Guest guest Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 I am writing--yet again--in bewilderment and frustration for other caregivers. I was contacted by a caregiver who lives in New York regarding her mother who is in an assisted living facility in Sacramento, CA. She is flying out there this week and will handle the situation the best that she can now that she has better information. The daughter was aware of not giving anti-psychotics drugs but had no idea that AMBIEN should not be given. My frustration lies with the doctors who are giving AMBIEN on a regular basis to ANY elderly person (she is 84 years old), let alone a person with LBD. Here is what she wrote: On Sept 2009,and before,she was on the 5 mg Ambien not extended release On November 2009, her dosage was increase to 10 mg Ambien, but not extended release On Feb 2011 her Ambien dosage increased again to 12.5 mg but EXTENDED RELEASE -- RESEARCH SAYS NO ONE SHOULD BE ON IT FOR MORE THAN 2 WEEKS --she's been on it for 8 MONTHS!!! no wonder she can't move or function during the day like she used to!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Norma, Feel free to provide my contact info to your group member as I coordinate the LBD support group in Northern CA. Ambien (zolpidem) is not on any MD's " do not give to LBD patients " list. Ambien is one of those meds that works fine in some, and works terribly in others. Locally, we hear more problems with Ambien CR than regular Ambien. According to rxlist.com, the elderly can be especially sensitive to Ambien, and the dosage should be no higher than 5mg daily. You might look on a website such as rxlist.com to confirm the caregiver's note that Ambien shouldn't be given for longer than 2 weeks. (I didn't see anything about it but I only glanced at the material.) Has the mother been monitored closely this entire time by the family (or whomever the family has assigned this important monitoring task)? It's not clear if the mother's problems are due to Ambien or the decline seen typically in LBD. But, I agree, that the use of Ambien at higher than 5mg dosing should be challenged. Robin > > On Sept 2009,and before,she was on the 5 mg Ambien not extended release > On November 2009, her dosage was increase to 10 mg Ambien, but not extended release > On Feb 2011 her Ambien dosage increased again to 12.5 mg but EXTENDED RELEASE -- RESEARCH SAYS NO ONE SHOULD BE ON IT FOR MORE THAN 2 WEEKS --she's been on it for 8 MONTHS!!! no wonder she can't move or function during the day like she used to!!! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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