for about 5 minutes each time.Her husband died 1yr ago. She still has a good memory (long term and short term), still does her check book, banking, paying bills and schedules her medication.
Her MD doctor has her on blood thinner, inhaler, blood pressure,
maybe more. He said their is a new drug for overweight people called ZENACAL (SPELLING ?). Would this interfer w/other medications...
What can we do to help or who can we take her to.
What can we do to help her.
Posted by HFHS MD-JM on June 29, 1999 at 20:53:22Cathy,
I can't diagnose your mother but it sounds like she is being treated for
delusions (false beliefs) being controlled by a laser, which may represent
delusional disorder. Delusional disorder is uncommon (> 0.05% of population).
It is also possible that the delusions are part of a mood disorder or a different psychotic disorder (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder etc..).
Your mother has several medical conditions as well and you are concerned
that her weight as it has an impact on her 'mental problems' and medical problems. The most important thing to help your mother in this area is to help her maintain a healthy diet with special consideration for the diabetes and
hypertension. Exercise also should be encouraged.
Xenical(orlistat) is a weight loss medication that is relatively new which means that there is limited data. Coumadin and some diabetic medications have been tested and showed no significant interaction. There is no information yet available on the interaction between Zyprexa ( an anti-psychotic agent that does
have some significant weight gain associated withh it).
I recommend that you discuss these issues further with your mothers medical doctor and psychiatrist for further options regarding treatment. Keep in mind that this information is intended for educational purposes only.
Good luck,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Xenical, Zyprexa, Weight gain
