Quote:
Originally Posted by gardengrl
Hi, My mom is 70. Always known to be Eccentric..but diagnose about 2yrs ago with Alzhiemer's/Schizophrenia/Dementia, after an episode of falling asleep & NOT waking up. After the 911 call which too her to the hospital, she remained asleep for 2 weeks. Her Body temp was 95, & she needed to be put on a resperator. When she woke she was a mess. TOTALLY out of it. Thru many meds & time, I now have her with me.
My question is this: Is this list of meds safe or "normal"? I have read up on each one but get so confused. Her weight is 130 & she is 5' if that helps....
THIOTHIXENE 2MG 2X DAILY....................Schizophrenia
EXELON PATCH 4.6 MG 1X DAILY................Alzhiemers
TRAZODONE 50 MG 3X DAILY....................Anti depr. & pain?
AMANTADINE 100 MG 1X DAILY..................Parkinson "Like" side effects
BENZTROPINE 1MG 2X DAILY.....................Parkinson "like" side effects
IMIPRAMINE 30 MG 1X EVENING.................Anti-depr. & Incontinence?
PERCOCET 325 3X DAILY...........................Back & neck pain
OMEPRAZOLE 20MG 1X DAILY......................Reflux
LISINIPRIL 10MG 1X DAILY.........................Blood pressure
GLIMEPRIRIDE 1MG 1X DAILY......................Blood sugar
LYRICA 50MG 2X DAILY.............................Fibromyalgia
CLARINEX 5MG 1X DAILY...........................Allergies
DIPHENHTDRAMINE 50MG 2X DAILY..............Allergies
ASPRIN 81 MG 1X DAILY............................
DUCOLAX SOFTNER 2X DAILY........................Stool softener
FLONASE NASAL AS NEEDED .........................Allergies
I know that no one can really answer 100% but if someone see's anything Bad, please let me know! Thanks so much...
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When the elderly get to this type of drug list there are many potential problems. They have problems younger patients do not.
1) Clarinex is useless....the diphenhydramine is probably the best. BUT it is anticholinergic.
A better choice might be Zyrtec (has a generic).
But it is not covered on insurance.
2) Trazadone is typically only used at night (it helps sleeping and is an antidepressant). Don't see why imipramine is needed? It is ANOTHER anticholinergic and duplicates the diphenhydramine actions in this regard.
3) Benztropine is an anticholinergic too. It is typically used to offset the effects of antipsychotics. (the thiothixene-Navane)
4) The omeprazole prevents B12 absorption from the GI tract.
Many elderly develop low B12 and this gives symptoms of Alzheimer's and other psychiatric problems, nerve pain.
She should be tested for B12 levels ASAP...treatment with this if it is low, may reverse some of the neuro-psychiatric symptoms and then the drugs could be lowered or discontinued.
Drugs that are anticholinergic are very hard on the elderly.
A younger person may be able to tolerate this issue, but not older patients.
You must read this article:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/522882
Quote:
Feb. 3, 2006 — Many elderly patients using anticholinergic drugs are at increased risk of being diagnosed as mildly cognitively impaired, although they are not at increased risk for dementia, according to the results of a longitudinal cohort study reported in the February 1 Online First issue of the BMJ.
"Not only do doctors commonly fail to associate cognitive dysfunction in elderly people with anticholinergic agents, they also underestimate anticholinergic toxicity, prescribing such drugs at high to excessive doses," write Marie L. Ancelin, MD, from the Inserm, in Montpellier, France, and colleagues. "Moreover, an increasing number of such compounds are available without prescription, so there is a high risk of unregulated toxicity."
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This article lists the agents that may cause problems:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:...lnk&cd=2&gl=us
Delirium in the elderly can resemble psychosis/schizophrenia/Alzheimer's
Also to consider is that if Alzheimer's is advanced there may be damage to the brain and temperature regulation may be
damaged too.
Another thing that will LOWER body temp is hypothyroidism, and this occurs very often in the elderly, and also can cause cognitive impairment.
So there are medical and disease state potentials to
consider.
First off for me if I were consulting on a nursing home order would be the many drugs with anticholinergic effects.
Doctors can be clueless about this issue in my experience.
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei
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Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017
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