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My Mom had to be placed in a home for safety reasons. I was pleased with the home, its very nice and the staff is very good to my Mom. I had to rush her to the hospital a little over a month ago and since then I have seen her decline very quickly. Mom lived with us for about 4 years and was always on the same medications, about 5, normal meds such as High BP, Cholesterol, one anti Depressant, memory medication and a lot of Vitamins. This time the medicine bill came out and my sister sent it to me questioning why they had prescribed so many medications. When I started reviewing what they had done in the last month and a half I was shocked!!! They had 21 medications on the invoice. I found that they had prescribed 3 anti psychotic drugs and a seizure med? Mom does not have seizures. They also had a rub on cream for Adivan. At the time she had to go to the hospital she had become combative, just in the morning. She did not want to get out of bed. Please don't take me wrong I do not think they should have to deal with something like that but my Mom weighs about 75 pounds and all she was doing was yelling at them to get out. I do know she swung at them a couple of times and not making excuses but she is so weak that even if she did happen to hit one of them its not like it would have hurt a fly. The last month I have seen my Mom decline very rapidly. I could not understand why this was moving at such a fast pace, he had gone from laughing and talking, walking around the halls to only walking if I was there and got her up and it was very short walks, she was staring at walls, and could not get 3 words out with out forgetting. After reviewing the medicine bill it became quite obvious that they were way over medicating her. I approached the nursing home and Doctor, I am there all the time and very involved with Mom and others at the home. They NEVER once said a word to me that they had even changed her meds. More or less prescribed all of this. I have came home for over a month crying and thinking my mom was in final stages and dying. To this day the doctor has not called me back, I told them as soon as I found out to take her off the Anti psychotic meds and put her back on her normal medications. When I spoke to one of the coordinators she seemed shocked that I was upset, she told me the doctor cut back on her dose. I told her that I did not request they to cut back although I understand that they now need to wean her off. I want her off totally. She tried to tell me that they make cocktails for some of the pacients so this let me know that they had her on about 3 anti psychotics and mixing other items like sezciour meds, they she said well I hope you will not shut your mind to this. I am very angry that they think that they can do this without consent. Has anyone run into this? I here its quite common and I just can't believe that this has happened. Mom is being taken off and I can see a huge difference. I plan to meet the doctor on Thursday when she is there and question her on this and let her know that this is unacceptable. Now my sister is wanting me to move Mom, she thinks that they will no longer be good to her. I have been told that unless it is necessary and you have no choice to not move her. I want to see what happens next and feel that if they cooperate and I see no difference in her care that we need to leave her there. The aids take care of mom and they are so good to her. I doubt that they know what is going on. I welcome any advice that you can give me or any one that has encountered the same situation and what they might have done.

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I think it's important to have a good relationship with the facility and the treating psychiatrist so you all are aware of what is going on. I have met with my LO and her psychiatrist at all the office visits. (That might not be possible for everyone.) A staff member from the facility is also present, so, we can discuss her status, behavior, etc. We then discuss her current meds, reason to adjust, add, discontinue, etc. So, I haven't seen any surprises.

I would be cautious to insist on a change in meds that the doctor disagrees with. I'd discuss with the doctor the reasons for the meds. It sounds like your mother had multiple problems previously. I think that sometimes, there is an adjustment period to get the right med and right dose. Maybe, they can work on that for your mother. It sounds like a lot of medication, but, some are for things like blood pressure or cholesterol.

Also, I'd ask, because some meds may be prescribed off label and some meds for depression or anxiety are for seizures, based on things that I've read.

I would be hesitant to assume that her decline is a result of the medication, as with dementia, decline may happen at anytime. I hope they can answer your questions and get things sorted. You say that since she's off the medication that you see a big difference. That sounds positive, but, I'd keep in mind that we may only see a glimpse of what they are experiencing when we visit and the facility staff see them 24/7. Hopefully, they have a larger view of how the patient is faring. Maybe, a team meeting at the facility could help.
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She was considered combative. This is what happened to Mom after a UTI and shecwas putvon a mild drug for this. I too would be upset. I don't like where I am not kept in the loop. I love there is a doctor involved but I wish he would call with any changes he is making and why. I agree ur Mom is on too many meds.
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The meeting did not go the way I wanted it to, they were very rude and told me that I was in denial. No, I'm not in denial, I understand that my mom will not make it through this but I don't want her to be drugged out. After meeting with the doctor I moved mom to another home that day. They tried to blame all this on the Hospital and then they tried to act like I was upset over the cost of the Medications. That was the least of my worries, they sat and told me OH WELL if you are upset over the cost we can start by letting this one go. Even my husband became a little loud he is a very quiet man and stated your not listening its not the cost its the fact that you are way over medicating her and she is almost a zombie. you never once consulted us or let us know any of this we found out by the billing. Mom went through what I believe to be 2 days of detox, she was throwing up violently. She is now much better, she is off the drugs!!! She is now able to put sentences together and I only pray she gets better every day as far as talking and walking. I have had her old caregiver sit with her the last few days and will continue to do this until I have trust again. I did find that the doctor had been indicted for Medicare fraud and over medicating the elderly. she is in the middle of an investigation with 15 others and the Hospice agency that she was involved with. The indictment papers state and I quote " Give them an early by by" She still has neck pain and will be able to see the doctor tomorrow "Monday" The new director took one look at the wheel chair that they had put her in and said well no wonder she is in so much pain, look at the high back chair and how twisted she is. They have ordered her a beautiful padded, reclining chair that I'm sure will do wonders for her pain. They are going to have the doctor give her a better pain med than Tylenol but when I told mom that they were going to give her something stronger for pain she had a look of horror on her face and said PLEASE NO MORE MEDICATION!!! Yes Mom has Alzheimer's but she is not beyond understanding. The one medication that I was so upset over is called Quetiaphine Fumarate or know as Seroquel. If you research this medication the first paragraph that you read states that its not approved for Alzheimer's and can cause Death especially if mixed with anti depressants. I have spoke to many others that have parents with Alzheimer's and that has had experience with this medication and all of them say NO, its terrible. My mom was hallucinating the other night when I walked in and when I read about it, it also states that it will cause hallucinations. The Doctor tried to tell me that Mom had been hallucinating from day one. NOOOO she was not. Never once have I seen mom hallucinate and she lived with me for 4 years, I understand that they are there all the time but I'm there most every day. Mom is still combative at the new home when she is woken up but they handle it in a totally different way.
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Great!! We have to be advocates for our loved ones. TG for the internet. It is so easy to look up medications and know on the spot what they do. Sounds like you made a good decision transferring her and lucky you could do it in one day. I just found out...did you know that you as her POA can say you don't want Mom to get a certain med. and they have to drop it. I had lunch with some friends the other day and one was discussing her Mom's care. The doctor had put her Mom on a new medication and in two days my friend said she couldn't wake M0m up and she was out of it. She told the doctor this and he said it was not the med and that this is what happens to the elderly. One day they can be great the next day down. Turns out a nurse heard the conversation that went to school with us. She told my friend that if she tells her that she doesn't want this med given to her Mom, the nurse has to write it in the chart that the family is refusing the medication be given. So that's what my friend did. Within a day or two Mom was back to normal. To tell you the truth, I really don't think Doctors are aware of what Meds interact with what. I have heard pharmacists tend to catch the errors. Something huh.
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JoAnn29, I'm so glad to here that your friend caught that. I did tell them to wean her off but they continued. I could tell that she was better one day and then I went in to find her so wasted it was unbelievable, they tried to tell me the same that it was the disease and I did not know what I was talking about.
The Doctor even plaster all over the paperwork to the new nursing home that I was in denial about my mother condition. My Husband went to the home late at night and demanded a list of meds that she had been given and they were still giving it to her even after I told them NO!!. She has now been at the new home for 5 days and doing well, they are very professional and last night I was quite surprised when they told me and they were anger after getting to know Mom that she had to be highly medicated. They even told me that they were afraid to take Mom, I'm guessing they really gave her a bad review and Me as well. It is just terrible what I have seen, I'm only trying to help people by posting this. Its just heartbreaking. Mom is able to understand something now and I told her that the doctor would be there to help her with her neck pain and give her a stronger medication than Tylenol, she looked at me so pitiful and said Honey please no more medication!!!!
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It is very true that a loved one's condition can change very rapidly at the end of life but in this case there was other mischief at work and good for you for being there for Mom and keeping her safe.
I think you need to inform your state medical board about this Dr's prescribing habits and report the nursing home for the way you and Mom were treated
I was sent to rehab in a Nursing Home after hip replacement. The Dr came once a month and liked to see all new patients (what a concept) he walked in extended his hand and announced he was Dr X and left!!!!!!!! When it was obvious my new hip joint had become infected he was contacted by phone and changed the antibiotic and instructed the staff to keep it clean till my next hospital appointment four days hence. I knew how serious this was and that I should immediately start IV antibiotics. The RN was only allowed to go through their Dr so could not consult the hospital. My husband said there was nothing to stop him so he did so and put me in the car and took me back to the hospital where I needed additional surgery to clear the infection and six weeks of IV antibiotics at home.
As someone else said everyone needs an advocate and question everything you are concerned about . The patient or their POA has every right to stop any treatment they disagree with.
Good for you Aveeno
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Veronica91- That is terrible!!! I have always heard of Nursing home abuse but never dreamed it would happen in a home you are paying 6,000 a month. I can't even imagine and my heart breaks for people who have no one to check on them.
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All our hearts will be breaking if the new healthcare proposals come to fruition. What will happen to all those lonely souls napping in their wheelchairs with no living family if Medicare gets cut. Will the NHs just push the wheelchairs out to the curb and attach a note with their name and age?
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