Re: Confused - Neurontin?

[Guest guest]

-

I was wondering about the Neurontin. Is it a new medicine for her?

If so, what dose is she on, and at what intervals have you increased

it, and by how much?

Here's why I ask - we had quite a challenge with Neurontin and my

Dad. My father is on it for some peripheral nerve pain from a back

problem and dosing it can be a really tricky thing with an LBD LO.

It effected him physically more than behaviorally, but here's his

story...

My father reacted very poorly on it initially, when it was increased

too much and too fast, with decreased balance, increased confusion,

clumsiness, manual dexterity problems, and verbal slurring.

Initially, Dad was living alone and started at 300 mgs, and

increased another 300 mgs every 3 days until he was at 900 mgs. His

thinking got worse and worse.

Later, after a surgery, the doctor put him on even more and he was

practically incoherent. (I was out of town at the time on vacation

when my dad had this surgery, and when I called him post-surgery, he

was in the worst shape I'd ever heard him. I quickly called the

surgeon's office and the nurse's desk at the hospital and got him

off of the Neurontin.) He got better and better as the medicine

wore off.

Then, after I brought him to live with me, 2 months later, we tried

the Neurontin again, but this time I managed the increases through

his neurologist. We started low, and increased 100 mgs every 4 or 5

days - which is MUCH slower, and even then he took 48 hours to

adjust to the increase. We are now at 1800 mgs a day, and he has

had no problems with the dosage any longer.

Your mother's LBD sounds much more advanced than my father's, but if

there's anything about the Neurontin I can help you with, please let

me know!

> Hi, I am relatively new to this site having posted a question

> earlier. I apologize in advance..this may be long but I just want

to

> list some of the problems with my Mom. I have been reading the

> messages almost every day and also looked into some of the files

for

> more info. I am just so confused about my mother who lives with

us,

> and what to do to help her. Her family physician thinks she may

have

> LBD but she also has AD symptoms. We have also taken her to a

> geriatric psychiatrist who is currently trying to find the right

> combination of medication to try to calm her.Her behavior can

change

> in a matter if minutes and we have adjusted dosages on Seroquel

and

> Neurontin about 4 times in the last few weeks. Nothing seems to

> help. Either she is in a stupor and talking to people who aren't

> there or when the meds are decreased she goes back to the angry

> behavior. Once she calms down she will cry for a long time then

> finally crash and sleep for a while. She does sleep throught the

> night but will not sleep at all during the day and gets mad if we

> suggest she take a nap.

>

> She is currently taking Seroquel, Aricept, Effexor, Remeron and

> Neurontin. She is depressed, confused, paranoid, anxious,

agitated,

> angry, aggressive & hostile in varying degrees at various times.

She

> is very unsteady walking, shuffles her feet and it's hard for her

to

> get out of a chair or get her balance at times. Sometimes she can

> walk up a few stairs with her cane with no problems. She gets

upset

> and/or angry when we won't let her do something (cook, wash

dishes,

> etc.) She just has no idea what she is doing. She hides things

> or " straightens up " in her room, then says people are coming into

her

> room and taking things. She can dress herself but lately it seems

to

> be more difficult for her (taking longer and longer). She has

just

> started not making it to the bathroom on time. I don't know if

she

> waits too long or has lost control of her bladder. It does not

> happen all the time.

>

> We are so worn out from the continuous roller coaster and trying

to

> work out respite care for a few days next week. I think we all

need

> it! Has anyone taken their LO to a nursing home for a few days of

> respite care? If so, how did it go?

>

> Does anyone have any suggestions about dealing with my Mom? The

> psychiatrist is very good at listening to us and seems genuinely

> concerned. I believe she is really trying to help and she thanked

me

> for being so patient with the process. But I think I am beginning

to

> lose patience.

>

> Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations! I think it has helped!

> If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I would love to hear

them.

>

>

[Guest guest]

, thanks for your response. Yes, the Neurontin is fairly new,

it was started in January and at first she was taking 100 mg 3 times

a day along with 50 mg of Seroquel 2 times a day and 100 at night.

She was still angry and belligerent. The Neurontin was then increased

to 200 mg. 3 times a day. Mom then was having difficulty finding

right words and was pretty lethargic at times. The Dr. thought it

was the Seroquel causing this, so she discontinued the Seroquel

during the day and increased the Neurontin to 300 mg 3 times a day

and changed the Seroquel to 150 mg at night. We made this change

last Thursday.

