Question RE Antipsychotic drugs

[choclab511]

Hello,

My mother is somewhere in an advanced stage of CBD or PSP. She's been separately diagnosed with each by 2 different neuros. She is struggling significantly with dementia, asking me for example where my father is (he's been dead for a decade) and has no concept of her disease. The doctor has prescribed Olanzapine, an antipsychotic drug. Has anyone else had any experience with this kind of drug? If so, did it help? I googled it and there seems to be some risk to elderly patients with dementia and looks like it's a bit of a last resort approach. Thoughts?

[Gingerw3]

My husband had PSP. He also suffered from dementia. He never forgot who we were, but short term memory was gone and he couldn't understand or reason and often thought he should go to work or be able to drive. He had no concept of his disease.He was successfully treated with olanzapine for violent and aggressive behaviors and it also kept his hallucinations at bay.

I'm sorry you're on this journey and I hope you find some help.

Blessings!

[Drjazz in reply to Gingerw3]

I've been prescribed three antipsychotic drugs over the last three years, two for sleeping difficulties and one as needed for extreme agitation. All three basically rendered me comatose. If you're really agitated or aggressive, comatose is a welcome relief. But I haven't had trouble with the agitation since I started taking Trazodone, which is a common anti-depressant / anti- anxiety drug, with a side effect of making you sleep better.

[choclab511 in reply to Drjazz]

Sorry Dr, but thank you for responding. My mother has also been dealing with sleep issues. Comatose might be relief for her. Such an awful disease. Prayers for you!

[choclab511 in reply to Gingerw3]

thanks Ginger! yes... sounds very familiar to me. She's in a memory care unit and honestly... wondering when this nightmare will end. Appreciate the response!

[FrazRin21]

Hi,PSP is a frankly a s**t! Sending hugs 🤗

My Mum is fully aware that she has PSP and although struggles to communicate and contribute she mostly follows the conversation. She does however have confused moments, thinks she is supposed to be going somewhere else, sometimes doing things she is now totally incapable of doing due to her loss of mobility, and occasionally forgets who people are. My guess is that this is a form of dementia but not necessarily PSP, presumably the protein Tau can behave in singular or multiple ways? Dementia = Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, PSP, all caused by Tau in some way ….

N

[choclab511 in reply to FrazRin21]

Hi Fran... yes.. my mother had bouts of thinking she needed to be going somewhere. At one point a few years ago she thought she needed to go on the bus to school. She's been sundowning for some time now.