Has anyone had a loved one prescribed Zyproxa (Olansapine) for use at night to calm anxiety in an Alzheimer's patient?
My Dad is up a lot during the night, wandering and yelling, trying to hold up the walls, etc. He'll be that way every two or three nights, along with his sundowning in the evenings, giving my Mom very little sleep. The doctor today decided to stop the Seroquel that Dad has been taking AM and PM, and put him on a 5mg tablet of Zyproxa to start. He hopes that this will be a way to keep him awake more during the day, to expend what energy he might have, and calm him down at night so he'll sleep or at least not be as disruptive as he has been. He doesn't want to just add a med and keep him doped up like a zombie, which we agree with. Has anyone had experience with this med? My husband said its something in the same range as Valium and is used to calm people down. Would like any feedback anyone might have!
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Long before her dementia was diagnosed (but she HAD it for a couple of years before diagnosis, but even long before that), it was her habit to get up and wonder around at night, eventually sitting in her rocking chair in the living room and dozing off before she would get up and go back to bed. But the typical bad judgment of dementia was ever present and she became a fall risk. Plus she just wasn't getting enough sleep. During a hospitalization after another fall, I asked her doctor for a neuro consult. That's when her dementia was diagnosed and the nurses notes profiled her insomnia. There was a little trial and error, but eventually what worked for her was Buspar during the day to calm her anxiety and Trazodone at bedtime for sleeping. It worked pretty well. She would get about 6 or 7 solid hours of sleep, which helped me too because I wasn't up all night. My mom had drug-induced dementia from the over prescribing of anticholinergic medications. Traz & Busp are not anticholinergic so she was permitted to have them.
My aunt took too the seroquel (another antipsychotic drug) and did not worked too for her.
My aunt until we started some nutritional supplements , she used to have a very agressive and agitated behavior, giving punchs in the caregiver, yelling all the night, crying all the day , with delusions and hallucinations all the time , trying to scape “to go home” all the time, with sundowning , etc.
All that “mad” behaviors STOPPED when we started to gives in an empirical way , without NONE scientific foundation THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTS associated to a very small dose of na antipsychotic drug prescribed by her PHYSICIAN ( only the PHYSICIAN of the patient can prescribes and gives permission to use that supplements and antipsychotic drugs ) :
Now we use to gives every day (but do NOT gives without the permission of the PHYSICIAN of the patient) :
a) EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL We gives a TEA SPOON of extra virgin coconut oil THREE times a day.
b) GLUCOSAMINE SULFATE (The joint supplement) - 400 miligrams of glucosamine sulfate thre to four times a day ,
c) L-CARNOSINE - a small dose of 80 miligrams of three times a day of L-carnosine , that is a a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine that is presente in large amounts in chicken chest ,
d) ACETYL L CARNITINE - the so called ALCAR , that is a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine that is presente in meat,and that we gives doses of 60 miligrams four times a day.(it is not L-carnitine , but is Acetyl L Carnitine).
e) L-GLUCURONOLACTONE – a substance that it byproduct , the Glucaric Acid is present in large amounts in apples and broccoli. We gives 300 miligrams three to four times a day
We started to gives that supplements in 2009 , and since 2009 , all HER MAD BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN CONTROLLED with the use of that supplements , and she started to be calm, without agressiviness, without delusions, without hallucinationss, , without yellss,and surprisingly very kind to the caregiver that she used to gives strong punchs.
But ONLY THE PHYSICIAN OF THE PATIENT can prescribes or not that supplements. This is only na anedoctal report without NONE scientific foundation, but only by empirical use.
Do NOT gives NONE supplement or medicine drug without the prescription and permission of the PHYSICIAN OF THE PATIENT. If someone wants to knows about extra virgin coconut oil in Alzheimer disease and other dementias , only search in google with the words : Mary Newport coconut oil Alzheimer.
If someone wants to knows about L-CARNOSINE in Alzheimer disease and other dementias , only search in google with the words : L-CARNOSINE ALZHEIMER DISEASE
If someone wants to knows about ACETYL L CARNITINE in Alzheimer disease and other dementias , only search in google with the words : ACETYL L CARNITINE ALZHEIMER DISEASE
ACETYL L CARNITINE is a dipeptide with the amino acids lysine and methionine ,present in meat ...
L-CARNOSINE - L-carnosine is a a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine that is present in large amounts in chicken chest .,
ABOUT ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS AS ZYPREXA, SEROQUEL , etc :
Patients that takes ANY TYPE of antipsychotic drugs (always under PHYSICIAN prescription) have to take measures of blood pressure and heart beat four times a day.
If the patient is taking an antipsychotic drug (always under physician prescrption) , the patient can have sudden falls in blood pressure that are harmful to the patient ,and can have too disorders in heart beat caused by the antipsychotic drug.
If a patient is taking any type of antipsychotic drugs (as zyprexa, seroquel,etc), the caregiver verify the blood pressure and heart beat 3 to 4 times a day , the caregiver can detect some heart and blood pressure side effects that have to be reported to the doctor of the patient imediatly.
Zyprexa is NOT in the same range of Valium and of none benzodiazepine drug.
Never gives Zyprexa and Valium together because is very threatening to health.(dangerous).
Zyprexa is a powerful antipsychotic drug.
Valium (a type of benxzodiazepine) , is a powerful ansiolitic drug;
Needless to say, we decided to call the doctor and let him know of the problems and to tell him we'd rather have Dad back on the Seroquel. He had routines set up while on Seroquel -- went to the bathroom aided at the same times every day, got up at night by himself to use the bathroom, etc. Those routines went by the wayside with the Zyprexa. Mom said that she would rather have him as he was before, even though he got up during the night two or three times a week and wandered through the house, yelling her name, holding up the walls, etc. At least he wasn't quite so bad during the days. According to the doctor the Zyprexa should have calmed him down, should have made him less anxious, wouldn't work like a sedative. I guess it calmed him down to the point that he was unconscious!!! I know its hard to prescribe meds to dementia patients and it often takes much trial and error to find the right meds. I wouldn't want him on Zyprexa ever again!