My mom is in a nursing home, along with PSP she also has a lot of pain due to arthritis and back issues. She has become so mean and bitter. She lashes out, blaming me and my dad for her situation. She says vile things and is constantly kicking her feet and making bizarre movements. Yesterday she attempted to push a table at my dad, knocking everything to the ground. She has made 2 attempts at suicide, but insists that it didn't happen and that we are lying about it. Her falls have also increased in the last couple weeks. She often refuses medications which we think exacerbate her pain, anger and confusion.
Is this common with PSP?
Written by
ErinKH
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It is quite common for the patient to unload his frustration on the main caregivers. Pain will very possibly intensify this tendency. The intense discomfort can generate a desire to end the suffering. Perhaps the consultation with a psychology or psychiatry professional allows the application of medication that mitigates the suffering.
Hi. My father is in a resthome with PSP and he has had some behaviour changes which are very notable during the evening. He is very uncaring but does not lash out physically. Apathy is part of the disease. He also makes bizarre movements when he is very weak or sleepy. At times he has accused us of "setting him up" and being blackmailed by the resthome staff, but its very shortlived most of the time. In your case you may have to talk to the resthome about engaging some geriatric physch specialists.
My dad goes through behaviour phases focused on ‘blaming’ but he doesn’t get physical and again it is always short lived. I think mood is massively impacted as part of PSP. Dad has mostly bad than good days and always says he wishes he was dead which is really sad to hear. The way I deal with the blame and negative thoughts is training myself to say he doesn’t mean any of it and it is PSP over clouding his judgement but that of course is my personal way of dealing with it. Stay strong x
Hi ErinKH, my dad goes through the same issues too unfortunately, he is in a care home too and lashes out verbally to my mum and myself, and has on occasions with the staff. It is very short lived and now we just play along with him when he is like that, and I’ve told my mum he has to lash out at someone, and not take it to heart. As much as we wanted to visit him all the time, we found he was getting worse as he associated us with home, so we started going 2 times a week, which still upset him and now we are going once a week and he is happy to see us, we don’t have any issues now, we have a lovely chat and he’s in a good place. The care home have a team come in from dementia care matters but they also deal with PSP they can refer for additional help, this is in the UK so not sure how it works in the USA but ask the care home for advice as there should be things they can put in place to assist your mum with her moods. Stay strong 🥰
Sounds so similar to my mom and I feel like its mostly with me. She is nicer to my daughter or others. I do go quite often and redirect her behaviour when she acts out but maybe like you mentioned if I go less then maybe she might be more happy and less agitated...it definitely is a very confusing disease but we want the best for our loved ones and make them feel as comfortable as possible. So hard to navigate!
My late husband was given daily from the mid stage of PSP, a low dose of the antidepressant Citalopram, which did get increased over time. At this stage and later on he did have outbursts of anxiety and “ aggressive “ behaviour born out of the utter frustration of being so helpless ( and bored? ) with no speech but still cognition. At these times he could be given ( prescribed by his GP ) a low dose 0 . 5 mg of Lorazepam in liquid form which calmed him down if he couldn’t be distracted. In the final / late stage this was no longer an issue as he became more and more bedbound and sleeping far more in the day. Do hope this is helpful. Remember the person with their own, unique personality, is still in there. It is this horrendous disease which is displaying itself. I do think using the word “ moods” is not the right way to describe what is yet another medical occurrence.
Hhello it's a very common thing to have happen. My loved one has accused me of killing her, poisoning her food and drink. It's the care givers fought she isn't getting better. Best wishes to you and your family on this journey!!
My Mom is in an assisted living facility also. She can no longer speak but recently has engaged in some unusual behaviors including grabbing onto staff and not letting go and spitting out meds. While only guessing at what the underlying PSP symptom is the cause, one suggested rememdy was to discontinue giving carba dopa levadopa meds which, we were told, can sometimes cause hallucinations in non-Parkinson's patients.
My husband had many unusual unpleasant behaviors. He also was well aware what he was doing was not good, but he couldn't stop it. (Or so he would say when he was lucid) I assure you that your mom cannot help her behaviors and I would encourage you to get a psychiatrist involved, so they can find some meds that will help her. For my husband it took quite a cocktail and it was adjusted as needed.
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