I care for my dad 24/7. He has prostate cancer and dementia. As soon as he went to see geriatric doctor, (5 yrs ago) he was put on haldol for dementia. He's been on hospice now for almost a year, and they put him on Seroquel and Ativan after I told them the Haldol was not working. When I learned how dangerous Seroquel was for the elderly with dementia, I asked them to take him off, but they talked me out of it. They said the benefits out weigh the bad. He's had hallucinacions, and gets aggitated. Of course they just say give him more. Even sleep medication and benedryl barely affect him!! He's broken out now with terrible rash, that they can't figure out why, and I looked up the medications' side effect, and BOTH seroquel and ativan causes itchy rashes! Now he has to take benedryl for that. My dad's going down hill it seems. True, he is on hospice, but it seems the medicaitons do more harm than good. Has anyone tried a more natural approach or different medication for dementia? I'm losing my mind.....and sleep, and health! He never sleeps through the night!
If I had the money, I'd see a naturopath or homeopath, but there can be problems with the compounds they recommend if any of the ingredients in the compounds are sourced from emerging markets with little if any quality control.
Still, we find natural solutions as much as possible. Herb Quarterly is one magazine I read - it has a lot of natural solutions for medical issues.
My dad goes to NH and hospice unit for respite, or UTIs, and when I visit him, I notice all the patients are all doped up... I'm sure on seroquel and ativan.
I appreciate all of your input!