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Elderly parents
Original poster

Elderly Relative permanently on AD's in care home

26 replies

Stormevey · 03/02/2022 06:00

I'm interested to hear of anyone who's elerdly relative is doped up to the eyeballs continuously in the home there're in?? M partners mum has been on a regime of anti deppressants for at least 3 months now (this will be her fourth year in the care home). The problem is she seemed fine before. Can anyone give me any insight as to why this may be happening? The staff at the home tell him it's because she's depressed, but she's now zombified

OP posts:
Spookytooth · 03/02/2022 06:04

Ask who is prescribing them. Is she actually being seen and examined by a GP or psychiatrist.
I wouldn't have thought ADs would make her a zombie.

doitwithlove · 03/02/2022 06:27

Can you visit when the doctor is doing their rounds?

If so, ask the GP why your family member is on the meds.

WutheringHeights66 · 03/02/2022 06:33

My DD was on AD but in the home, they weren’t for depression though but to treat dementia aggression. He wasn’t doped up though, they just calmed his agitation. I would definitely want to know who had prescribed them and why.

ApolloandDaphne · 03/02/2022 06:50

My FIL was on AD in his care home. He had low mood because of lockdown and not seeing people. He wasn't like a zombie with them though. I have to say in his final months he was quieter and slept more as his elderly body was getting frailer and shutting down. Is it possible she is just getting to this stage?

toomuchfaster · 03/02/2022 06:50

Being 'doped up' and 'zombified' are completely different to being on antidepressants. Her child needs to discuss the situation with the home about a proper diagnosis and exactly what and why the treatment is being given.

wheresmymojo · 03/02/2022 07:12

ADs don't make anyone doped up or zombified even at the highest doses so there's something else going on here...

Have they given you a full list of medications that they're on?

Knotaknitter · 03/02/2022 08:04

Mum was prescribed them for sundowning (dementia). They worked well and I wish she'd had them decades before. She was neither doped up to the eyes nor zombified.

When you say she seemed fine before, do you mean before she was on the medication or before she went into the care home?

EmmaH2022 · 03/02/2022 09:19

@wheresmymojo

ADs don't make anyone doped up or zombified even at the highest doses so there's something else going on here...

Have they given you a full list of medications that they're on?

Exactly this. i'd have been a zombie for about 25 years now.
Original poster
Stormevey · 03/02/2022 09:30

Unfortunately she’s my partners mum so I can only talk to him about it. And unfortunately he accepts whatever they tell him. But it seems suspicious to me. The problem is neither my partner nor his mother ever actually talk about things that should be talked about. And yet, along with the medication she’s also almost blind. As well as arthritis in her hands so badly that she has to be fed. Her feet are swollen to the point that she’s unable to walk and so has to use a wheelchair. But for all of this, at 87 it doesn’t look as if she’s going anywhere any time soon

OP posts:
DisforDarkChocolate · 03/02/2022 09:33

It sounds like she could do with a medication review. However, for some people with lots of health conditions and not much mobility it can be very hard to balance medication and side effects. Old age is brutal.

CorrBlimeyGG · 03/02/2022 09:39

Do you know what is causing the swollen feet? That needs investigating if it has not already been, to exclude heart failure.

Try to find out what medication she is on. Some can be very sedating, but there are alternatives that are not (and still appropriate for older people).

EmmaH2022 · 03/02/2022 10:35

OP "But it seems suspicious to me"

Do you have much experience with people in this situation? 87, partially blind, swollen feet, taking medication, doesn't sound remotely suspicious.

It's almost exactly what's being discussed on another thread about the tragedies of living too long and having medication to help do it.

If the swollen feet was heart failure it might be that they don't want to take all the medications that simply delay the process.

cultkid · 03/02/2022 10:38

I would rather be doped up then suffering and miserable

Her life sounds so tough
Do you think she is going to better? Surely not?

I have usually been under medicated by HCPs
In more pain then I want to be or more nauseas etc

Ask to see a list of her meds and have a chat thru with the doctor

What are you suspicious of? That they are sedating her to make her more agreeable?

Dolphinnoises · 03/02/2022 10:41

Yes my Nan was on antidepressants but then she was depressed and kept talking about not wanting to be alive. They did the job and made her more cheerful, not zombified.

