View Single Post
Old 10-17-2019, 02:50 PM
lurkingforacure lurkingforacure is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,485
15 yr Member
lurkingforacure lurkingforacure is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,485
15 yr Member
Default Try a different med?

Shari, my husband has PDD with the psychosis and delusions and hallucinations-he has attacked and chased one of our children with a huge knife, threatened the whole family, accused me repeatedly of infidelity, screamed at men that aren't there, and on and on. It is a near-impossible situation to deal with, and thankfully your mom is not living with you.

When our violent outbursts were occurring, our neuro put my husband on the new drug Nuplazid. Our insurance at the time covered it, and while it didn't stop the hallucinations or delusions, it made them less scary/violent. So, for example, where before my husband would see a man with a gun threatening to kill his mother in the corner (neither of whom were in our house of course), and he would be extremely upset and agitated by this (understandably), after he started Nuplazid, he would see men in our yard getting ready to cut down our trees. Not nearly as frightening.

When our insurance quit covering individual families, we had to find another carrier and of course they didn't cover Nuplazid, which at almost $3,000.00/month was completely unaffordable for us. So we were switched to Namenda, which has, for us, the same effect plus it seems to make my husband less anxious. Win-win.

It sounds like your mom's regiment is not working for her, and it is distressing to think that she might be in a state of high anxiety most of the time. A lot of meds to reduce anxiety make PD symptoms worse (including the non-motor symptoms), so be sure that whatever your mom is taking or is prescribed to take is actually helping her. Sometimes the pharmacist is a great resource to ask-they often know much more about these meds and their interactions than the doctors do

I would talk to your mom's doctor and see if there might be a better med for her. And know that oftentimes, it can take a couple of weeks on a new med to be able to tell if it is working.

Good luck to you, and remember that your mom can't speak for herself, and needs you to advocate for her. You will be thankful you did
lurkingforacure is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote