Long time lurker-first time poster. Thank you to everyone that has helped me throughout this journey for the past 2 years that my Mom's health has been declining. She has been in and out of the hospital after a hot streak of no ER/hospital visits in 7 months! She was doing the UTI-Hospital-Rehab cycle for a year. I finally got her home and through this site was able to keep her well enough to stop the cycle. In January, her behavior started changing, and I thought UTI. She did have a bacterial infection and pneumonia. She came back home, but her symptoms (confusion/not being able to sleep or articulate a cohesive sentence, calling out for her sisters) continued. I also took her back in Feburary, and she was only there overnight because her test results(from CT scan/Xrays/blood work/UA) came back negative. She just came back last Monday 3/19 after a 4 day stay. She was on Risperidone 2mg for schizophrenia for 17 years, but they changed her medication to Quetiapine 25 mg at night and 25 mg in morning. Now for my question-She has an appointment with her psychiatrist on the 11th. The Quetiapine has been helping with sleep at night, but I gave it to her in the morning and it makes her very sleepy. I only have been giving it to her at night. After a week of being home and getting back into our routine she is having trouble eating/and speaking. She wont eat unless we feed her. Should I try the 25mg in morning also and see how that goes? Keep giving it to her at night only? Do 1/2 pill in the morning 12.5 mg and 25 mg at night? I posted this under dementia because the Dr's always say she has it, but I haven't noticed the symptoms. January was when she didn't "come back to me" like she usually does.
Can't believe a dr would just continue to prescribe this w/o seeing the patient. Sometimes we have to be our own advocates in our health care.
That dosage seems very low for Schizophrenia. (Not that I am qualified to judge! Just from what I've read and heard from others.) This kind of drug often starts at a very low dose and builds up. Is her psychiatrist intending to gradually increase it?
I think you should contact the doctor with your question, either by leaving a phone message or using the patient portal if the clinic has one. You can discuss it at greater length at the appointment, but a quick question now is appropriate.
What doctors "always say" she has dementia? Based on what? Has she been tested? The symptoms "confusion/not being able to sleep or articulate a cohesive sentence, calling out for her sisters" could be UTI related, and they also could be related to dementia. Could they also be related to the underlying schizophrenia? I'm not familiar with those symptoms.
I am so glad you are having her see a psychiatrist. The next appointment would be a good time to discuss the possibility of dementia, and request testing if this doc thinks she has dementia and tests have not been done yet.
Since your mom has been treated for schizophrenia for 17 years I imagine you have been through a lot with her. Hang in there! Please come back and let us know how this progresses. We learn from each other.
-I emailed psychiatrist -but I doubt he will say anything until her appointment on April 11th since he hasn't seen her in 2 years
-I called the Dr's office (primary care) to ask the Dr. what to do. She was the one that changed her medication.
In my view, the meds prescribed in the hospital were for THAT environment; sometimes the hospital's formulary was different than what was available outside of the hospital. Mom's docs almost always adjusted her meds after a hospitalization, but rarely to what the hospital had discharged her with. I never thought of that as being "the hospital doing something wrong"; it was more like "mom got sent to the hospital with an acute condition which was different from the stable one that she was in a week ago; there needs to be a change in meds, brought back to stability and, upon discharge, gotten back to her primary for a long term adjustment.
Your mom suffers from schizophrenia and Alzheimer's. I'm so sorry.
I wonder why they took her off the Risperidone after so many years. Was it because she developed the stated symptoms?
The symptoms of confusion, calling out for her sisters or difficulty articulating a sentence are signs of BOTH schizophrenia and dementia.
To check out the drugs for schizophrenia See WebMD-Schizophrenia -Medications that treat it.
No one here should recommend stopping, starting, increasing or decreasing medication doses. I understand your frustration in having to wait but the office should get back to you within 24-48 hours.
She might fare better with what she was taking or another antipsychotic.
Does this kind of "going along" work with your mother? It often does in dementia, especially if the person is not likely to remember the discussion the next day. What generally doesn't work is arguing or trying to convince them. "We don't have a white car," or "This is your home now and it is where you always sleep," are just not going to calm Mom down.
We'd love to hear whether the Seroquel eventually is helpful, and what the psych doc does.
I try to go along with it, but my patience wears thin...I always ask god for patience!
Saw the psychiatrist today and he said to do 12.5 mg in the morning and 12.5 mg at 1:00PM and then the 25 mg at bedtime.
He also said I should look for placement for her because she is only going to get worse. I think I will ask the home health nurse for a hospice evaluation. I am not looking to "fix" anything at this point, I just want my Mom comfortable and at peace at home.
Mom fractured her L1. She was in a lot of pain so her blood pressure went up. Normally she took 80 ml a day. The procedure done very little pain if at all, she never complained. Got her home, she couldn't get off the couch. Visiting Nurse checked her vitals, bp very low. The 160 ml were too much so nurse called primary and got the order to take back to 80ml. Same happened with DH. Never any BP problems till Afib. Bp med given him during the attack. Brought under control but they recommend bp meds. This hospital recommends seeing your primary in a week or two. My husband went back for release to work. Dr took his BP and she was surprised he was standing. So yes, it's for what is wrong while in the hospital but they don't seem to evaluate before discharged. I hate they take it upon themselves to discontinue or change a med that the patient is going to a specialist for. They refuse to consult with the specialist.
Blessings,
Jamie
We are drafting a letter for the nursing home that says that her medication can only be changed by her psychiatrist. I don’t know why it was changed in the hospital, but we have to make sure that there will be no medication changes in the nursing home unless authorized by her psychiatrist.
OnlyChild, I have no experience with Schizophrenia, but I would never dream of adjusting my mother’s medication without having her seen by a psychiatrist. Sometimes he has called in a new prescription, but he has been her doctor for over ten years and knows her well. When my mother’s medication is proper she is a sweet, quirky. little old lady with a good sense of humor, but when the dosage is incorrect and she goes into a Bi-polar episode, watch out!
As it is now past the 11th, I hope your mother was able to see her psychiatrist and get her medication adjusted. They will ask for a follow up, and I would keep it and continue with regular appointments with the psychiatrist. That way there will be a continuum of care. I would definitely not trust a general practitioner to properly medicate for schizophrenia.
Please let us know how you and she are doing. God bless you and your mother. My mother has been Bi-polar all my life, so I know what you have gone through.