Kitkat151 · 03/02/2022 10:43

ADs don’t make you zombified.....I’ve been on and off them most of my adult life.....I work full time .....lots of life in me.....what type of AD?

helpfulperson · 03/02/2022 10:44

Does she still have capacity in which case it maybe that she has asked for or agreed to this if not have there been any care planning meetings looking overall at how her health is being managed. My dad was on medication that helped reduce his aggression but we agree that generally he wouldn't be given anything else other than to make him comfortable.

CorrBlimeyGG · 03/02/2022 10:48

What are you suspicious of? That they are sedating her to make her more agreeable?

Sadly, that does still happen in care environments. In some cases it is kinder to the individual, but in others it is not justified.

MayThePawsBeWithYou · 03/02/2022 10:49

The ADs wont turn her into a zombie, your partner can ask for a medication and dr review if he is concerned,

cultkid · 03/02/2022 13:06

@CorrBlimeyGG

What are you suspicious of? That they are sedating her to make her more agreeable?

Sadly, that does still happen in care environments. In some cases it is kinder to the individual, but in others it is not justified.

Yes Thats why I'm asking, because if that is the case then they need to work on their communication with her. If she is depressed and distressed then maybe they are the right medication. If it's because they find her hard work then that is not fair. I'm thinking this is what the OP means?
MysterOfWomanY · 04/02/2022 00:28

My Mum was on a low dose of ADs to help with her arthritis pain and they worked well - less pain, more cheer!
Like PPs I haven't heard of ADs "zombifying" people - has there been some miscommunication along the line and what was really mentioned was another sort of psychiatric drug?

My late FiL had gone through some awful things in his life and every so often would go mad and have to spend a couple of weeks in the local geriatric psychiatric ward. On admission, typically he would have been up for 48h+ without sleep (running up and down the corridor singing and explaining that THE ANSWER was somehow hidden in the pattern of his dressing gown). Whatever the lovely nurses gave him certainly did help him sleep, but in those circumstances it was just what he needed...

PermanentTemporary · 04/02/2022 10:08

Just wondering what medication it is? Amitriptyline has AD effect but these days I think is used more for nerve pain. Mirtazapine is an AD that really helps poor sleep but certainly in the early weeks can be more sedating than is ideal, that can settle down though, abd the dose can be adjusted. No harm in noting there's been a change and asking if meds can be reviewed and what can be hoped for?

LittleMissTake · 06/02/2022 00:45

In my experience (and being rather blunt- sorry) care homes don’t like to lose paying clients, so I don’t immediately see anything suspicious about your DP’s mum being ‘zombified’.
She could be so for a number of reasons that aren’t caused by ADs or care home
mismanagement (e.g. her own apathy, lack of stimulation, fatigue because of underlying conditions such as heart failure).
To put your mind at rest you could ask for a medication review and explanation for the swollen legs.
87 is a good age and few people reach it without having serious health issues. Nevertheless if prompted her doctors might be able to do more to alleviate some of her problems.
My godmother is 86 and after a change of meds (admittedly this only happened after much robust family intervention) her swollen legs improved to the extent that she can walk around the home ok whereas she was previously confined to a wheelchair.
If you can get your DP on board you might be able to get his mum’s treatment reviewed and improve the quality of her life.

Chocolateis1ofyour5aday · 10/02/2022 18:03

At 87 it may just be her body being tired as she's old/worn out. What other pills does she take? Also her sleep pattern could be out of synch if she sleeps in a chair during the day and then cant sleep at night. It then becomes a viscious circle.
My 95 year old aunt has been described ADs after the death of her DH and they don't make her dopey at all - just improved her low mood and helped improve her apetite.

Whenigrowupiwanttobea · 10/02/2022 18:36

A few years ago I was prescribed Amitryptilline and I was a zombie. It was then discovered that I am lacking a certain enzyme which aids the liver in metabolising it which meant even the lowest dose was enough to make me resemble the walking dead! The lack of enzyme meant the drug kept accumulating in my bloodstream causing the zombie state. Took 2 weeks for it to wash out of my system

Svara · 10/02/2022 18:42

@Spookytooth

Ask who is prescribing them. Is she actually being seen and examined by a GP or psychiatrist. I wouldn't have thought ADs would make her a zombie.
Venlafaxine certainly made me a zombie, I felt completely flat, not happy or sad, it was horrible so I had to quit them. I was a young adult too, I can see how medication could affect an elderly person worse.