New diagnosis but extreme condition

Shumila Abidi

Hello everyone,

I truly hope and pray for each one of you who is either dealing with this disease personally or has a loved one affected by such a painful condition. I sincerely wish for your strength and that your difficult journey becomes easier. I can relate to your struggles; my mother was diagnosed with dementia last month, and I can tell you how challenging it has been. Although she has only recently received her diagnosis, I suspect she has been suffering from it for a while. As her full-time caregiver for the past six years, I have witnessed the progression firsthand. Since starting her dementia medication, her mobility has significantly declined, primarily because her condition was already very fragile before the diagnosis. She was not sleeping well, drinking excessive amounts of water, and needing to use the bathroom every ten minutes—yes, every ten minutes! Things escalated to the point where she began to harm herself, hitting and scratching until she bled. We consulted numerous doctors, but since all her tests came back normal, she wasn’t receiving the help she needed. Eventually, I took her to a neurologist, who finally diagnosed her with dementia.

Now, I am even more worried because, prior to her dementia medication, she was relatively mobile and could move around the house independently. However, since starting her medication, she has been experiencing stinging sensations in her left foot and hand. After her morning medication at 8:00 AM, by noon, she starts to complain about pain—agonizing pain, to the extent that she begs me for help, pleading, 'Shumila, please don’t let me die. Save me; I don’t want to die.' She even asks God to take her away from this unbearable suffering. Despite my efforts to calm her down with various techniques, her distress continues. At times, I feel overwhelmed, thinking that if I can’t help her, I should be the one to suffer instead.

SDianeL

Hello and welcome. So sorry about your Mom’s diagnosis. What dementia medication is she on? Have you looked at the side effects? I would speak to her doctor about her pain after taking the meds. Maybe the doctor can change it or change the dose. It does take awhile to get the meds adjusted properly. A Geriatric Psychiatrist is the best doctor to manage dementia meds. One thing to consider is whether her pain is real or whether she is having delusions. Be sure to explain her behavior to the doctor in detail.

Kim400

Honestly a lot of her symptoms sound like diabetes. Has she been checked for that? Excessive thirst / urination / nerve pain all go with diabetes. Not a full explanation and dementia is also there per the doctor but maybe this too??

towhee

Any time you think there is a medication reaction contact the prescribing doctor. Doctors do not know what you do not tell them. You can also check her medications for side effects using the site drugs.com or contact the pharmacist who filled the prescription.

Shumila Abidi

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/254635#Comment_254635

Hello, how are you doing? You’re such a sweet soul and I wish for all the good and health for you. My mom is taking rivastigmine 3mg , Quetiapine 25mg and benzodiazepine 0.5m. I am not really sure if any of these meds are bothering her or not since it’s too early to say anything, she has a doctors appointment on Wednesday so I will consider all your suggestions ask the doctor about possible side effects. Thank you

Shumila Abidi

Hello, Kim how are you ? I wish and pray for all good and health for you. Yeah I went to the diabetes specialist and she was diagnosed her with peripheral neuropathy that was before her dementia diagnosis and she is taking her meds for it it’s called nervita which contains (L-methyl folate(3mg) , an active form of folate and other essential vitamins like Vitamin B6(35mg) & Vitamin B12(2mg) apart from that she is having her diabetes medication, hypertension medication and thyroid medications which is her regular medications.

Shumila Abidi

Hello,

towhee, how are you doing? I wish and pray all the good and health for you. I really appreciate your suggestion I will talk to the doctor about these medications side effects and for sure do my own research through this site that you have recommended.

Thank you