Have any questions about how to use the community? Check out the Help Discussion.

Doctor prescribed 2 different medicines at the same time.

Dbond9007
Dbond9007 Member Posts: 2
First Comment
Member
in Caring For a Spouse or Partner

My sister is the main caregiver, but I have concerns. My mother, who has the dementia, went away for a week and had a uti, and loss of appetite, and lots of picking. She put a call into doctor and doctor prescribed antibiotics, and remeron, and zoloft. Took her off the buspar. And added the 2 new meds. My concern is that we are not going to know what is effective and was her loss of appetite just from uti. Not she if the psych, doctor had all the facts

Comments

  • ​fesk
    ​fesk Member Posts: 531
    Legacy Membership 500 Comments 25 Care Reactions 25 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    That does sound like a lot of changes at once. My mother's doctor does not make any medication changes while there is a UTI and usually waits a couple of weeks after the UTI is resolved.

    If it can be done, I always prefer one change a time so it is clearer if something is helping (or not helping).

  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 3,148
    1,500 Likes 1,000 Insightfuls Reactions 2500 Comments 1,000 Care Reactions
    Member

    are you able to talk to the doctor directly? If not I would ask your sister to explain the doctor’s rationale. Geriatric Psychiatrists are usually pretty good at prescribing anti-psychotic meds but your concerns are valid about whether the doctor had all the facts.

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 6,270
    Ninth Anniversary 1,500 Insightfuls Reactions 1,500 Likes 5000 Comments
    Member

    @Dbond9007

    Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here but pleased you found this place.

    A couple of thought, in what stage would you consider your mom to be in terms of disease progression? In addition to the UTI which can trigger all manner of behavior changes, being removed from her usual home and routine can also cause changes in behavior and how a PWD presents.

    How is your mom doing on the new meds when you see her?

    While changing meds is ideally done "low and slow", sometimes there is good reason to be more aggressive. I generally find psychiatrists have the most expertise in terms of the use of psychoactive medications. The changes made here, to my ear sound sensible. Buspar is normally given for situational anxiety/depression rather than ongoing presentation. While it's safe to use long term unlike a benzo, for longstanding depression/anxiety and SSRI is usually the first choice. Zoloft is a great option and one that seems to be more effective than most at relieving "picking" and other OCD-like behaviors. Remeron is often used to perk up appetite.

    Is your sister mom's POA as well as her primary caregiver? It sounds like you feel you're out of the loop which can be frustrating.

    HB

  • Dbond9007
    Dbond9007 Member Posts: 2
    First Comment
    Member

    Thank you all, my sister did discuss the change with doctor and sticking to just the zoloft for now. Thanks for everyone's input.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more

Community Guidelines


Click here to review the ALZConnected Community Guidelines

Categories