I was told yesterday that Ativan is not safe for Alzheimer's patients. Have any of you had bad experiences with this med with your LO? Thank you.

I don't know that it is unsafe, but there are better meds for long term use, IMO. Mom took it PRN and so does Dad, who has been on it for over a year now with no ill effects. It's good in a pinch and it can help a person to relax enough to go on appointments or when transferring them to the NH and stuff like that. When Mom died, it was helpful to Dad. I think that the staff at the NH were giving Mom too much of it for her behaviors and she was zonked, but I put a stop to it.

In short, it can help to "take the edge off", but it isn't for everyone. Some people get good results and some don't.

I'm sure that there are others here with different opinions.

Ativan agitated the H*ll out of my Mom. We found that either Xanax or Zyprexa--at the lowest dosage--worked quite well. Zyprexa carries a black box warning about the potential to cause strokes or heart attacks in the elderly with dementia, but Mom's neurologist and I both agreed that her quality of life was being profoundly compromised by her 24-hr agitation and that it is worth the risk.

Thank you for your responses. Mom started Ativan one week ago and I had a call yesterday saying she is expressionless, can't stand at all, can't eat, can't even babble anymore since starting the med and she only takes it at night. I can't fathom that she would slip that much in one week without something causing it. But I'm so lost with knowing what this disease will do and how fast things can happen. She WAS smiling, babbling, and only combative at bedtime. Can a decline that serious happen in one week? I wish God would take her home. Have never felt so much pain... ever...

mtdiana..I am so sorry about your mom...I can't believe that ativan would cause that..it had a very positive, mild effect on my dad but of course, as we have learned one size does not fit all...have you told her doctor? What does he/she say? I wish you the best...please keep us posted.

God Bless,
kim

Yeah, it's so hard to learn about the disease at our LO's expense, but other than this board's incredible information that's about all we can do. Sounds like it is the medication. I'd call the doc right away and see if he won't try something else. Sorry you're having to deal with this problem on top of everything else this disease presents. Hang in there.
Marie

Might she have had some medical event like a mini stroke? Mom reacted similarly, and I wondered if it was the atavan or if she had had a TIA. Her speech was very garbled.

I had the atavan stopped but she never really got better, which make me wonder. She eventually passed from the effects of stroke, so it made sense to me, looking back. You might want to have her doctor look her over.

This message board is a literal life saver. I don't post much, but I read and read. There is so much strength and compassion here...it's the only place to find people who REALLY and truly understand. God bless you all

Mom was in the hospital the past few days - she fell and fractured her cheekbone. On admission she was agitated, restless, didin't know she had been injured or where she was, and they couldn't run any tests or keep her in bed. They gave her an Ativan/Haldol cocktail that was, well, quite remarkable. She lay in bed, eyes closed and semiconscious, having conversations with imaginary people, waving her hands, etc. Completely unresponsive to outside stimulus. Can't really say it was a good thing on top of her usual mix of zoloft/zanax/namenda/aricept. And even after all that, they had a lot of trouble running the tests.

Haldol is a drug I'd watch out for. Of course, but Atavan and Haldol can cause tardive dyskensia, which is what I thought was going on with mom after she'd been on the atavan for a couple of months. She had the signs. I was pretty agitated over it. Made them stop giving it to her. Who knows if it was the progression of the disease, the atavan, a stroke or what...

My Mom is only on Ativan and nothing else. I giver her .5 at about 5-6:00 at night. Calms her right down and she is ready for bed by 7. I have had no problems with it at all, but again, everyone is different.

My partner sometimes takes either 0.5 mg of Ativan (the generic for it, really, lorazepam) or for some especially scary situation, 1 mg. It definitely helps her relax, without putting her to sleep. (It was great for the first time she'd been to the dentist in years!)

OTOH, it works against Aricept. Also, if you take it too regularly, it's habit-forming and you need more and more to get the same effect. In itself, this wouldn't be too bad, but since it works against the Aricept it can create problems for the long term.

Of course, that's if it works well for the person taking it.

It's possible to taper off Ativan over a two or three-week period. I did that for my partner a few months ago.

My partner's brain doc recommends (for her) using the lorazepam as little as possible, relying on the Zoloft to build up in her system instead. But your specialist should give you the best advice for your particular LO.

I think this may be an individual response. My mom tried this and xanax. Both results were very negative. It increased her anxiety, caused hallucinations. She was definitely worse after trying them. We opted not to use them after consulting the doc.

My Dad was given this in the hospital to calm him down. It had the opposite effect, and it was horrible. It made him even more agitated, angry, combative, restless, unable to sleep, and he had hallucinations, and it made the dementia worse. They had to restrain him in a chair, with a vest that tied behind the chair. My dad is cantankerous to begin with, but with the ativan, he was 10 times worse. Being so agitated and restrained, Houdini got out of his restraints more than once.
More than one doctor has since told me Ativan is not good for Alzheimer's patients. I make it a point to tell any medical personnel he has a bad reaction to it, and it cannot be given to him.

My Mother takes Ativan when needed. Tonite was a night she needed it. It helps to calm the LO,,and usually makes them relaxed and a bit sleepy. I'd rather someone take an ativan and be observed so they dont' fall,,rather than going on to seroquel or risperdal,,as both of the latter should only be prescribed as a last choice of medication for a LO. Peace