1st January 2006
Most of hubby's tests are scheduled for January 17th. The neuropsych exam Feb. 14th.
He is on 2 new meds. One (Trileptal) is an anti-seizure med and he's in the first stage of the dosage (will ramp up to double or more what he's on now). The other (Trazodone) was prescribed as a sleep aid - but it's an anti-depressant. Actually, Trileptal is sometimes used to treat bipolar disorder or depression also. Anyway, the meds seem to be making his disposition more pleasant. I don't know how much is actual change - and how much is him joking around. He's always used humor as a coping mechanism - and he's decided that having dementia is a great excuse to get away with all kinds of things... so he's getting all the joking mileage out of that that he can. Does anyone watch Boston Legal? William Shatner plays a lawyer that is suffering some dementia but he tells everyone he has "mad cow disease" - so hubby is also using that as a joke. I know he's actually scared though.
In addition to being kind of goofy pleasant, he's also seeming more unstable on his feet - which is a side effect of the sleep/anti-depressant drug - so he might not be able to continue on that. Actually since there are two new drugs, I don't know which is the likely cause of either the change in disposition or the lack of the coordination. I'm going to see how things go for the new few days and then call the doctor if he seems to have any continuing negative side effects. Until then, I hope this goofy pleasantness continues!
Happy New Year to you all.
He is on 2 new meds. One (Trileptal) is an anti-seizure med and he's in the first stage of the dosage (will ramp up to double or more what he's on now). The other (Trazodone) was prescribed as a sleep aid - but it's an anti-depressant. Actually, Trileptal is sometimes used to treat bipolar disorder or depression also. Anyway, the meds seem to be making his disposition more pleasant. I don't know how much is actual change - and how much is him joking around. He's always used humor as a coping mechanism - and he's decided that having dementia is a great excuse to get away with all kinds of things... so he's getting all the joking mileage out of that that he can. Does anyone watch Boston Legal? William Shatner plays a lawyer that is suffering some dementia but he tells everyone he has "mad cow disease" - so hubby is also using that as a joke. I know he's actually scared though.
In addition to being kind of goofy pleasant, he's also seeming more unstable on his feet - which is a side effect of the sleep/anti-depressant drug - so he might not be able to continue on that. Actually since there are two new drugs, I don't know which is the likely cause of either the change in disposition or the lack of the coordination. I'm going to see how things go for the new few days and then call the doctor if he seems to have any continuing negative side effects. Until then, I hope this goofy pleasantness continues!
Happy New Year to you all.