A Drug Induced Dementia?
Our household unit of measurement learned the significance of vigilant advocacy during a fourth dimension when our initial instinct may convey been to trust the ‘care providers.’
By Ellen Belk
Baca Juga
His sense was compounded yesteryear meaning usage of medications for unintended purposes combined with starting & stopping those medications inward a haphazard pattern.
Even though the warnings were clear most high peril side effects inward elders with dementia behavior, infirmary Doctors continued ordering Dad’s toxic med cocktail.
In our case, the sting of the broken organisation had a profound consequence on all of us who played witness to the organized chaos. The lessons nosotros learned were many. The disappointments nosotros endured were great.
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How did this happen? Dad’s journeying isn’t odd in addition to looking dorsum now, nosotros are able to run into how the ‘perfect storm’ came to be.
Sometime inward 2010, Dad’s Cardiologist prescribed a Thyroid medication. It’s a flake unclear why that occurred since Dad had never had an irregular Thyroid test. In the twelvemonth leading upward to Dad’s recent hospitalization nosotros did notice a slowing inward his movements in addition to a shuffle-walk emerged. However, cognitively, he was intact.
Mom, his married adult woman of 58 years, was the commencement to attribute the shuffle in addition to accompanying weakness to the Thyroid medication. What began every bit a 65mg dose had been raised to 75mg followed yesteryear a terminal increment to 90mg.
Mom was insistent that the medication was having an adverse conduct on on Dad in addition to shared her concerns with the nurse. The Doctor lowered the dose dorsum downward to 65 mgs. Mom continued to query the nurse most why Dad had been prescribed this Thyroid medication inward the commencement place.
Mom would explicate later, that she was completely “dismissed” yesteryear the nurse who basically offered no feasible argue for why Dad would live on the medication. Mom was confused in addition to offended at the same time!
Shortly before Dad’s autumn inward March 2012, he began experiencing hallucinations inward the overnight. However, he had lucid recollect of the sense in addition to was able to beak over the ‘visions’ clearly, hours later. Concerned most this novel development, Mom scheduled an engagement with Dad’s primary Doctor.
At the appointment, the Doctor commented on Dad’s meaning weight loss since his in conclusion visit. (Approximately thirty lbs inward ii years) They discussed the Thyroid medication in addition to the Doc agreed that it was unnecessary in addition to he straight off reduced the dose again. He planned to wean Dad off the medication solely inside the coming weeks. He likewise discovered a urinary tract infection in addition to prescribed a xv twenty-four hours dose of a potent antibiotic. Looking back, questions all the same linger most how wise it was to pile a potent antibiotic onto an already unnecessary Thyroid medication which appeared to termination inward meaning weight loss. Surely at that spot are to a greater extent than holistic ways to process a urinary tract infection inward a compromised elder?
Within days, Dad vicious inward the bath around Noon on a Sunday. Although Dad had no outward injuries, the on-call nurse recommended taking him to the ER every bit a precaution. Dad walked into the ER in addition to discussed both his autumn in addition to the other issues with the ER personnel. However, 5 hours later, Mom in addition to Dad were all the same sitting inward the Emergency waiting room waiting to live seen yesteryear a Doctor. It became apparent that they planned to maintain him overnight instead of giving him an X-ray in addition to sending him on his way. Again, some other determination our household unit of measurement would enquiry after-the-fact.
Unfortunately, Dad did convey hallucinations inward the overnight at the Hospital which resulted inward staff administering Seroquel. An anti-psychotic medication historically used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder in addition to depression. Conditions Dad did non have. In bold letters on the official Seroquel website the alert is clear most giving this medication to an elderly soul suffering from dementia in addition to dementia-like behavior.
Not surprisingly, Dad had a meaning adverse reaction to the medication. xviii hours after walking into the ER in addition to discussing his status coherently with infirmary personnel; Dad was listless, agitated in addition to unable to walk. He couldn’t speak inward coherent sentences in addition to didn’t recognize his ain children. Our pleas went unrecognized in addition to they continued the Seroquel land discontinuing the antibiotic for his urinary tract infection.
