Re: Zyprexa & Risperdal

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I remember going through some of the same things you are. The

difference being that my dad was always more than happy to have me do

things for him and help out. One big difference is that I didn't

have a clue as to what we were dealing with. The most information I

had was after his first " flip out " in the hospital after anesthesia,

the neurologist told me " he will need more assistance as he gets

older " . So armed with this tidbit off we went into the wild blue

yonder.(...did we pay for that advise?) It's pretty hard to wrap

your arms around something like this until you live it. I can even

remember reading books and thinking...well that doesn't apply or it's

not that bad yet.

We managed for many years.

Although we were already headed down the path, it got worse on the

next hospitalization (and Haldol). Then on the release to rehab, he

(or they) overreacted, and the NH doc " convinced " me that he needed

Seroquel to enable him to cope, to calm him (he paced all night

there) and they probably called him combative. I guess I rushed him

thru the NH stay (2 weeks) thinking that if I could get him back in

his environment, it would make a difference. Well, he couldn't go

back to independent without assistance, so I opted for assisted

living in his same community and hoped to wean him off Seroquel.

(The nurse practioner advised me to find a dementia unit and that the

worst thing was to bounce him around to a lot of places...)

He developed " behavioral' problems at assisted living. He had

developed " urinary incontenience " , couldn't find the bathroom, didn't

like to be " handled " by the aides and had a combative attitude and a

few other run ins. The psychiatrist recommended some other " calming "

drugs. The assisted living was documenting all of his behaviors and

requested meds to deal with it. Much to my objections, the doctor

told me I had to do something to deal with the behaviors or the AL

had the right to deny him. Some where in here he also started on

Aricept and the neurologist said it works better sometimes with the

antipsychotics. I asked him about LBD and he said it didn't really

matter what kind of dementia it was. (I apparently have never found

a decent neurologist!@#@!)

**We had a diagnosis of dementia, probable alz** (Although I didn't

think it was Alz..looked like LBD to me)

In the process of all of this he had a fall and a minor heart

attack. The next hospital stay was a trip also, restraints and the

whole nine yards. At least he had Haldol listed as an allergy this

time. Meanwhile, he was in the process of being weaned off of

Seroquel. However, the drug they wanted to put him on was ruled out

due to his heart condition. So they called in a Psychiatrist (who

never even talked with me) and they decided to try Zyprexa to deal

with the behavior issues. (One of the favorite drugs at the AL)

They observed him overnight to see how he did with it (from a heart

stand point) then released him to rehab again (at his community this

time).

It was hard to tell was was causing his problems at first.

Disorientation from the hospital, meds? He kept trying to stand up

abruptly and the NH kept " letting " him fall... " it is his right to

fall and not be restrained " . Their idea was to medicinally restrain

him but not physically restrain him. They kept upping the dose of

Zyprexa until he had seizures. The Zyprexa basically caused him to

exhibit the Parkinsonian symptoms and unable to do things for

himself. The NH didn't want to deal with him...wanted me to remove

him from all meds & let him " slip " into an easier level of care for

them.

(this is when I found this support group & hired a case manager to

help me figure out what to do)

I transferred him to another NH, got him off Zyprexa (started seeing

improvements almost immediately) and hired private duty aides.

I have been fortunate to have the same two aides for almost a year

now. They are very good to & with him. The only dementia med he

takes is Aricept. He has his ups & downs, but usually only acts out

if he doesn't like the way the NH aides are dealing with him (rushed,

inconsiderate, etc). If they back off, it usually subsides.

So, I don't know if this helps, but the original usage of Zyprexa was

to manage behavioral issues...didn't work for me. They need routines

and assistance. It's hard to get there, I know.

Hope this helps you somehow, but unfortunately, it seems like I am

always recreating the wheel... so you to will have to figure out what

works for you. At least we have this resource to give us some clues

and hopefully alert us to what to look out for.

Take care.

Daughter of Bill, 91

>

> Hi

>

> Mom lives at a regular senior apt complex where everyone manages

> independently. Any kind of helping service is not going to fly with

my mom. It is a

> shame that we will not be able to use these services to keep her

going somewhat

> independently for as long as possible. She has always been great

at cutting

> her nose to spite her face. And she is not grateful for anything.

>

> Reading about people that forget where to keep their food or fix

their

> cereal saddens me. She is no where near that stage yet, although I

do see her

> slipping in ways that I mentioned in my original post. Without her

cooperation on

> the helper issue she will wind up being placed sooner than later.

Another

> sadness. .

>

> I am wondering if mom has a UTI. I will have her checked. Back in

Feb after

> her move which was very stressful for everyone her behavior was so

terrible.

> I asked the Dr to check for UTI and sure enough she had one. This

UTI

> business is a very valuable piece of info I gathered here with this

group.

>

> Do you know why your dad's Dr prescribed the Zyprexa? Our Dr seems

to think

> it will mellow out her behavior

>

> Thanks

> & ginny

>

>

>

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http://www.aol.com.

>

>

>