Mom is consumed with sadness...

Jbouchard

My 58-year old mom with early-onset Alzheimers lives with me. She has been with me now for a year and a half. Her type of dementia effects her visual comprehension first and foremost, which prevents her from doing any of the things she enjoys. She can see, but she doesn't understand what she is looking at.

Lately, she has been so overwhelmingly sad. Before this, she was increasingly aggressive and agitated, so her doctor wanted to try Risperidone. This made her cry nonstop and confused her even more. He then tried lorazepam, and that had better results. She has just recently started to get very sad again, crying a lot. She says she missed everyone, she says she is dying or her dog is dying, and most of the time she can't really explain why she is so sad. I try to get her mind off of things and keep her busy, but nothing seems to be working. We talk to all of her kids frequently, but she forgets that she talked to them or saw them, so she things she is alone and she hasn't seen them in years, which makes her sad. She seems to come in and out of reality, and when she realizes what's going on, she cries and states that she doesn't understand how she got so sick.

Her doctor recommended adding a third mid-day dose as needed. Right now, she is on 0.5 mg morning and night. I don't know if this is going to help with her sadness or just make her more tired.

She has been checked for infections, she is using the bathroom fine. Her eating and drinking has decreased significantly but I am keeping a close eye on her calorie and fluid intake.

I'm at a loss on what to do.

psg712

I would talk to the doctor again. Any chance he would prescribe an actual antidepressant? Lorazepam is for anxiety and is normally used short term and as needed, not a standing dose. But I am not your mom's doctor, and dementia is more complex than classic depression. Just let the doc know that the current treatment is not working.

Quilting brings calm

ask if the doctor will add mirtrazipine. It’s an anti-depressant, helps with sleep too.

MaryEllenDaughter

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/71244/mom-is-consumed-with-sadness

Hello I am sorry you and your mom are going through this. My Father has lost sequencing abilities and has had to give up lots of his favorite things because he gets the steps mixed up. I have a question, does your mother see a dementia specialist? That can make a difference in how and what meds are prescribed. It sounds like she needs mood stabilization, maybe. Does she take meds for depression?

Jbouchard

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/228879#Comment_228879

She does see a neurologist. He initially prescribe risperidol, but that made her cry uncontrollably as well.

H1235

Finding the right medication is difficult. It often needs to be started at a low dose and can only be increased after being on it for several weeks. Then wait several more weeks for any improvement and possibly up the dose again. Then if it doesn’t work or the side effects are too much, the dose needs to be taped down and start all over with a different medication. The whole process is awful. I hope you can find something that works for her soon.