Rough few days... What other medication other than Risperidone??

SDianeL · September 2023

My DH, 78, diagnosed 2 years ago, recent change in possible diagnosis to ALZ-Posterior Cortical Atrophy. (he can't have an MRI). The Neurologist put my DH on Low dose Risperidone 1/2 tab at night for hallucinations and it does help him sleep. After I mentioned his agitation & anger recently to the Geri Psy. she added 1/2 tab Risperidone in the AM. So far it hasn't help and the last 2 days have been terrible. I sent her a message with a list of all of his behaviors, and her reply was contact Caregiver Support (my DH gets care at the VA). I replied that we already have Caregiver Support & Respite Care. Has anyone had any success with other meds for anger & agitation that won't make him a zombie? I've rad some posts here that some meds are not recommended for certain types of ALZ or Dementia but can't find those posts again. I will reach out to his Geri Psy. gain if he doesn't calm down tomorrow. He does have good days & bad but it seems the bad have lasted longer this time. He's Stage 5, going into Late Stage 5.

storycrafter · September 2023

SDiane, I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with such difficulty. For sure reach out to the psychiatrist for advice about meds asap. Your husband needs immediate support and treatment. I don't know how the system works at the VA, but this is an acute care situation that needs attention right now! Reach out until you get what is needed.

There may be meds contraindicated for your husband's condition so take my experience below with a grain of salt. My dh has FTD (behavioral variant) dementia.

Seraquel is a med that is said to be contraindicated for FTD, but it has been a great help to my husband. It really has returned an important degree of quality of life for him. He did have to get used to it. At first it caused marked sleepiness for a couple weeks and then it passed. He was reduced to a low dose to start and gradually increased to therapeutic levels over about three months (he takes 300 mg per day and is relatively highly functioning).

I know it can cause different issues for different types of dementia and some individuals. It's also possible more than one type of dementia accompanies our loved one's primary type. It was worth a try in my husband's case. Research is relatively young on some kinds of dementia and everyone responds differently to the various meds. Medicine is not an exact science, and dementia can be especially difficult to diagnose. Finding the right combination of meds is often trial and error, is a moving target, which can be a tough process. Hang in there; insist on support and immediate treatment until you and your husband receive what's needed.

Best wishes and good luck. Keep us posted.

GothicGremlin · September 2023

My sister is taking trazadone (spelling?) It's been moderately successful. She still has outbursts but at least they aren't as frequent as they were. She's taking it every night and then again "as needed" at 8 hour intervals.

I asked Peggy's geri psy about seroquel, but she wouldn't hear of it, so I didn't push. But maybe I'll ask again.

Sunshine2024 · September 2023

My HWD is on Trazadone to help sleep (works very well) and recently started Buspar 3x/day. Hoping it helps with agitation. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Davegrant · September 2023

My DW has been taking Rispendone 0.25 mg for about 2 weeks and I have noticed some improvement in behavior.

Jeanne C. · September 2023

Mine (FTD, stage 5) takes Risperdal and Lexapro. Dosages for for both were recently adjusted bc he was having behavior issues (anger, emotional outbursts, lots of anxiety). A couple of weeks since the adjustment and he's doing quite a bit better and isn't a zombie. He used to take trazadone but it gave him crazy dreams that would wake us both up. Good luck - I'm hoping your doc will work with you to get the right meds for your LO.

ImMaggieMae · September 2023

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/182959#Comment_182959

I agree, especially regarding how different each person is and how difficult it is to diagnose the type of dementia. After multiple scans, MRI’s and a pet scan, my DH’s diagnosis of FTD and probable Alz seems inconsistent with most of the FTD descriptions of behavior from people here and at least one of the medications that has been very helpful to him is normally contraindicated for FTD. His neurologist’s office said they can’t be sure. Trial and error for sure and storycrafter is correct about meds being a moving target. There have been some adjustments over the years, but we’ve managed pretty well so far considering. If a drug or dosage makes him sleepy during the day, cutting back is easy enough, after you’ve given him time to adjust to it and settle.

Having doctors that are willing to work with you is so important.

mommafour · September 2023

SDianeL - My DH takes Seroquel and it has been like a miracle as far as I'm concerned. He was hallucinating and experiencing serious delusions with anger outbursts, even waking up in the middle of the night to yell at me to the point I locked myself in the bathroom until he calmed down. The person he sees in the Older Adult Clinic at the VA informed me of the risks of this drug but considering DH's good physical health and after weighing the pros and cons, we determined that taking Seroquel would result in a better situation for his quality of life. It has not made him dizzy or zombie-like. He's the calm, sweet person that he was before the Alzheimer's anger set in. We did need to experiment to get the right dosage and it has made a huge difference. I hope you can get the attention and cooperation of the Geri Psych at your VA facility to prescribe something to help your DH. I know these behaviors can be extremely stressful for caregivers.

Rough few days... What other medication other than Risperidone??

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