AD = advanced directive, in this instance. No, thank goodness I don't have any serious medical issues that I'm aware of!

Thanks Lynn....I am glad you are okay!!!

Best wishes,

Tonya

We do have an AD for each of us, but my husband is only 59. He's wheelchair-bound, has frequent hallucinations, and his vision is horrible, but he can often hold a fairly decent conversation. The doctors may have been more aggressive because of his age. Still, I do feel like I was pushed into agreeing with the pacemaker. "Bullying" is a good word.

I'm so sorry you were bullied into this. It's just not right that some people in the medical community bully family members when they are the most vulnerable. I had to fight for 4 days to get my mom's medical treatment stopped when she was in a coma and brain dead. They would not honor her AD because she came in through the ER. Finally on the 4th day I said "NO MORE" and they actually listened that time. My sister and I were going to have to get a court order to get the drs. to honor her AD. Thank goodness the dc'ing of meds to speed up, then slow down her heart were stopped at my incessant requests but they wouldn't take her off the ventilator.
We'd had the "death with dignity" stuff drilled into us since we were little kids, so I knew I had to fight for what my mom wanted most. And that was NOT to be kept alive when she really was no longer alive. The drs. were trying to talk us into all sorts of surgeries, meds, etc. I was so thankful I knew exactly how my mom felt about such things. Tough conversation, but oh, so necessary! Lynn

My hb was on aricept, 10 mg daily. It improved his cognition but gave him diarrhea badly enough that he sometimes couldn't make the toilet. His neurologist immediately discontinued it, and the accidents ceased. My hb was less aware, but it wasn't worth the trade-off. We're just starting a newer type of dementia med, but I'm not sure we'll continue. He's becoming more paranoid again. I'd rather discontinue the aricept-type med and keep the zyprexa at 7.5.

Challenged,
Which "newer" medication is your husband trying -- Namenda? Interesting that your husband tolerates Zyprexa. Most are not given this particular antipsychotic; I assume this is the case because most tolerate Seroquel.
Robin

I 'll look at the bottle and get you the correct spelling--galantine, galantamine, something like that. Zyprexa was almost a miracle for us. He was seeing faces at the windows, hearing threatening sounds and voices, very paranoid. When he started the zyprexa it was like turning off that particular message. I was doubtful because of the potential side effects, but quickly realized how much happier he was when the paranoia was gone. He's still very challenging to care for, but no longer ducks down when he passes a window nor feels under seige in our own house. The neurologist has worked patiently with us to titrate the correct dosage, we feel very fortunate.

It's galantine. We are working on making sure it's right for him. He has become more paranoid and less lucid in the week he's been taking it. His neurologist has taken him off it to determine whether or not his decline is related to the med.

Galantine is the name for galantamine outside the US, I believe. Galantamine is the oldest of the 3 AChEIs. My impression is that most LBD experts recommend trying Exelon since Exelon works on an additional neurotransmitter that neither galantamine (Razadyne) or donepezil (Aricept) touch.

Hope the medication works for your husband.

Hi,
Yes, when they discontinued my mother-in-laws medication in September she passed away in November. The doctor informed us the medication was no longer working for her, and she was ready to go at that point. I beleive he was correct. After he took her off of the medication she seemed more at peace. She was more relaxed and less aggitated. At that time we could no longer care for her, and my father-in-law insisted putting her in an assisted living facility. She was in the facility for a month and then she passed away.