Re: Anne/Sharon

[Guest guest]

anne ,

we found zoloft worked well for dad he took 50mg for 8months, then went to

100mg and then to 150, it kept his mood swings in hcheck and his depression

in check. and he had no adverse reactions to it, keep your chin up and

hugs sharon m

-- Re: Anne/

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for sharing with me. I was a bit suspicious of Ativan, my husband

even more so, but they say at the home that that is all they can give her.

I will speak with her daughter and let her know what most people think of

Ativan for LBDers. She is the one who has full charge of her mother's

wellbeing. The ativan seems to be short-lived and when it wears off, my

sister seems very depressed and agitated. I will also tell her how to go

about getting an appointment with a doctor who knows more about LBD. I know

we will have to get a referral and will probably have to wait some time, but

to me it would be worth it, I want to know that she is on the right

medication. They have increased her dose of Seroquel, but I don't know what

dosage she is on now. It seems to have helped her mood somewhat. She is

quite talkative some days, but you don't really know what she is trying to

tell you, it all comes out garbled, but then she will laugh, so we have to

assume that she is happy for that little while.

This becomes quite overwhelming for me at times and sometimes I feel I am

obsessing about my sister, she seems to be in my thoughts constantly. She

has gone from a very bright woman who held a very responsible job, dressed

beautifully and was very independent, to this shell of a person who is only

existing, this is not a life at all. I just want her now to pass on and be

at peace with her husband, then I feel guilty for thinking that, but this is

absolutely no life for her, she is totally reliant now on other people,

which, if she was in her right mind, would not want in the least, she would

be asking us to shoot her.

Thanks again Sharon for all your help. Take care.

Anne

Re: Lewy Body Dementia

Hi Anne:

As many of us here will tell you, there are no definative stages with

LBD - it is not like Alzheimer's. There are hourly/daily/weekly ups

and downs. Frequently LBDer's are diagnosed when they have been

displaying Alzheimer's or Parkinson's symptoms for some time and then

someone comes to the conclusion that this patient is not following

the

usual path or stages.

Let us know a little bit more about your sister. What medications

has

she been on? What meds is she on now? Sometimes a minor change in

the

medications can cause or alliviate the hallucinations and agitation.

If you haven't already check out the website

www.lewybodydementia.org

There is lots of valuable information there.

Along with my sisters, I am caregiver to my mother aged 75 who is in

a

senior's facility in Toronto. I noted your Canadian e-mail address

-

where are you located?

Welcome to the group.

(CG to mother, Margaret diag Feb 2005)

--- hugh queenan wrote:

---------------------------------

Hi,

I have just joined the Lewy Body Dementia email support group. My

name

is Anne Queenan and I have a sister, who has just turned 69, who is

suffering from LBD and is currently in a nursing home. I think she

is

in the fourth stage of the disease, but I'm not sure what the fourth

stage is. She is very confused, doesn't really know her family, she

knows faces but not names. She at times is very agitated and hardly

eats. She is incontinent now and is very afraid of everyone and

everything. She does hallucinate. What I am asking, is there anyone

knows what stage this is. The doctor who visits the home, by his own

admission, doesn't know much about LBD, I just need some help from a

group who understands my family's stress.

Thank you for anything you can share.

Anne Queenan

[Guest guest]

Thanks Sharon, I will mention this to my niece. They have upped my sisters

Seroquel to 75 mg twice a day, and I think she is much calmer now. I would like

to see her without Ativan altogether, even though the dose they give her when

needed is very small. It still makes her worse when it wears off. Thanks for

the input Sharon, much appreciated. Take care. Anne

Re: Lewy Body Dementia

Hi Anne:

As many of us here will tell you, there are no definative stages with

LBD - it is not like Alzheimer's. There are hourly/daily/weekly ups

and downs. Frequently LBDer's are diagnosed when they have been

displaying Alzheimer's or Parkinson's symptoms for some time and then

someone comes to the conclusion that this patient is not following

the

usual path or stages.

Let us know a little bit more about your sister. What medications

has

she been on? What meds is she on now? Sometimes a minor change in

the

medications can cause or alliviate the hallucinations and agitation.

If you haven't already check out the website

www.lewybodydementia.org

There is lots of valuable information there.

Along with my sisters, I am caregiver to my mother aged 75 who is in

a

senior's facility in Toronto. I noted your Canadian e-mail address

-

where are you located?

Welcome to the group.

(CG to mother, Margaret diag Feb 2005)

--- hugh queenan wrote:

---------------------------------

Hi,

I have just joined the Lewy Body Dementia email support group. My

name

is Anne Queenan and I have a sister, who has just turned 69, who is

suffering from LBD and is currently in a nursing home. I think she

is

in the fourth stage of the disease, but I'm not sure what the fourth

stage is. She is very confused, doesn't really know her family, she

knows faces but not names. She at times is very agitated and hardly

eats. She is incontinent now and is very afraid of everyone and

everything. She does hallucinate. What I am asking, is there anyone

knows what stage this is. The doctor who visits the home, by his own

admission, doesn't know much about LBD, I just need some help from a

group who understands my family's stress.

Thank you for anything you can share.

Anne Queenan