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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
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V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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My mother was given risperdal and Depakote for violent behavior. It blunted the aggression but affected her walking and basically gave her parkinson type symptoms.
Turns out she had been prescribed Keppra for seizures which she never had and a side effect of THAT med is aggression! So all the aggression was a result of a med she never needed! Arghhh!
Got her off the Keppra after a year on it and she is now the sweetest person you can imagine. We are working now to wean her off the risperdal and when that's gone the Depakote. We're doing it slowly so we know what the effect is before we move ahead. So far so good. She is down to .5mg at night. She is walking better....less parkinson shuffle and the tremors have mostly gone. But the pill rolling continues.
All I can suggest is look at her other meds and see what the side effects of those are. And if they say temporary be sure to find out THAT definition because I think some of the docs define temporary as "until they die".
Yoga girl, my prayers are with you. It's such a difficult time and a very strange disease. I sort of brace myself for impact... once more! Thank you for sharing. It helps.
Michou, sorry you have this trouble. My mom has frequent episodes of hostility, hitting and scratching when they clean her. The geriatric psychiatrist adjusts her meds. She’s on a cocktail of several drugs now. She goes through phases, lately she has a case of the giggles. I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
Meds really helped my LO over the last few years. Her agitation, anxiety, worry, etc. was so severe, that the medication was a godsend. If you read all the potential side effects, you will worry yourself silly. I keep in contact with the MC director and we discuss meds, symptoms, etc. so, the doctor can review the meds regularly. Since, she's now late stage dementia, I have requested Palliative Care and so she's been removed from most all her meds. Still, she needs something for her anxiety.
Yes every one of your comments help because at least you care! I'm not really optimistic, but I have faith that by the grace of God I'll be able to do what's best for mom even if I am not at my best ( breast cancer last october, anastrozole augmenting my Sjogrën) and that if the new meds don't work her actual residence won't keep her so return to the hospital, with all her stock, waiting time unknown, new place unknown... need a lot of faith! Thanks for caring. God bless you all.
My moms on Risperidone. .25 2 times a day. She would get mean, and sometimes hit. But the flip side I don't really know what she experienced. We're they mean and overbearing. It's been almost a year. She also gets UTis and is on another med. her right hand shakes. But otherwise her personality is a bit calmer.
My dad took risperdol and it made him drool uncontrollably and Didn’t seem to help him at all. Maybe they could try Ativan. They are trying that on my dad now. He is very anxious. He wasn’t sleeping at night and will barely sit long enough at the dinner table to eat dinner. He’s in AL now but he did the same thing to me when I had him at my house. It’s so upsetting to not be able to help our parents. Bless you.
Thank you Barb Brooklin. I know you're trying to be comforting. I hope everything is the best it can be with your mom. Personnally I' m not trying to imagine how distressing it is for mine : I used to but after I cried all tears in my body, Ilost my will to live. Not really useful for either of us. I stopped this depressing imagining when I realized that we can't know what it is they are living for real. My guess? It is near what very young children live. And in mom's case,music is useless, makes her more agitated, she never liked music.
But thank you for the hope that like your mom,mine will have positive reaction to her new meds. God bless you and your dear ones
I'm so sorry that your mom is exhibiting such symptoms. She must be so distressed and scared!
My mom was not prescribed dispersal, but she was on other psychiatric meds. She took antianxiety meds while still living at home and in Independent Living. She resisted the idea of an antidepressant although I believe she'd been depressed for most of her life.
My mother was the kind of person who read the side effect insert and proceeded to get them all.
Once she had a stroke, I signed off immediately on the psych meds that were recommended, and mom had no side effects. For the most part, she was calm, content and not sedated at all. She was a better version of herself. Occasionally, she would become agitated. We'd have her tested for a UTI and if that wasn't the issue, we'd call in the psych team to adjust meds.
Dementia is a progressive disease and the medical response to it needs to keep up with the symptoms.
I think that at the point where reassurance and soft music went working to ease paranoia, delusions and aggression, meds are worth a try.
Agressivity (hitting employees and other residents) bit of paranoïa ( afraid they mess with her meds, afraid without knowing what) Since last friday she is in a secured area in gerontology at hospital. They take care of all her physical problems, but errance in the night and sundoowning let them believe her cognitive impairments worsened. So they prescribed the Risperdal
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Turns out she had been prescribed Keppra for seizures which she never had and a side effect of THAT med is aggression! So all the aggression was a result of a med she never needed! Arghhh!
Got her off the Keppra after a year on it and she is now the sweetest person you can imagine. We are working now to wean her off the risperdal and when that's gone the Depakote. We're doing it slowly so we know what the effect is before we move ahead. So far so good. She is down to .5mg at night. She is walking better....less parkinson shuffle and the tremors have mostly gone. But the pill rolling continues.
All I can suggest is look at her other meds and see what the side effects of those are. And if they say temporary be sure to find out THAT definition because I think some of the docs define temporary as "until they die".
sorry you have this trouble. My mom has frequent episodes of hostility, hitting and scratching when they clean her. The geriatric psychiatrist adjusts her meds. She’s on a cocktail of several drugs now. She goes through phases, lately she has a case of the giggles. I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
At first we tried seroquel which has a heavy sedative effect and protocol is to keep increasing the dosage
All of these anti-psychotic drugs carry warning labels to not use in elderly dementia patients
Other drugs such as Ativan are very short lived in the system and sometimes are used in combination with sleep
Aides
I was and am very concerned about any meds for mom since she's been in a memory care facility for 2 years - she's approaching 95
Risperidone has been the lesser of evils compared to Ativan seroquel or haldol
I wouldn't recommend any drug but for us it helped keep her facility from sending her out on a psych hold
Didn’t seem to help him at all. Maybe they could try Ativan. They are trying that on my dad now. He is very anxious. He wasn’t sleeping at night and will barely sit long enough at the dinner table
to eat dinner. He’s in AL now but he did the same thing to me when I had him at my house. It’s so upsetting to not be able to help our parents. Bless you.
But thank you for the hope that like your mom,mine will have positive reaction to her new meds. God bless you and your dear ones
My mom was not prescribed dispersal, but she was on other psychiatric meds. She took antianxiety meds while still living at home and in Independent Living. She resisted the idea of an antidepressant although I believe she'd been depressed for most of her life.
My mother was the kind of person who read the side effect insert and proceeded to get them all.
Once she had a stroke, I signed off immediately on the psych meds that were recommended, and mom had no side effects. For the most part, she was calm, content and not sedated at all. She was a better version of herself. Occasionally, she would become agitated. We'd have her tested for a UTI and if that wasn't the issue, we'd call in the psych team to adjust meds.
Dementia is a progressive disease and the medical response to it needs to keep up with the symptoms.
I think that at the point where reassurance and soft music went working to ease paranoia, delusions and aggression, meds are worth a try.