My experience is practitioners push it like candy or say it’s extremely dangerous in the elderly. It accumulates in the body and can have increase in falls. My 88-year-old mother has difficulty with her mobility from arthritis and a spinal cord injury and cannot fully stand by herself, walks with a high walker. She has vascular dementia and difficulty sleeping, and anxiety. Have tried multiple drugs (melatonin, trazodone, and currently Seroquel) work at first, but then stop working or she has bad side effects. Currently have been suggested Abilify and risperidone. Any feedback would be extremely helpful ,thank you so much.
Good luck to you.
I would tell these practitioners that at 88, addiction isn’t a realistic concern.
Mom's PCP would not prescribe benzos as they are linked to falls.
They are also linked to causing dementia.
My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 10 years ago, and he is now in the later stages of the disease. He tends to experience agitation and aggression more than anxiety. He also previously exhibited sleeplessness and nighttime wandering.
Seroquel, 50 mg, and melatonin pretty much solved the sleep disturbances. Xanax, .25 mg, as needed resolved most of the agitation/aggressiveness issues.
When my father was first prescribed Xanax, I gave him half pills. .25 mg is the lowest dosage, so he was getting 1/2 of the lowest dosage. As he has built up a tolerance, I have had to start giving him whole pills, but he is still at the .25 mg level.
I have never given him the Xanax on a regular schedule. Instead, I only administer when needed. I’ve learned to identify cues for when his agitation is about to start and give him the Xanax preemptively. Usually by the time the agitation starts, the Xanax has begun to take effect and he will calm down shortly. It should be noted that my father has 24-7 care. He is monitored all the time, even when he is asleep, with cameras and pressure alarms.
At the low dose my father is on, I’ve never seen him “high” or unstable. He does have some balance/walking issues unrelated to the medication but, as mentioned above, he always has someone around to help him ambulate.
Some of my extended family members were initially critical of me choosing to give him Xanax. Indeed, I even had one who told me that I did not need to “drug him up just so you don’t have to deal with him.” After observing my father on the Xanax, she realized that I was not drugging him up and the only effect was that he calmed down.
Benzodiazepines have a bad reputation because they can be abused. Nevertheless, it has been my experience that if they are given at a low dose, only when needed, they can be extremely effective in reducing agitation and aggression.
Also, others have said, you have to try different methods until you find what works. Further, you should be prepared to adjust over time as things change (ie., what works now may not work later).
for decades. It helps with anxiety. I was away and ran out of Xanax. It was 4 days until I got home to take a dose. I had no withdrawal symptoms other than being a bit anxious. Missing a dose will not put a person in withdrawal.
But I'm going to share my experience with it.
We were having a very difficult time with one of my sons. Doctor put me on antidepressants and gave me ten Xanax. He was very careful to not get me addicted.
So anyways, my son burnt a hole abandoned mill down accidentally.
I'm sure you can understand that I was quite a mess.
So I took one Xanax, I literally felt so much at peace. I can tell you I never took another, because I new right then that I liked it, too much.
And I also know that if I'm ever in your moms position, I'd want Xanax.
I hope that was helpful to you.
Best of luck, so sorry about your mom
If you decide to go that route, sounds like Valium would be the best. Shorter half life, can help with muscle spasms and other spinal problems.
Each patient reacts differently and the only way to tell would be to experiment.
The thing to watch for is that she doesn't end up on a drug cocktail with three or four or five different drugs. Be cautious.
One thing to keep in mind with drugs like this, the patient can develop a tolerance, meaning the dosage may need to be increased over time, and they may develop withdrawal symptoms (more anxiety) when a dose is missed. That would be with regular, daily use. Occasional use can be pretty effective.
The drugs you mention, Abilify and risperidone are Not benzodiazapines, but antipsychotic medications. They can cause a side effect called tardive dyskenesia, or involuntary movements. And this class of drugs is not indicated for elderly dementia patients.
My husband with vascular dementia was prescribed risperidone, and developed the uncontrollable movements, and otherwise no noticeable effect on his mood or calming of anxiety. After stopping this drug, it took at least 6 months before the involuntary movements went away. One was moving his head from side to side. Try looking at something and moving your head from side to side. It will make you dizzy and unable to focus! I can't imagine how uncomfortable that had to be for him!
Yes, I would give the benzodiazepines a try. But I would not recommend antipsychotics for her condition.
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