She is now back to being alternately angry and hostile (cursing and

hitting) to crying all the time. There seems to be no way to calm

her until she goes to bed. I think she is just so exhausted by how

she has acted during the day that she just crashes at night. The

past 2 days have been the same. She is angry and hostile to

everyone, also crying. It is so frustrating. There is no reasoning

with her at all.

The Dr. said to call anytime so I guess I will have to call again. I

don't know what else to do. It is wearing us all out, both mentally

and physically.

> > Hi, I am relatively new to this site having posted a question

> > earlier. I apologize in advance..this may be long but I just want

> to

> > list some of the problems with my Mom. I have been reading the

> > messages almost every day and also looked into some of the files

> for

> > more info. I am just so confused about my mother who lives with

> us,

> > and what to do to help her. Her family physician thinks she may

> have

> > LBD but she also has AD symptoms. We have also taken her to a

> > geriatric psychiatrist who is currently trying to find the right

> > combination of medication to try to calm her.Her behavior can

> change

> > in a matter if minutes and we have adjusted dosages on Seroquel

> and

> > Neurontin about 4 times in the last few weeks. Nothing seems to

> > help. Either she is in a stupor and talking to people who aren't

> > there or when the meds are decreased she goes back to the angry

> > behavior. Once she calms down she will cry for a long time then

> > finally crash and sleep for a while. She does sleep throught

the

> > night but will not sleep at all during the day and gets mad if we

> > suggest she take a nap.

> >

> > She is currently taking Seroquel, Aricept, Effexor, Remeron and

> > Neurontin. She is depressed, confused, paranoid, anxious,

> agitated,

> > angry, aggressive & hostile in varying degrees at various times.

> She

> > is very unsteady walking, shuffles her feet and it's hard for her

> to

> > get out of a chair or get her balance at times. Sometimes she

can

> > walk up a few stairs with her cane with no problems. She gets

> upset

> > and/or angry when we won't let her do something (cook, wash

> dishes,

> > etc.) She just has no idea what she is doing. She hides things

> > or " straightens up " in her room, then says people are coming into

> her

> > room and taking things. She can dress herself but lately it

seems

> to

> > be more difficult for her (taking longer and longer). She has

> just

> > started not making it to the bathroom on time. I don't know if

> she

> > waits too long or has lost control of her bladder. It does not

> > happen all the time.

> >

> > We are so worn out from the continuous roller coaster and trying

> to

> > work out respite care for a few days next week. I think we all

> need

> > it! Has anyone taken their LO to a nursing home for a few days

of

> > respite care? If so, how did it go?

> >

> > Does anyone have any suggestions about dealing with my Mom? The

> > psychiatrist is very good at listening to us and seems genuinely

> > concerned. I believe she is really trying to help and she

thanked

> me

> > for being so patient with the process. But I think I am

beginning

> to

> > lose patience.

> >

> > Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations! I think it has

helped!

> > If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I would love to hear

> them.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

-

I definitely would call the doctor back. Do you also have a

neurologist for your mother? That would be another good resource.

The word finding and lethargy sound a whole lot like what Dad went

through with increasing the Neurontin too fast. Discuss this with

the doctor before you increase it further.

As for the angry and belligerant behavior, I can't help you with

that. It's way out of my experience, as Dad's pretty early on in

his LBD. I have heard of families in situations like yours who wind

up putting their LO in a geriatric psych hospital so that they can

have full time attention until the medicines are straightened out.

In the meantime, make sure you familiarize yourself as much as you

can with LBD. I know you're already well on your way, and there are

lots of files with really good information created by folks on this

board.

> > > Hi, I am relatively new to this site having posted a question

> > > earlier. I apologize in advance..this may be long but I just

want

> > to

> > > list some of the problems with my Mom. I have been reading the

> > > messages almost every day and also looked into some of the

files

> > for

> > > more info. I am just so confused about my mother who lives

with

> > us,

> > > and what to do to help her. Her family physician thinks she

may

> > have

> > > LBD but she also has AD symptoms. We have also taken her to a

> > > geriatric psychiatrist who is currently trying to find the

right

> > > combination of medication to try to calm her.Her behavior can

> > change

> > > in a matter if minutes and we have adjusted dosages on

Seroquel

> > and

> > > Neurontin about 4 times in the last few weeks. Nothing seems

to

> > > help. Either she is in a stupor and talking to people who

aren't

> > > there or when the meds are decreased she goes back to the

angry

> > > behavior. Once she calms down she will cry for a long time

then

> > > finally crash and sleep for a while. She does sleep throught

> the

> > > night but will not sleep at all during the day and gets mad if

we

> > > suggest she take a nap.