The infirmary Neurologist conducted a mini-mental exam on Dad. After the x infinitesimal visit, the Neurologist told us he idea Dad had Lewy Body Dementia. He gave us his trouble concern card, discontinued the Seraquel, prescribed the Exelon land in addition to walked out the door. Within the commencement 72 hours Dad had been given high doses of an antipsychotic medication combined with discontinuing an anti-biotic. Followed yesteryear a discontinuation of the antipsychotic land introducing yet some other medication. How condom in addition to effective is that methodology?
Dad was transferred to what nosotros were told was a Geri-Psych unit of measurement at some other hospital. In reality, it was a behavioral unit of measurement for patients of all ages in addition to psychological conditions. The attention Psychiatrist told us she idea Dad had Vascular Dementia, after her initial x infinitesimal assessment in addition to tape review. In addition, she prescribed Trazodone. H5N1 medication intended for depression that the Doctor said she was giving Dad to address his sleeplessness.
The sleeplessness became a novel status that emerged after the commencement nighttime inward the commencement hospital. Dad was at nowadays a calendar week into this journeying in addition to hadn’t had a total nighttime sleep. Who could blame him? At this indicate it became difficult to discern if his dementia-like conduct was due to the toxic med cocktail he was enduring or a total lack of sleep. We figured both situations were contributing.
However, the Psychiatrist ignored our concerns in addition to ordered the anti-depressant. We kept insisting that Dad’s status was non a psychosis in addition to shouldn’t live treated every bit such. He had been a clear thinking, albeit slow-walking human a calendar week before in addition to this high velocity downward spiral had to live the termination of the medications. She maintained that her method was right in addition to that i time they got the doses managed, nosotros should run into improvement. As nosotros pressed further; she dismissed us with the encouraging words “This isn’t a perfect science.”
Dad stayed inward the behavioral unit of measurement for fourteen days in addition to never i time during that fourth dimension did the Psychiatrist or the Neurologist concur on his diagnosis. Each kept treating him every bit if their conclusion was the right one. In addition, the sleeplessness continued in addition to the doses of Trazodone increased. At this indicate his drug regimen included periodic shots of Ativan, an anti anxiety medication, that likewise comes with warnings for elderberry use.
All the land nosotros questioned the word of administering the medications; the experimentation in addition to increases continued.
By the fourth dimension Dad was released to the Rehab facility nosotros were overjoyed that he’d made meaning progress with his walking land beingness treated similar a lab rat. However, the jubilation was brusk lived when i time again; he exhibited delirium during his commencement nighttime at the novel facility. By the side yesteryear side morning, the social worker planned to discharge him dwelling maxim they were non equipped to handgrip his status due to the dementia behavior.
We were on our 3rd halt inward this unrelenting journeying in addition to nosotros continued to live dismayed yesteryear the underlying lack of pity or manufacture cognition that should live a requirement for those working with an aging population.
Although at that spot was an attention Physician at this facility, our initial requests for him to evaluate Dad’s status were inconvenient. Dad had arrived at the facility on a Th in addition to the Doctor simply made rounds on Tuesday. Management refused to facilitate a quicker see to address Dad’s condition. The sheer lunacy of the ability deal betwixt our household unit of measurement in addition to the Rehab ‘care staff’ was both exhausting in addition to frightening.
39 days after walking into the ER, Dad returned home. Now, nearly 6 months removed from the ordeal; progress has been ho-hum in addition to steady. Dad’s line has returned in addition to he is nether the watchful oculus of a specialized Memory Care Physician. He’s been weaned off of every unmarried previous medication in addition to is sleeping soundly without delirium. Cognitively, where at that spot were no major concerns prior to this incident, at that spot are at nowadays noticeable moments of decline. Due to the drugs? We may never know for sure.
He of late had his commencement engagement with his novel Primary Care Physician. Another engagement scheduled inward the coming weeks with his novel Cardiologist. We acquire into these novel relationships with a watchful oculus in addition to a simmering passion for monitoring whatever medication suggestions.
Our household unit of measurement learned the significance of vigilant advocacy during a fourth dimension when our initial instinct may convey been to trust the ‘care providers.’ It opened our eyes to a organisation of sick equipped professionals combined with a lack of teamwork, communication in addition to agreement for aging bodies in addition to elderberry issues.
Understandably, non everyone volition convey the adverse reactions to these medications every bit Dad did. However isn’t it a reasonable expectation that Doctors, Hospitals in addition to attention staff would all live trained to communicate effectively in addition to handle the variances inward patient responses?
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