hours. It seems to work. But it took a long time to get here. She still mostly refuses bathing but somehow we manage once a week.

I would ask about the seroquel, though I don’t know how it counteracts with her other meds. Also maybe see if they can change the brand. Sometimes the bait and switch helps too - making her feel she has more agency. I’m so sorry. This is very very hard.

jfkoc

It is so very hard to know what to do.

Please go to drugs.com, enter all meds including OTC and check for interactions.

Then please find out how the staff is trained to care for people with dementia. You may need to find a Memory Care facility.

Please keep us updated….