Has anyone experienced a loved one with agitation and violent behaviors with Alzheimer's?

Violent behavior can DEFINITELY come from a UTI, so wait to see what his current urinalysis reveals. Never discount a UTI being at the root of a behavioral disturbance, and always rely on your husband's DOCTOR to guide you with medical advice vs. a forum of random internet users! I've witnessed unhinged aggressive and out of the ordinary behavior with my mother on several occasions when she had a UTI in full force! Same with my father, who did not suffer from dementia but became quite aggressive & ugly when he had a UTI!

When I worked as a front desk receptionist at a Memory Care ALF in 2020, there was a female resident living there named Cindy. Her husband would come by every day to see her; well, Cindy treated him horribly, spitting at him, cussing, and literally baring her teeth at him as soon as he walked thru the door. Yet she treated everyone else with kindness, humor & respect. Nobody could ever figure out what the heck was going thru her mind when she disrespected her DH like that, yet he'd still come by diligently, every single day to see her.

People diagnosed with AD and other dementias often display erratic behaviors that nobody can explain, and they change frequently, too. As my mother's vascular dementia advanced, she too became more and more agitated and aggressive with her behaviors. Her Ativan dose would be adjusted accordingly, but the closer she got to passing, the less effective it became. Also, the more advanced her dementia got, the more infections she came down with, it should be noted.

Is your DH on hospice? If not, you may want to speak with his PCP about getting an evaluation going for him. Hospice was wonderful with mom and they were able to keep her quite calm in the final months of her life. Not 100% calm 100% of the time, but much more so than before they came on board.

I'm sorry you are going through such a difficult time with DH; it hurts when they lash out at us, even though we know it's 'the disease' at play and has nothing to do with 'us'. It still hurts, it's still hard to witness, and knowing there's 'no cure' doesn't make our hearts hurt any less, but perhaps even MORE. From someone who's been there and done that, I offer you my sincere condolences for all of your pain & suffering. I hope DH's doctor can find a reason for his agitated behavior in the blood and urine tests that are being conducted right now so a med can be prescribed to control the symptoms. Best of luck.

Unpredictable agitation and violent destructive behavior is part of an advanced dementia. There is no cure for it. Treatment consist in using heavy sedation. Don't look for psychological reasons or UTI. A delirium from urinary infection causes fever, confusion, disorientation, headache, restlessness, hallucinations or delusions. Not violent destructive behavior.

I am wondering if this might not fall out of the realm of "Alzheimer's" diagnosis, and if something else might be going on, such as small strokes, or even if he might have had a larger stroke. This must be awful for you to witness. What are his doctors now suggesting. It is so sad when this occurs because the medical community can't much help in that drug cocktails are so difficult to assess for efficacy when the patient is not with the medical community, and even if the right ones are found they often don't last. The patient ends with the devil and the deep blue in that they are either drugged into a semi stupor or agitated.
I hope you find an answer. Know that you aren't alone. I wish you the best and if an answer is found I hope you will let us know.