scared/meds help

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

hi, my mom has demintia and is scared alot, has anyone been throught this, she has anxiety really bad and i was told it comes with this , dose it. if so what meds have you known to help. she takes klonopin as needed and 50mg of zolof a day . she crys a lot and  is scared to be byself. any ideals will be great. thanks barbara.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

sorry took me so long to get back lol, shes still the same , scared at times others not, shes at home with me and we are taking the best care of her we can, there are days shes good than days shes not in our world, but we love her and try to make each day great for her. thanks for caring .

[margypops]

PS how is she doing ?

[margypops]

The best thing you can do is to keep her at home with you, you could get someone to come in to help you ,folks do better when they stay at home not placed in any where they do not know amongst strangers..

[johngreene]

My mom passed away Nov. 07 from Alzh. so my heart goes out to you. I don't want you to take what I'm telling you the wrong way, but it gets to the point when the medical field comes in and takes over the show, and they tell you what you are going to do. If you don't, the Dr. can get legal custody of you mother and put her in a facility of his choosiing. When it gets to that point, you might as well put her somewhere convenient for you. Has anybody ever mentioned SUNDOWNERS. When the sun goes down, it has a major impact on Alz. patients. Good luck and spend as much time with your mom as possible.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

thank you so much , i can tell you are a very caring erson and the words do make since, my dad is still here but he works part-time at 75 thats what keeps him alive, he is not a care taker and cant be with her to long before he startes getting up-set with her than it makes matters worse. so its onmy shoulders to take care of her most the time, she still knows who we are and knows alot thats going on around her, but at times shes like in another world, never wants to be left byself, so we try and work things out where am at home when hes not. i also work parttime so there are  days where she has to be byself, shes not in danger as far as cutting stove on and forgetting that , we are watching her very close to see when these things happen so we would never leave byself. i love my mom so much and its so hard to change roles now am the mom shes the child.  her mom had it now her so am very scared i might there are four of us daughters so we are all scared of getting it and when i forget something i get scared.  God Bless you for being a care taker thats not a easy job and you really have to be cut out for it. thank you for all the info we will try a few of them see what happens. Barbara

[BetGR]

Thinking about your mom some more - imagine what she is going through - you'd be scared if nothing in your world made sense.  What your mother may be experiencing is not necessarily paranoia but that can happen too.   Your mother may not remember anything of her surroundings and everything seems strange to her all the time - even if you explain to her that she is safe, she is at home, you are there and will protect her.  She may forget your words of comfort no matter how calm or how often you say it to her because depending on the status of her dementia she is incapable of being able to learn new things - which is what memorization is.  So her being afraid is most common and her crying is not unusual if she can't figure out where she is or what is happening to her - or perhaps who the people are around her if she doesn't recognize you or any other family members.  It is a very sad and cruel disease.  I feel for you - and can totally empathize with how you feel.

[BetGR]

Hi.  I have had a lot of experience with Alzheimers with my mom and grandmother. I am also a trained helpline volunteer with the Alzheimers Association.

Paranoia is one of those things that people with Alzheimers experience.   It comes from the person not being able to interpret their world anymore and sometimes it can be quite intense.   Sometimes the PWD (Person with the Disease) hallucinates and then cannot separate fact from vision and to them it is very very real.   There is not much that can be done and I'm not sure Zoloft is a great idea only in that it suppresses a person - but if it works to calk her down then it can be good.    Sometimes the only thing you can do is get them out of the situation (move them to a room that brings them comfort) or distract them if that is possible.   Mom might express the same fears over and over and it is your job to be patient with her in repeating your acceptance of what "she is seeing or feeling" and your reassurance that you will protect her as best you can.   Sometimes the PWD can be running an infection like a UTI that can cause her to hallucinate so if you think she is going to the bathroom a lot and having problems with paranoia because she is seeing things, then I would take her to her doctor to rule out any type of infection.

[margypops]

I am so sorry.... it is hard for your Mom and yourself , perhaps the meds are causing some of this, ask her Doctor if she could be weaned off and try something else, do it with her Doctors help, the meds can help but many times make anxiety worse, try to keep her mind as active and busy as you can, does she get out ,go for a walk, it is important that she doesnt just sit around all day, people around ,does she live at home? let us know  how she is doing .