Serequel was a last resort, but helped right away. She has been taking very low doses of serequel, 25 mg at night and 12 mg in am for about 2 months which has helped drastically until the last week where she is now hitting her husband, accusing him of stealing from her, and seeing and bringng women in their house and bed, when she is there and when she is not there. Of course, if we try to reason with her, she can't think rationally, and believes her thoughts are facts. It has gotten so bad that it has come real close to having her put on a 72 hour hold at the psych ward (this is the same way she was acting before she started taking Serequel). She has Kaiser (I don't trust them) Advice? I would like to get her off the Serequel. Are there any natural ways to help my poor mother? She was always the sweetest most loving person and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
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Q: Mom has beginning Alzheimers and when became highly agitated aggressive now taking serequel
Hi, Breaks My Heart,
I am so sorry about what is happening with your mother. My mom also experienced paranoia, accusing my father of stealing from her.
I am not familiar with the medications that you've mentioned, but if I were in your shoes, I'd call your mom's doctor and explain what is happening. There may be different medications that might be better for your mom.
Also, I'm not aware of any "natural" ways of stemming the issue, other than possibly not seeing the husband for awhile. In our family's case, Mom was placed on medications that stopped the paranoia. What also helped was that she didn't see my father for several months (she was placed in a nursing home near me while my father went back to their home to handle making moving arrangements). The distance between the two seemed to help her brain to eventually "break the habit" of verbally attacking him every time she saw him.
The other thing that I'd suggest is the approach that your mom's husband may be taking with her. When my parents were living together and Mom was suffering from mild cognitive impairment, my father often bluntly pointed out Mom's failings, which sounded like criticism to my mother. For instance, he'd say, "Betty, you just are not remembering things at all. You just (insert whatever the latest thing she had forgotten to do). You really must see a doctor." That just made Mom mad, and thus began a vicious cycle that I believe became a habit which was ingrained in her brain and which caused her to lash out at him as the dementia and paranoia took over. I tried to encourage my father to take a different conversational tact, but that didn't happen until too late. For instance, I counseled my father to say something like the following in trying to get her to go see the doctor about her memory issues: "You know, Betty, you've mentioned that you are woried about your memory. I love you a lot and know this is scary for you. Do you want to go see the doctor about your memory? I'll be there to support you, because I know how difficult this visit may be for you." So that would be my other possible advice to your family - think about what you want to say and then say it in a non-aggressive and non-critical manner.
Take care and keep us posted!
Dorian
See my posts under "Kathy Walker". We have been in a whirlwind since June of this year when my Alz dad turned violent. My mom had been keeping him @ home since his diagnosis in 2000 and intended to keep him until his death. But on Father's Day, we "kids" saw how bruised she was (the one around her neck was the final straw!) and we had him committed to a behavioral center. Since then, we've been in a revolving door we can't seem to get out of.....Emergency Room/Behavioral Center/Nursing home....we've been through this cycle 3 times and tomorrow, he will be placed in his third nursing home w/Alz unit. I'm a little more optimistic this time that he will "make it" at this nursing home because the dr. @ the behavioral ctr this time seems to have found the proper dosage of meds for him to control the aggression.---plus he is weaker, having lost from 220 down to 170.
Ask your dr to try Depakote on your mom. The dosages have to be played with to see what controls the aggression, but doesn't make a zombie out of her. Dad currently is taking 250mg (sprinkle form for food because he has trouble swallowing) at 9am; 500mg at 3pm; and 500mg at 9pm. He actually sleeps 5-6 hrs at a stretch at night now instead of angrily pacing all night. Just a suggestion.....I know that what works for one Alz patient doesn't work for others. Good luck and God bless you & your family....there are a LOT of us out there!
Kathy Walker
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