My 86 year old husband has moderate dementia, which he does not recognize (as is common). He is no longer driving, but wants his license back. He won’t get it, but he focuses so much on what he’s lost. He’s anxious anyway, but it’s worse now. Are there medications that have helped your LOs?
Best of luck to you.
edited to add:
Im seeing others saying there were eventually hallucinations? with Seroquel. I’m glad to know bc I’ll be watching mom for that. Mom had hallucinations when her anxiety was untreated. She has been taking Seroquel@ 12.5 mg. I wonder if others are taking the same dose or more than that?
After a while, the user builds up a tolerance, and need more of the drug for it to be effective. Just be careful of falling into that trap. Anti-anxiety meds are best used for occasional use, as needed. (or short-term, if you're looking at end-of-life)
Doctors tried so many different anti-anxiety meds for my husband, and then, tried different anti-psychotic medications. Those, too have unwanted side-effects! And none of them were effective!
Everybody responds differently to different medications.
I think you need to start with the doctor's recommendation, and maybe try a few different medications to see what your person responds best to.
When my husband was not responding well to any of the anxiety and psych medications, I managed to slowly wean him off all. I finally settled on a low-dose Depakote, and a low dose of Trazodone. Both non-addictive, and have very little chance of negative side effects.
I use daily at bedtime, which helps him fall asleep, and as needed when he is particularly anxious during the day.
Good luck. Work with his doctor to find the best medication for him.
Source: https://www.thehopehouse.com/escitalopram-lexapro-addiction/#:~:text=It%20is%20important%20to%20understand,used%20for%20a%20prolonged%20period.
It is not a controlled substance but one should never stop taking without the guidance of their physician, as is true of most of the meds for depression, anxiety, mental illness, etc.
When she had sundowning anxiety we would give 200 mg at 4:00 pm followed by 200 mg at 7:00 or 8:00 pm before bed. This also helped with sleep.
Walking outside and being in the sunshine also helped.
try giving to my mom. Does it need to be glycinate? Did it give her diarrhea?
For sundowning, sleepwalking, aural/visual hallucinations etc she has two Quetiapine (Seroquel) scripts. One is a 50mg extended release taken 1 tab at bedtime, the other is for 25mg fast acting tabs. The fast-acting dose has increased over time. Her Dr. increased the fast-acting dose up to 3 tabs at bedtime about 6 weeks ago. That additional 25 mg has improved both of our quality of life. She's at peace more with the hallucinations and is able to sleep better and stay in bed better thought the night, and I haven't been cussed out in over a month.
Her PCP controls the Bupropion (Wellbutrin) prescription.
Her Neuro Dr. controls the Quetiapine (Seroquel) prescriptions.
I think the main thing is to be open and honest with your Dr(s).