I have to say that before I found you all here all I heard about AZ patients were sweet calm people with no memory...Hah!
Even the TV commercials..(especially Aricept ones) show the patient as happy and content..again I say, Hah!
I would hear stories about these calm, contented patients and think why can't I have one of those!
But with your stories I hear reality.
My mom was always the life of the party and now she is like your mom, Deb, angry and depressed..and God knows she has reason to be but it is so wearing on the rest of us.
I talked to her for a split second yesterday and then got off the phone before she started the complaints about her meds and how they must think she is stupid since they have to hand them to her.

My mom is the opposite in that she thinks she can do it all herself...much like a toddler...I can do it!

I am probably responding to several different threads in one here but sometimes they do tend to run together in my mind so forgive me for rambling all over the place.

Talking about peaks and valleys. What surprised me just recently is that after an especially high peak came such a low valley. It does whip you around doesn't it.

I was going to say more but forgot what it was...uh oh...does that mean I have it too??...don't we all think that when we forget things!!

Meg

Don't you just love the Aricept commercial with the two daughters that obviouslyl are joined in caring for the loving sweet Dad who is peacefully playing a game. What a perfect picture of hope. I am sure there are some of those out there but it's definitely not true in so many cases. What I see is the sisters bickering and the loved one acting out.

Speaking of Aricept. Mom and Dad's doctor has mentioned that we might start thinking about taking them both off the Aricept and Namenda. Because of Dad's type of Dementia (Vascular) and the severity of Mom's ALZ she doesn't think it is having positive effects. Not that it is having negative effects that we recognize but they are both outside or beyond it's beneficial stage. It was obvious the way she tiptoed around the issue. Three of the four daughters tend to agree. We are not sure where the other sister stands. Just one more hard decision to be made.....

Love, Deb

[COLOR="Navy"]Deb,

I took Mom off of Aricept and Namenda, and Dad. The doctor felt that it wasn't doing any significant good for Mom so we stopped both of them. I was very tight with Mom's nurses, they were more like family, and we didn't see any major changes in her behavior or in the speed of her decline when we removed them.

We had dad on Aricept for awhile, We took him off of it. I don't think that it was doing any good with the vascular dementia. and his AAA. WE also took him off of his colesterol medicine. He had a great doctor that said, at this age why worry about that also?

Good luck. I couldn't see any difference in either parent after removing the drugs.....

Well. Here is a subject I haven't blogged about, but is near and dear to my heart...overmedication!

Dad is 82. Stage 5-6 of dementia...and various doctors (cardiologist, gp, urologist, etc) had him on: Caduet, Metroprolol, Nitro...just a HOST of meds. One by one, and with gp permission, I took him off them. The Caduet was the lowest possible dose, as was the metrolprolol, but made his blood pressure just tank. The nitro? He hasn't had angina in years. Lipitor? 10mg? Holy smoke, I take 40mg, forgoodnesssake. No point in 10mg at dad's age. Aricept? Made him nauseated, and it's all I can do to get him to eat now, let alone with a tummy upset. Off. Naminda? Made him dizzy.

Bottom line? Nothing was the "cure all", nothing helped, and everything just exaserbated his underlying problems.

His meds now? 1 325 aspirin a day, and stool softener. That's it. And you know what difference it made? Zero. Zip. Nada. - except he feels BETTER!!!!!

Use the good judgement inate within you, and if the medicine seems to be hurting instead of helping....

...deb