Can cannabis help LO's agitation and confusion?

Daughter of a Marine · January 8

My DH is in stage 5/6 of dementia and is often confused and agitated, refusing to change into clean clothes when there's been an accident, insisting on doing yard work in 32 degree weather and is unable to communicate due to his aphasia and word salad. It's been recommended that we try a low dose of cannabis (legal here) to calm him and reduce the agitation. He takes Seroquel at night which has been a God send but during the day, he's into everything and completely uncooperative. Wondering if anyone has had experience in this area? I do not want him "snowed" but the stress of trying to manage his agitation is taking a toll. Any guidance would be much appreciated - thank you!

M1 · January 8

I'd be leery of cannabis in this setting. Have you tried a low dose of seroquel in the morning too? Might make him sleepy at first but many people accommodate to it.....

harshedbuzz · January 8

Is his doctor recommending the cannabis or just some well-meaning friend? I'm not anti-cannabis-- I have a friend who has had great success with it for chronic backpain that wasn't resolved by PT, injections, or surgery.

I would discuss this with his doctor. Dad did pretty well on 25mg of Seroquel in the evening, but after a time we needed to add a second 25mg in the morning as well to manage his agitation. We did notice a temporary sleepiness with the initial evening dose, but not as much when we added the morning one. The medication didn't sedate him, it just made him more receptive to validation and redirection when upset.

HB

easy23 · January 8

My husband's geriatric psychiatrist recently said no to cannabis. He said it has side effects of its own. He upped the risperidone instead.

Ed1937 · January 8

I agree that you probably shouldn't try it without talking to his doctor. Too much a chance of side effects or interaction with other meds.

cavenson · January 8

You may want to check with his doctor about taking a CBD gummy every day. Unlike cannabis (even though CBD and THC are both found in cannabis plants), it's legal and doesn't produce a high. It does supposedly reduce pain, anxiety, and depression and helps with psychosis. My DH (stage 4) has been taking a gummy every morning for several years. I'm not sure if it helps, but it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects, and his neurologist is aware of it.

wizmo · January 8

DW in early stage 6 also taking seroquel added a cannabis edible product that is 20mg CBD and 1mg THC, which is low enough she does not get psychoactive “high” - for most people it takes 3-5 mg THC. She takes every 4 hours during the day. Result has been less frequent and less severe agitation. Before there were pretty much daily meltdowns with crying for up to an hour, still happens maybe once or twice a week but not as long. This came at recommendation from neurologist who specializes in alz, and consulting with expert naturopathic doctor who treats conditions that qualify under state medical cannabis regs. They both believe it is a safer route than continuing to increase seroquel. I was skeptical and even put this off for almost a year but they kept encouraging me to reconsider and the results have been positive for us.

knktaylor · January 8

I considered this with my mom recently but with her tendency for paranoia we felt the thc may exacerbate that. The most helpful thing at night for us was seroquel + melatonin.

jfkoc · January 8

Treatment seems to ebb and flow. Resperidone used to be in the never take column. Now it is used more and more.

I would absolutely try cannibus but only after researching what would be best and has the Drs approval.

jlaxum · January 9

> @wizmo said:
> DW in early stage 6 also taking seroquel added a cannabis edible product that is 20mg CBD and 1mg THC, which is low enough she does not get psychoactivehigh” - for most people it takes 3-5 mgTHC. She takes every 4 hours during the day. Result has been less frequent and less severe agitation. Before there were pretty much daily meltdowns with crying for up to an hour, still happens maybe once or twice a week but not as long. This came at recommendation from neurologist who specializes in alz, and consulting with expert naturopathic doctor who treats conditions that qualify under state medical cannabis regs. They both believe it is a safer route than continuing to increase seroquel. I was skeptical and even put this off for almost a year but they kept encouraging me to reconsider and the results have been positive for us.

Hi! I was wondering if you could tell me exactly what brand and kind of CBD and THC she's taking?

wizmo · January 10

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/194077#Comment_194077

We are in AZ where medical use was legalized a few years before recreational. The product is Wyld strawberry flavor 20:1 CBD:THC, gummies that taste like candy. Only difference at he dispensary between medical and recreational sale of this item is extra taxes on recreational customers. They also have CBD-only products anyone can get online from wyldcbd.com. I would still advise consulting with doctor about possible side effects and interactions with current meds before undertaking experiments with anything including OTC drugs or supplements. In our case one temporary side effect was low blood pressure, glad I knew to watch out before it happened.

jlaxum · January 11

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/194245#Comment_194245

Thank you!

Can cannabis help LO's agitation and confusion?

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