> > >

> > > She is currently taking Seroquel, Aricept, Effexor, Remeron

and

> > > Neurontin. She is depressed, confused, paranoid, anxious,

> > agitated,

> > > angry, aggressive & hostile in varying degrees at various

times.

> > She

> > > is very unsteady walking, shuffles her feet and it's hard for

her

> > to

> > > get out of a chair or get her balance at times. Sometimes she

> can

> > > walk up a few stairs with her cane with no problems. She gets

> > upset

> > > and/or angry when we won't let her do something (cook, wash

> > dishes,

> > > etc.) She just has no idea what she is doing. She hides

things

> > > or " straightens up " in her room, then says people are coming

into

> > her

> > > room and taking things. She can dress herself but lately it

> seems

> > to

> > > be more difficult for her (taking longer and longer). She has

> > just

> > > started not making it to the bathroom on time. I don't know

if

> > she

> > > waits too long or has lost control of her bladder. It does

not

> > > happen all the time.

> > >

> > > We are so worn out from the continuous roller coaster and

trying

> > to

> > > work out respite care for a few days next week. I think we

all

> > need

> > > it! Has anyone taken their LO to a nursing home for a few

days

> of

> > > respite care? If so, how did it go?

> > >

> > > Does anyone have any suggestions about dealing with my Mom?

The

> > > psychiatrist is very good at listening to us and seems

genuinely

> > > concerned. I believe she is really trying to help and she

> thanked

> > me

> > > for being so patient with the process. But I think I am

> beginning

> > to

> > > lose patience.

> > >

> > > Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations! I think it has

> helped!

> > > If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I would love to hear

> > them.

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Thanks again. I am going to call the Dr. back and see what she

says. She is usually willing to listen and talk to me.

I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions!

> > > > Hi, I am relatively new to this site having posted a question

> > > > earlier. I apologize in advance..this may be long but I just

> want

> > > to

> > > > list some of the problems with my Mom. I have been reading

the

> > > > messages almost every day and also looked into some of the

> files

> > > for

> > > > more info. I am just so confused about my mother who lives

> with

> > > us,

> > > > and what to do to help her. Her family physician thinks she

> may

> > > have

> > > > LBD but she also has AD symptoms. We have also taken her to

a

> > > > geriatric psychiatrist who is currently trying to find the

> right

> > > > combination of medication to try to calm her.Her behavior can

> > > change

> > > > in a matter if minutes and we have adjusted dosages on

> Seroquel

> > > and

> > > > Neurontin about 4 times in the last few weeks. Nothing seems

> to

> > > > help. Either she is in a stupor and talking to people who

> aren't

> > > > there or when the meds are decreased she goes back to the

> angry

> > > > behavior. Once she calms down she will cry for a long time

> then

> > > > finally crash and sleep for a while. She does sleep

throught

> > the

> > > > night but will not sleep at all during the day and gets mad

if

> we

> > > > suggest she take a nap.

> > > >

> > > > She is currently taking Seroquel, Aricept, Effexor, Remeron

> and

> > > > Neurontin. She is depressed, confused, paranoid, anxious,

> > > agitated,

> > > > angry, aggressive & hostile in varying degrees at various

> times.

> > > She

> > > > is very unsteady walking, shuffles her feet and it's hard for

> her

> > > to

> > > > get out of a chair or get her balance at times. Sometimes

she

> > can

> > > > walk up a few stairs with her cane with no problems. She gets

> > > upset

> > > > and/or angry when we won't let her do something (cook, wash

> > > dishes,

> > > > etc.) She just has no idea what she is doing. She hides

> things

> > > > or " straightens up " in her room, then says people are coming

> into

> > > her

> > > > room and taking things. She can dress herself but lately it

> > seems

> > > to

> > > > be more difficult for her (taking longer and longer). She

has

> > > just

> > > > started not making it to the bathroom on time. I don't know

> if

> > > she

> > > > waits too long or has lost control of her bladder. It does

> not

> > > > happen all the time.

> > > >

> > > > We are so worn out from the continuous roller coaster and

> trying

> > > to

> > > > work out respite care for a few days next week. I think we

> all

> > > need

> > > > it! Has anyone taken their LO to a nursing home for a few

> days

> > of

> > > > respite care? If so, how did it go?

> > > >

> > > > Does anyone have any suggestions about dealing with my Mom?

> The

> > > > psychiatrist is very good at listening to us and seems

> genuinely

> > > > concerned. I believe she is really trying to help and she

> > thanked

> > > me

> > > > for being so patient with the process. But I think I am

> > beginning

> > > to

> > > > lose patience.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations! I think it has

> > helped!

> > > > If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I would love to

hear

> > > them.

> > > >

> > > >