Sedation

[Loopyloo97]

My mum is in a nursing home she is bed bound and doubly incontinent
She gets very agitated when being changed and lashes out at the carers some have been scratched . Although my mum has dementia she is fully aware that her pad is being changed and has her dignity
I fully understand that the carers don’t have to put up with being hit
It has been recommended that my mum has a light sedative for her anxiety has anyone had this situation with a loved one

Yes, my mum. It almost sounds lovely me my mum.
My mum becomes very upset agitated aggressive verbally and physically and hits and scratches carers when they attempt any personal care. My mum was never like this until she got dementia- it's very stressful and upsetting. The Home tries de-escalation with mum and also gives here a dose of lorazepam in the morning to calm her before the carers attempt and washing etc
It's not what I'd want for my mum but it's damage limitation for all concerned

Sorry you're going through this - it's an awful disease

Sorry it should say "it sounds lovely like my mum"

Aasrrrgh predictive text - it sounds like my mum

Just been through similar with DF who was end stage with organ failure and became very distressed, medication helped his anxiety enormously. It's not an easy option but it did make his life more bearable for him.

Thankyou for your replies , when I’m in there in the morning I usually explain to mum that she’s going to be washed and dressed
I suggested to the carers that they should give her a flannel to wash her face and top half and for the last couple of mornings she’s been fine no agitation , however I had a call today from a nurse she said it’s not always the case especially when she’s soiled herself she tends to lash out
I’m so confused as I’ve read that sedation can make confusion worse , I’m gking to talk to the GP next week as I would like a very low dose it’s all so easy to drug people up so as they are easy to manage
It’s so sad

I really do understand how stressful this is, and it runs through my mind the whole thing about keeping them quiet by drugging them up. But my mum is a lot calmer with sedation and nicer to be with.

This is what she has Lorazepam 1mg half a tablet up to three times a day when required to be taken by 7am
Zopiclone 3.75mg x 1 at night - this is to stop her keeping everyone awake shouting at imaginary people and importantly to give her chance to sleep

At my mum's nursing home they keep a daily behaviour chart on her file to work our triggers and if they fill it in properly instead of copying what other careers write, and analyse results it is helpful in working out triggers and preventative strategies - it's called ABC: Antecedents, Behaviour and Consequences

Thankyou MaggieMay23 I’m so worried I find talking to my mum & explaining things reassures her she also hates the hoist when being transferred from bed to the wheel chair
Do the sedatives that your mum takes cause her to sleep a lot ?

Oh the home does keep a log of everything including behaviour

I'm glad that you can talk and reassure your mum, mine doesn't retain anything. The hoist is horrible and I see lots of the resident getting stressed and upset by it.

My mum is often sleepy when I go to visit, I don't know if it's part of her general decline or whether it's the medication making her sleepy. Today when I visited mum was very much awake and having loud conversations with her imaginary people and was quite agitated. I don't know if it's the meds making her sleepy, so I'm going to talk the the senior nurse to see if that's the case and if it is that, whether it's worth them adjusting her meds.

We started having my father given sedation when we could see how distressing to him it was to be in the state where he was hitting out at carers. It doesn't make him sleepy, it just seems to make him less bothered about the fact he has no idea where he is or what is happening.

Hi helpfperson may I ask what type of medication your dad takes ?
There’s so many types of anxiety drugs I have since spoken to my mums Gp and with the home we have decided to try and work out what agitates my mum
The carers find that washing and dressing my mum straight after breakfast makes a huge difference that she isn’t as agitated

if you could imagine asking her 20 years ago about what you should do ... do that.

I'm sorry, it's so hard. but sedation isn't used as the chemical cosh it used to be. It's tightly regulated in nursing homes now.

I agree with the recent posts. I was visiting my mum today and had a talk with the nurse manager who told me that they try very hard to work out triggers to my mum's aggressive behaviour and try to deescalate the situation and work with mum and they will avoid using sedation although they know that it is necessary sometimes.
Also I was concerned that mum is sleepy more so than she used to be and the nurse manager thought this was more about mum's general decline than about being sedated- Mum is 9 years since her initial Alzheimer's diagnosis. also she can be awake at night talking to herself so is tired in the day
It's a horrible disease.

Hi MaggieMay23 , my mum is in good spirits today, there is one particular carer that has got to know my mum well & she knows how to care for her... We are avoiding any form of anxiety meds at the moment , people with dementia may be confused but also have thoughts & feelings we all have good & bad days . I feel that if an elderly person doesn't want to eat or wash leave them until they have calmed instead of insisting that they do , this is enough to make anyone agitated . If my mum isn't in a good mood we find its best to leave her for a while then try again and most of the time this works

Hi @Loopyloo97 I'm glad to hear that. I agree I told the home that I'd rather they didn't push if my mum won't comply as she only gets herself in a worse state, so to leave her to calm down. I'm not going to make a fuss if she's slightly grubby because staff couldn't wash her. Certain staff seen to have the knack of calming my mum. Sometimes all it needs to calm her is to joke with her or ask her about her family or change the subject completely.

Keep strong