I was reading the leaflet from the pharmacy about Seroquel.

Twopupsmom,
I have heard many praises about the med Seroquel from the family of dementia patients. I was surprised, because when I first read about it online.....oh well.....it's scary, but apparently, it is used widely and does a good job for a lot of people. My cousin takes a small dose at bedtime and it works well for her.

Does anyone know what happened to TaraJane? She was going to move to Florida with her husband who had Early Onset. I haven't heard a thing from her since last year.

Update since my Dec 23, 2015 post. My husband now 85 is still on the same dose of Seroquel, I will attest to the fact that I am able to continue to take care of him at home because of this medication. He has already outlived his Mom & Dad and he had/ has a good life.

I do not think I would have survived the past two years with my husband being on Seroquel totally calming for him 25 mg am & 25 mg pm but Dr gives me enough if I need them at the 4/5 pm hour which is becoming an issue wanting to go home. I can control my anxiety & stress if he is calm he's 84 late stage 6 and thanks to this Med he lives at home comfortably.

Noy3, I am with you, who cares what shortens their life. As long as I can meet his needs and wants I will do it. It is the same as a cancer that is uncurable. Make them comfortable and able to enjoy life.

Thank you jeannegibbs, comfort is the most important thing. It was just scary to me as it was for you to read about Seroquel. We are waiting on the paperwork to be approved. It takes so long for these things but I think I have sent all the needed paperwork. Just waiting for underwriting and the approval to come. He is still excited about going and I am up and down about it. Only because of him. I really want this. I know nobody can tell me to go it is my decision but it is a make or break situation. What if's pop up in my mind all the time. I am switching from Cymbalta to Lexapro with Dr. approval. I have no sense of well-being and Lex is supposed to give you that sense. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays whichever you prefer.

My Mom was started on Seroquel a couple months ago and it has really helped her. Yes, I read the handout with all its' warnings but my thought is the same as jeannegibbs who cares if it shortens her life. She was so miserable with the hallucinations and delusions. Quality of her days is so much more important to us than the length of her days. I guess a lot depends on what a families goal is for their loved one, quality vs quantity of days. Once a family is clear on the goal its' easier to make a decision on whether or not to risk the possible negative outcome from using the medication.

BTW, are you still planning to move/have you moved?

Tarajane, I think I've told you that my husband took seroquel for about nine years. Did it shorten his life? Who cares? A shorter life with a higher quality is better than a longer, more miserable life in our opinion. And, actually, the autopsy showed he was within days of dying from heart disease (which his family history lead us to believe would be cause of death.) So I don't guess either dementia or seroquel impacted his life span.Seroquel did keep him out of a care facility, though, and I tend to think that in his case that may have lengthened his life.

It is a crap shoot, tarajane. You make your choices and you take your chances.

A psychiatrist gave me a new prescription. I had it filled, sat on my bed reading the entire leaflet, cried, and then took the dang pill. In my professional life I have had a lot of exposure to risk/benefit analysis. And that is kind of what we do each time we decide about medication. First the doctor does it. What drug is most likely to work for this person with the lowest risk of side effects. Then we do it if we read the leaflet.

I will because it has worked wonders. His doctor said today that he's the best he has seen him in a long time. Thank you

Tara, I don't know anything about Seroquel but I am often amused by all those disclaimers they run on drug commercials, it seems like every one can either maim or kill you. I'm glad it has worked for him, trust your doctors.