It's more dangerous that a self-appointed expert from "Google university" proclaims erroneously that Seroquel causes hallucinations, than me saying that the dose might be insufficient. The family is more likely to stop the medicine on their own without telling the doctor, than increasing the dosage because only the attending doctor can write the order.
"Might" is a word you don't often use C. You usually speak as tho you KNOW and there is no "might" about it. The family should be advised to seek expert advice of their MD. Had you used "might" no one would have the slightest criticism. This elder may have too much or too little seroquel, or may be one like my brother, who has the OPPOSITE reaction to almost any medication of the one indicated as usual reaction. He went almost mad on one ativan. Care needs to be taken when giving medical opinion, no matter WHERE you got it from. OPs need to be guided to seek advice of their MD. It is fine, then to say "might be that". It isn't OK to speak as tho you ARE the MD of this patient. No matter whether you ARE an MD or not, that is unwise to do regarding a patient/person you are not familiar with. And I repeat, it is DANGEROUS.
Quetiapine or Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotic to treat hallucinations, delusions and other psychotic symptoms. it's used frequently to treat agitation and hallucinations in people with dementia. However, since antipsychotics increase the risk of death in the elderly, in institutions that care for people with dementia, they use antipsychotics in very small dosis as a precaution. So, most cases of hallucinations fail to respond because of insufficient doses. It's true that psychotropic medications in general, used in excess or in polypharmacy may cause delirium with hallucinations in certain patients. However, these cases of metabolic encephalopathy are extremely rare. The Internet only provides information, no knowledge. No all google information is reliable, it needs to be filtered by people with knowledge and experience to select what is valid and discard what is not applicable. Information alone doesn't replace knowledge. Too much information in the wrong hands can be dangerous.
And knowledge, as it pertains to medications, reaction and dosage should NOT come from a Forum. It should come from Medical Professionals. Much nuance is lost in keyboards, TChamp, and I know that you mean no harm, but your replies re medical knowledge are often spoken as an expert. You don't know these patients. You should be referring them to professional advice. I am afraid people might act on some of your advice to their detriment.
Seroquel does NOT cause hallucinations. Some hallucinations are very resistive to medication and the improvement is not 100%. Particularly, hallucinations from brain damage which are a little different from psychotic hallucinations. Increasing the dose of antipsychotic can be very dangerous. As I said before, it does increase the death risk in the elderly from cerebro vascular accidents. If the hallucinations are not a major threat to the patient or to others, it's better to leave them untreated. They won't hurt anybody.
Well, you have two answers below. One says that this means TOO MUCH of the med and one that says you need MORE of the med on board to prevent hallucinations. If you look up online you will see that seroquel is quite infamous for "causing" hallucinations for some. If Mother never had them before this is a possibility. This means that you should consult your MD. All patients are different. Just as different as their own thumb print I like to say. Best to take legal questions to legal experts and medical to medical experts. Here on Forum you will get the "opinions" of other caregivers. As you can see, they vary considerably, and are not expert where your elder is concerned. Wishing you the best and hope you'll update us. With his Lewy's dementia night hallucinations were VERY real for my brother. He almost "enjoyed them" and he understood they weren't real, as he was in early days of the disorder, but they were quite fascinating to be sure.
Seroquel is an anti-psychotic used to stop hallucinations and delusions. If she was hallucinating during the night, it means that the dosage was insufficient.
It can be easily researched online, TChamp, but seroquel is quite notorious for causing hallucinations for SOME PATIENTS. It is always best for medical questions to be referred to the MD in care of our questioners and their families. Patients are unique, medicine is anything but an exact science as my oncologist used to love to say, and we aren't medical experts, no matter our experience.
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Care needs to be taken when giving medical opinion, no matter WHERE you got it from. OPs need to be guided to seek advice of their MD. It is fine, then to say "might be that". It isn't OK to speak as tho you ARE the MD of this patient. No matter whether you ARE an MD or not, that is unwise to do regarding a patient/person you are not familiar with. And I repeat, it is DANGEROUS.
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If you look up online you will see that seroquel is quite infamous for "causing" hallucinations for some. If Mother never had them before this is a possibility.
This means that you should consult your MD.
All patients are different. Just as different as their own thumb print I like to say. Best to take legal questions to legal experts and medical to medical experts.
Here on Forum you will get the "opinions" of other caregivers. As you can see, they vary considerably, and are not expert where your elder is concerned.
Wishing you the best and hope you'll update us. With his Lewy's dementia night hallucinations were VERY real for my brother. He almost "enjoyed them" and he understood they weren't real, as he was in early days of the disorder, but they were quite fascinating to be sure.
It is always best for medical questions to be referred to the MD in care of our questioners and their families. Patients are unique, medicine is anything but an exact science as my oncologist used to love to say, and we aren't medical experts, no matter our experience.