My husband has been in the hospital and was put on zyprexa for aggression - he is completely out of it - his mouth is open eyes shut doesn't even know I am there - so upsetting - anyone else experience this -
My husband was put in the hospital 2 weeks ago for aggression and was the same way when I saw him. They gave him haldol (not sure of spelling). He slowly got through it but it took 2 days before he could swallow and 2 more before he could feed himself. I was shocked and angry. They just want to stop them dead and I thought he was. I am sorry your husband is also going through this. However the week stay was good as they got him stabilized with new meds and is doing well now.
Zyprexa has not been approved for patients with dementia so it must be a last resort. My dh will be taking something soon for mild aggression. From what I read here, I am prepared for the worst. Always such a mild-mannered man so it's hard to believe this is happening.
NONE of the anti psychotic drugs are approved for people with dementia. They all have that warning on them. My dh was always mild mannered also but this disease changes them. Now on a med that works for him.....his sweetness is back. Hope that happens for you too.
My husband was put on Zyprexa when he was sent from the ALF for a geri-psych stay due to smacking another resident who was screaming at him. Seems to be a go-to drug at the geri-psych. I will say that when he left the hospital for a new ALF after 10 days on this med, he was so bound up and constipated that it took another 10 days of enemas, catheters, laxatives, etc. to get him back to normal. They immediately took him off of Zyprexa and once he was 'regular' again, he has been doing quite well at the new ALF. Thank goodness.
Thank you - my husband is only 59 and has always been a calm and gentle man - this is so disturbing - I hope they know what they are doing and some part of him comes back - it has been a week in this geriatric unit and he seems so much worse -
Katie, one of our members, marilyinmd's husband Steve was on Zyprexa I believe for aggression as well. He was also given it at the geri-psych unit and if I am recalling correctly, he was on it for quite a while and it worked for him.
Perhaps a meeting with the treating psychiatrist to discuss your concerns about his condition since being in the unit would help. I met with the staff, including the psychiatrist in charge when my husband was in a geri-psych unit. I actually found them responsive to my questions and requests that they take him immediately off Risperdal because he became a zombie with tremors (from being an alert patient playing basketball). My husband has been mostly on Seroquel, Neurontin and clonopin (in various dosages) for his aggression and they have mostly worked for him.
My husband too was a very kind and gentle man before the dementia devil recruited him to the dark side. His aggression has been the hardest part of this disease for me to accept.
I encourage you to request a meeting to better understand their plans, to have input to his treatment and most of all express your concerns.
elizabeth* 9/2/14 My DH had some episodes of aggression and combativeness--very purposefully trying to punch or choke me--in the month before he died. This was absolutely unheard of for this kind, respectful man who never raised a hand to me or even called me a name…or even displayed bad manners…in all the years of our marriage. Anyway, in the second to the last week before he died, they finally increased the Seroquel and added Depakote…that combo stopped the agitation and aggression, although he slipped into a comatose state shortly thereafter and slept away in a coma to die a week later. Because he was so very frail he was not able to hurt me physically (I could probably have beaten him up with my little finger), but it was emotionally devastating. They had sent some IM Haldol over to the house with a syringe, with the idea that I could give him an intra-muscular injection of that every two weeks, but as I said, he died before that became necessary; plus the Depakote/Seroquel combination was controlling the behaviors at the end. I'm an RN, so could have given the injection, but of course Hospice could have done it, too.
Ok - now they have my husband on seroquel - has any one experienced this drug - this is unreal how out of it he is - I guess this is a process that is going to take some time to get it right -
Katie, my husband has been on Seroquel for 6 years...they started using it while he was in the geri-psych unit (he eloped from the ALF). He's been on various dosages over the years- as low as 125 mgs and as high as 400mgs; he was never on the small amounts some spouses here are taking (12 mg as needed, etc). It has been a very effective medication for helping to control his agitation and aggression. The only time I believe he's had a problem with a reaction to the med was when the dosage was at 400 mgs-landed him in the hospital with seizures. It can make him sleepy during the day if the dosage is too high.
It took the doctors at the geri-psych hospital 3 months to get the right combination of meds to calm my husband where they felt it was safe to let him out of the hospital - so sometimes it does take a while. And they tried many different combination of meds before the got one that worked.
Keep in mind, everyone's chemistry is different and many members here report that their spouses could not take seroquel. For us it has been a godsend. He functions quite well and is not a zombie.
There are several previous posts about different drugs, including Seroquel. I'll look for them.
Katie, My husband was on low doses of Seroquel, off and on. 50 mg would put him to sleep for most of the day and then he'd wake up in the late afternoon and be as nasty and aggressive as ever. 25 mg didn't last as long and then I would give him another dose. We finally changed him to Abilify along with the Celexa he'd been all along. That was the best combination we ever used and he was on it right up to the day before he died.
Well it didn't last! Another episode of aggression at his facility led to the ER again yesterday and he is back in psych ward. He will not be going back to the same care home. So its back to the drawing board. I am so tired of this roller coaster. Will we ever get him stable and calm and will my life level out so Im not on such a stressed out zone. He may be sent to a facility for aggressive patients. I fear for his safety there and don't see him as aggressive per say, just reacting to a situation he doesn't like.
abauche, I wish I was there to hold your hand and give you a big hug. The initial placement is stressful enough but having to find a different facility over and over is beyond stressful. Please try to just take each day as it comes and hope they hit on the right combination of meds to get him leveled out. I believe a lot of the psych meds elevate aggression. I hope during this current hospital stay that can find a combo that works. I believe that caregivers are the cause, due to lack of understanding the ALZ mind, of some of the aggression because that simply want compliance. I send you caring and understanding and I hope all works out for the better (there is no Best with this monster). You deserve a leveling out in your life after this nightmare and I hope you get it soon. ((Hugs))