My FIL has been exhibiting symptoms of dementia (agitation, "busy"ness, repeating himself, etc.) I told his DR that his agitation has become worse so the Dr put FIL on Aricept. By the second day FIL was so agitated and angry he beat the dog and kicked one of our kids, etc, etc, etc....
Needless to say, we took him off after the 5th dose. It was like night and day different. He was hard to get along with before and after Aricept, but with it he was impossible.

His defibrilator has not had to give him a shock in a year and a half, so even with the batteries low it has not had to be used.
I just wish that it was not his defib going low! He is terrified of getting sick. Stakr petrified of dying. So any bad news is ultra hard on him.
he feels guilty for how mean he was when he was younger so is scared to die because of unresolved issues (his wife died and he feels bad for how he treated her, and being unable to tell her face to face he is sorry.)
We will get through this.
We are going in for monthly monitoring of the device and will cross the "replace it" bridge when we get there. To top it all off, when he got this device he got an infection and had a PICC line in for 2 1/2 months so I could give him antibiotics.
I guess if I think on it, I am worried, too! I do not want to go through that again! We had a few very rough 3 months....
I tell ya, this guy is like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going and going...... he has pulled through several illnesses, some of which could have killed a fairly healthy person! And yet he is still going!
Thank you for your replies all!
Jayne

quote:

Now we are dealing with another issue. He has a defibrilator and we just found out that his battery is beginning to get lower voltage than expected it should be at (2 years old)

My girlfriend is going through this right now this is new to me but she tells me what you are experiencing with your FIL is quite common/normal when this happens shes had the Defibrillator since she was 10 I can imagine what your goin through cause Im yellin at her to get that thing looked at I see the difference in her especially her being really tired lately. Did they say how long those batteries last cause she wont tell me *shes afraid Im gonna beat her down and drag her to the hospital*

You know LR my problem with the poop issue is actually when it doesnt smell.
I can work through most smells but the ones that dont smell take me straight to the bathroom for some reason, as for the male/female issue I just look at it like its just another body part like an arm or something aint nothin I never seen before even if its family

Littlerattie, your feeling of not doing enough is normal.Many times we expect more of our selves then the medical professionals expect of them selves.
When we do not always get the positive results we want and need it causes us to become flustrated with our selves.Silly, right.But we do .Just know you are trying, under diffixult circumstances.
At least you are tring.That is Kudos to me.
I was fortunate as I did not experience all the complicated health issues from my loved ones.
To be honest, I think I would have been a patient.The stress of the dementia and serious health issues deals one with double whamies.
As for dealing with stinky poos, as my kids use to stay.I never , in my wildest dreams though I could do it either.But I had 3 options.Have them stay soiled, deal with the consequences of not cleaning them and then dealing with the smell and bacteria.
After the forst 4 times, I was able to do it.
Actually, I did not think about it.I just did it like everything else .I had a few aides who would gage, .So I did what had to be done to prevent them from giving me more work.
Put something under your nose when you ever have to do it.Always wear gloves and try to think of something more positive.
I am sure you can do anything when it is put in your path.
My youngest sound has gag reflex.He would leave the room.I use to laugh as he would ask if he could help me as he was gaging.
When push comes to shove we arise to the occasion.

Thank you for all the replies! We do have a phsyc eval coming up in April (the soonest we could get him in)
Now we are dealing with another issue. He has a defibrilator and we just found out that his battery is beginning to get lower voltage than expected it should be at (2 years old). And now he is in deep dispair, hides in his room, thinks that it is my and his Dr's fault that we are not taking care of him, etc, etc.
I monitor his meds judicially, he gets all that he should, when he should, he gets in to the Dr regularly, to each and every INR appointment.... and is in way better health than expected with the heart condition he has. (Drs thought he should have been dead 15 years ago!) But he still thinks I don't do enough.
If I see a symptom (anything, cold, lethargy, agitation, swelling, etc, etc, etc,....) I call the Dr before FIL even thinks he is sick! But I still feel like what I do is not enough.
We try to keep him as active as he can be, doing things for himself, cooking eggs, etc. And he thinks we are being mean by making him do something for himself.
If he had his way he would be bedridden and waitd on hand and foot. Argh.
Maybe if he wasn't abusive and selfish his whole life it would be easier.... I do not know.
Pills will not change a person to what they should be, especially if they were always "not nice".
I know he tries! Lord knows he has seemed to grow up more in the last 5 years (we made him start to care for himself and toe the line! Be nice, or at least not hit, kick, pinch, punch, and threaten serious bodily injury like he did his whole life) than he had in the previous 70 years.... but it is still hard. I know he is better than when he was younger!
But I am still tired. I do not know how you guys deal with fecal problems to boot. I couldn't do that. I did it with my grandma. But not a guy!
Jayne

One thing you can believe is not all meds workfor our loved ones.Too many need to believe one shoe fits all.That is so far from the truth.That is why I had so much to deal with , with my mother.Doctors , regular gp do not know.It took a good behavioral psychologist, to look at her symptoms and found what worked.
Aricept worked for 2 years for my mother and hubby.The doctor at the VA would not consider Namenda.He thought is was over rated for one.The other was he feared it may enhance the symptoms of bad behavior.
When you have doctors who know the meds, know the behavior you are dealing with , they need to think long and hard before prescribing.
This is true for those without dementia.One meds does not work for all.They have to stop putting a rubber stamp on these meds.

This was how my MIL responded to Aricept also LR.
AD drugs dont work with all individuals and Aricept from what Im seeing is the #1 drug all docs put their patients on it seems.
Im gettin quite sick of reading my patients charts to find they are on Aricept and its clearly NOT working on them. I dont get this drug the behaviors it produces is like nothing else Ive seen they are repeating, their memory is worse than it ever was, tendencies towards agitation is OFF the charts and the families dont question their PCP's about it and here I gotta sit closed mouth and watch it when I know dang well its unnecessary but thats MY opinion so I let loose here instead.
If you think this med is not working please do speak to your PCP and tell him you want the med changed to another. you have the right to do this
I researched not only the drugs but the behaviors my MIL presented as well, its been a while but there was one site that helped me alot Ill try to find it again for you and Ill post it when I do.
For now read this article:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers/AZ00015
And theres some interesting reading here also:
http://alzheimers.about.com/od/medication/Medications_u...zheimers_disease.htm

As an afterthought I have to say I was never too interested in the cognitive decline my MIL was showing to me that was going to happen irregardless when I researched I focused more on the behaviors my MIL was presenting if that makes any sense.

No one med is right for everyone, Jayne. If you cannot get him to have a geriatric psych evaluation (usually an in-patient stay and MANY cognitive, physical tests), perhaps one of the other "AD" drugs might help. Namenda is one, Exelon is another. Perhaps other members know of some... HTH