Thank you so much for all of the information to my question. I should have been clearer but time was short and wanted to get the post submitted. Anyway, here goes. Mom remembers anything negative that anyone has ever said to her about any of us children. Things from they are trying to steal your money and house to they are trying to kill you with the medication. My husband made the mistake of telling her that she needed a bath because she smelled bad. Boy did that set off fireworks and she brings it up every chance she gets. She also tends to blame myself and him for absolutely everything that goes wrong, from a stain in the sink to the electricity going out. If we buy a gallon of milk she says we are trying to break the fridge.

I know paranoia goes along with AD but some days are just unbearable. I try to limit her contact with people that "cause trouble" unintentionally but it is really hard.

Some asked about meds, she is on Aricept, Namenda, Zoloft, and fludrocortisone. I also have Lorazepam for when it gets really bad (but it puts her in an almost coma state on the lowest dosage and cut in half) so I don't use it unless absolutely necessary. One of moms cousins said that there is a new medication out but couldn't remember the name. Does anyone know what it is? Came out in the last 3-6 months.

Any more thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

The comment about needing a bath put us on a year and a half of NO BATH at all. She would only wash in the bathroom sink. About a month ago she finally got to a point where she requested a shower and has been taking one on average weekly. It is still a very touchy subject. So we don't discuss any kind of bathing or showering at all anymore.

Thank you Jacki for the chart. I appreciate it.

Linda

Linda,

When's the last time you went over meds with her doctor? May be time to re-evaluate the meds. Sometimes what works one time, doesn't always work forever. And has she had her urine checked lately? From what I have learned, UTI's are very common for AD patients to have, with not many of the ordinary symptoms, example: burning, itching, painful urination.
Many times their symptoms are entirely different, and include irritability and changes in them. You might want to check that out.

When I have my Mom's urine checked, I have them send it out to be cultured, not just the dip stick method. It's much more accurate that way. Insist on it!

I don't know the name of any new medication out, but I'm sure someone will. If not, google New medication for Alz. or something like that, and I'm sure you will find out what it is. My Mom has only been on Aricept, and that was about 3 or 4 years ago. It didnt' agree with her, and there were many side effects, so I no longer have her on any AD meds. She's on a low dose of B/P meds, an aspirin, a cholestrol pill, an anti-depressant - Remeron - which incidently increases her appetite, and stool softeners.

So again, I feel you may need to go over all those meds with her doctor. Sometimes too many are not good, and from what I've heard from others, can actually make them worse.

It's funny isn't it what you want them to forget they don't. But that's how this disease works. You may also want to ask your doctor for something for yourself. I'm on 50mg. of Zoloft a day, and I have to say, I couldn't cope without it. You'd really be surprised how much it helps, and makes it a bit easier to deal with all this.

Let us know what else we can do for you.

Jackie

Hey Linda, I just wanted to comment on the paranoia. My grandmother in her middle to moderately severe stages was exhibiting extreme paranoia. This was really an extreme form of something that she's always had. It was so bad that she thought the neighbor had come into her home and stolen her jewelry. She went over to the neighbors home and became very aggressive. The doctor put her on seroquel, which completely took away from her physical health. The paranoia never truly got better, but diminished when she started speaking less (advancement of the disease process). One thing I taught my grandfather to do, which I learned in my gerontology courses was to redirect her thought process whenever these paranoia episodes got bad. Redirected her attention to something else got her mind off of the topic long enough for her to forget about what she was paranoid about. This worked often except for the times that she was paranoid about my grandfather wanting to murder her (he would never hurt a fly, btw). This was a really tough time for my family as adjunct caregivers, and I can only imagine how scary it was for my grandmother. You should ask the psychiatrist to prescribe something for the paranoia, but try and stay away from seroquel. I have a post on the effects of this drug. Also, my grandmother has the same effect as your mother to the Lorazepam. My grandfather now gives it to her in 1/4th the pill size, so that it doesn't knock her out. Good luck with this, I know what you're going through, it's very challenging.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a blue print for this disease so we all knew what to expect and how to deal with it. Unfortunately each patient is so different. I wish I had some advice for you but I never had to deal with that type of behavior.

As for a new medicine, I am not aware of any that are currently out. There has been a lot of press about Rember, which is currently starting in phase 3 clinical trials. They are claiming that this medication is actually reversing the effects of AD. Unfortunately they don't expect it to be available to the public for another 3 or 4 years.

Thank you all for the thoughts and advice. Aitan the dosage of Lorazepam was 1/4 tablet. Not sure I could cut it any smaller. I will try the urine culture but the last time we tried to get a urine sample took 3 days and it was so messy and cloudy I didn't think they were going to be able to use any. The dip came back clean for infection so I guess the next step is the culture. I had just gone over the meds at her last visit but probably should again. We go on the 20th. Thanks again.

Linda,

Just to tell you what my moms doctors nurse said the last time I tried to get a urine sample. It has to be done all at once. No drips here and there, and close the bottle for later. So she gave me four bottles and 4 wipes so I would get a clean sample all at once. Might want to ask for a few extra bottles when you go to the doctor on the 20th. Or try to get her to pee in one there. They can get it out with a catherter, but most don't have it in their offices. It is surely one pain in the neck just to get urine from them.

Jackie

Why not get what is called a "nun's hat" and set it on top of the inner bowl and then put the seat down and get a sample that way. The hats are used in the hospitals all the time to measure output and if it doesn' have to be a cleancatch, it would work perfectly. I think you can get them at a medical supply store.

Snicks,

What a good idea! Thanks

Jackie

It is a good idea and will have to find the one we have. I had forgotten about that. Thank you very much Snick.