Help I am at my wits end. Dh thinks we don't live in this house where we have lived for 26 years. He is following me from room to room wanting to know when we are leaving and what arrangements I have made. My sister is leaving tomorrow and I'm trying to talk with her and he is absolutely bugging me to death . He hit the door by my head this a.m. and scared my poor sister. I told her he had done this before and had not hit me. We've tried to get him to watch the golf channel which has helped before but today he just said are we watching this g.d. golf all day.It is 106 here today so too dangerous to be outside and he keeps going out and turning on the faucet. He had water running almost into the garage before I noticed it. I don't know how to be a caregiver!!! He got me a drink of water so I could get him away from my shoulder. he was reading what I'm writing. My sister is worried and I told her he had not done this before. Everyday is an adventure that's for sure. He has just started on Namenda 5 mg once a day this will be increased gradually over the month to 10 mg twice a day. I sure hope this helps. Tried to call doctor and of course they are off for the weekend. I guess if he gets too aggressive I'll try to get him to ER. Ironically it is 2 years 4th of July that he had the stroke that took my dear Frank away and left him in this condition. As others say I HATE THIS DISEASE!!!
Sounds like you're going to need something in the anti-psychotic family...seroquel, zyprexa, ativan. Yes to the ER if it gets beyond managing. Otherwise, you must seek advice from the doc asap.
Oh flo, I don't know what to tell you. I know how frustrating that can be because before my DH was out on Seroquel he was like that. I knowt he Namenda helps with agitation, but not like Seroquel. You just might have to get him to the ER if it gets much worse. A few weeks ago my DH started with the aggression again & he got up in my face & usually I would get right up in his too & he would back down, But this time he grabbed my wrists. I pulled away from him & walked away. A few days after that we were in the kitchen & he was so angry that he started to pick up a chair. I calmed him down before he actually picked it up, but it scarred the crap out of me. I called my daughter (who lives across the street (I was crying) m& I told her that I didn't know what to do. She told me if it happened again I would have to call the police. I had previously called the non emergency # & explained that my husband has AZ & asked what they would do if I called them because he got violent. They told me that they would transport him to the hospital. Well I decided to start giving him another dose of Seroquel in the morning (I was only giving it to him in the evening. It's been about 2 weeks now & since it is in his system now he has calmed right down. Would your DH go to the ER if you asked him to? If he would get violent you might have to call the police. Maybe you should call the non emergency # & ask what they would do if you called because he got violent. (just a thought).
Have you called his doctor?? I think he might prescribe Ativan and it should help alot. I think everyone that has a spouse who has Ad. should have a prescription of Ativan on hand and when they seem to be getting aggitated then start with just one half and increase if needed. Of course, your doctor will tell you what to do...I would call him.
Flo, Elaine, mine is doing the very same thing. slamming and hitting everything he passes. it's 7.30am here, and he's showered and dressed ready to go out...I'm still in my Pj's..nowhere is open yet! On top of all this stuff going on, we lost our side fence in a crazy storm last week, i'm the one who has to deal with the insurance and all all the other stuff to get it fixed I hate this...had enough!
We went through the agitation and violence a year ago. His primary care Dr had put him on an antidepressant and Aricept. It had helped calm him some. After a month we got new 90 day refills and a couple days later he flushed the whole 2 bottles down the toilet. I let it go for a while and he started getting angry at everything. Told me every day that he was going to divorce me. He was grabbing me by the neck and and shaking me. Throwing coffee mugs at me (he missed every time but we went through a lot of mugs). I kept a suitcase packed and my cell phone in my pocket all the time. Finally we had a few really wild days when he was breaking windows, trying to break the car windows with a big rock and the day he came at both my daughter and I with a big iron pry bar. Then I did call the police. They listened to the story and then convinced him to voluntarily go to the hospital for evaluation. He spent the weekend and saw a nurologist. Since then we have kept him on the meds. Now a year later he is calmer and not so argumentative. My MD says she thinks that as the disease peogresses they run out of energy to be fighting all the time.
flo, I'm so sorry you're going thru this- I know how upsetting it is because we've been thru it before and we're going thru it now as well. DH's new geri-psych won't prescribe anything to take theedge off-she wants me to call her and wait for her to return the call. Thank god the other geri-psych prescribed klonopin to use in these situations, so at least I have that.
flo, I know many people on this board have had success wih Namenda, but it did NOT work for DH-in fact it made him so violent I had to call the police because he tried to kill me. A nurse in an ALZ ALF told me that when she gave her residents Namenda, 25% of them became aggressive. So it can make someone aggressive. DH is on seroquel which has worked well generally but we still have moments like what we're going thru now.
Thanks to all - Why do these things seem to happen on a weekend? Maybe they don't but it seems any serious incident dh has ever had was on a weekend and a holiday weekend. Oh well. I'm going to call the doctor Monday - don't want to go to ER unless I feel really threatened because although our hospital is regional so better than most small towns there isn't a neuro on staff there so I'd be getting an ER doctor who might or might not subscribe what would help. I'm going to ask pcp about Seroquel. Another thing I thought might have contributed is his wanting all my attention and like a naughty child he was aggravating me. i.e. any attention is better than none - because my sister was leaving and we were just sitting talking about all kind of memories, etc. Today she has gone and he is watching (sleeping) in front of the tv. Whatever it is I am so thankful for the quiet I have this a.m. I hope yesterday is never repeated but I hope to be forearmed. (is that a word?)
If I had a day like that, it would've been (mugs x -2) if you get my drift. I can throw and miss as good as the next person! Lloyd has been through the sundowning thing. He dozes off a lot. And if he is antsy, I just let him roam the house at will and leave him alone. He got up at 5:30 this morning. I finally got up a few hours later (bad me!) and he was roaming the house with a can of cherry pie filling. Fairly harmless most of the time.