I posted a thread on this subject in January, debating whether such a stay would help my husband. At that time, I decided against it. In the following months, his behavior (compliance with care) deteriorated to the point that in March, I decided to try it. He was admitted to a local care facility (not a hopsital) by his neuro. This is the equivalent of a subacute unit of a NH, but the area he was in only handles dementia patients who have behavioral issues and need their meds redone. The normal stay is 2 to 3 weeks, I drove him there myself. When he asked where we were, I told him it was a hotel, and he was fine with that. We went in and were escorted to the locked dementia unit; a nurse practitioner examined him and mentioned I'd be leaving. That was when I told him my "story" -- I was going to a women's conference and it wasn't safe for him to stay home alone, so I booked this hotel so he could have meals and company. His response was "ok". He asked again about 5 more times, always saying "ok" to the answer.
His doctor emailed me and said "I am so glad he's here. He is behaving like an unmedicated patient." Apparently, after approx. 4 yrs, the blessed Seroquel had stopped working. He was kept there 13 days, meds completely revamped, he did fine (with one exception--he went into another patient's room, when the staff tried to remove him, he hit two staff members. They took it in stride.)
He is now on Zyprexa insted of Seroquel and they also put him on a new drug, Prazosin, because he has urine retention. I didn't know it, but even a bladder that doesn't empty completely can cause agitation in a dementia patient. Made a few other changes and he is now back to being sweet and compliant. All the things that had become impossible (showering, shampooing hair, taking meds, personal grooming, changing clothing) are easy. His appetite has really picked up, he has more energy, he wants to go out all the time, etc. Even his communication skills have improved--he now asks for food, drinks, says when he needs the bathroom. In some ways this has turned the clock back several years. Also, I have checked with his old daycare program and they want him back--so if his neuro agrees--will try that again for a few days a week.
So I want all of you to know about this option. If you have the right doctor, the right facility, etc., it can work well. If he ever needs it again in the future, I will not hesitate to do it. The lesson I learned is--do not attribute all changes to disease progression, some can be meds that have stopped working or are even "drugging" the patient.
marilyn its good to hear this has worked so well for your DH. we keep saying meds need adjustments as the effects tend to wear off within time. we also have said its near impossible to work thru this journey without the proper meds to control behaviors. keeping one step ahead with adjustments seems crucial. stay tuned to the blood sugars while on zyprexa. divvi
Sylvia--The Prazosin is for urine retention. It is really a BP medication, but hb already takes something for that, this is in addition (dr. prescribed it before bedtime, so it won't make BP too low during waking hrs and cause problems). They did lots of bladder scans while he was inpatient before and after, and they said it's working. I agree, because he is urinating more frequently. (Urologist put him on Rapaflo last year--didn't work; Avodart gave him delirium--neuro said all bladder meds can be tough for a dementia pt to tolerate). Consequently, this is a completely different class of medication, so far, so good.