Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Medication Frustration

Here is a recap of what we've seen so far with two medications.

10mg of Zyprexa + 150mg Lamical twice daily = The worst combination so far -- INCREASED physical problems (the worst/really bad--bent over to the ground, pain), INCREASED hallucinations/psychosis. This was the treatment upon leaving early June hospital visit. It was also discovered that Patient was administered HALDOL (dosage not released) during the hospital visit!! This is very upsetting to the family and we know that Patient was in really bad shape upon returning home from the hospital.

7mg of Zyprexa + 150 Lamictal twice daily = Major Dehydration, INCREASED physical problems, INCREASED psychosis.

5mg of Zyprexa + 100mg Lamictal twice daily = REDUCED physical problems, REDUCED hallucinations, INCREASED fainting/seizures.

5mg of Zyprexa + 125mg Lamictal twice daily = INCREASED physical problems, INCREASED paranoia. REDUCED fainting/seizures. (The current prescribed treatment)

75mg of Lamictal twice daily = some relief with back pain, suicidal thoughts, loss of appetite

35mg of Lamictal twice daily = loss of appetite, suicidal thoughts

In sum, Patient is not getting enough relief and there appear to be too many problems. This raises questions as to whether or not Patient should even be taking these drugs. And how much damage has been caused by these drugs?

Questions of concern:
Why does a drug for psychosis increase psychosis for Patient (Zyprexa) when the dosage is increased?

Why does a drug for seizures increase psychosis for Patient when it is increased?

Why are physical problems expected to reduce when Lamictal dosage is raised but physical problems and psychosis increase?

Why are Doctors recommending Zyprexa if there are serious warnings for those taking it that could be suffering from dementia?
Anyone who does a search on Zyprexa will see that " Zyprexa is not for use in psychotic conditions that are related to dementia." If Patient was given a suspected dementia diagnosis based on symptoms, shouldn't Patient go off of this drug, regardless of the dosage? Seems like even just a little (5mg) should be considered too much if there are any doubts about this drug related to Patient's condition. This is very disturbing.

Are seizures happening because of the overuse of anti psychotic medications?

Is patient experiencing drug-induced Parkinson's symptoms?

What if Patient goes off of Lamictal & Zyprexa for a length of time (return to baseline) and is evaluated and treated for nutritional deficiencies/problems using vitamin therapy?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/nutrients-schizophrenia.htm

The Family said...

The patient was ultimately taken off medication once the diagnosis of FTD was agreed on.