Hi everyone! I haven't posted in awhile. Things have gotten pretty bad. Most of you know that my kids dad is in a nursing home. He has become so violent and difficult. He refuses to shower, he will not change his clothes. He has become so angry towards me that I cannot visit or take my little one to see his dad. He yells and swears at the staff. He has even begun biting the staff. He sees a neurologist and psychiatrist, but none of his meds seem to be working. Its very sad, he went from several visitors to almost none. His symptoms have also gotten much worse. I am no longer able to understand his speech. He has lost a ton of weight. He now weighs less than 130lbs. His movements are so bad. He can barely sit in a chair. I'm not sure what to do at this point. This is all very hard on the kids. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

One suggestion would be to try different meds. Different meds work for different people. Also a tolerance level can be built up for some
and then they need to be changed. Not knowing what he is on I would suggest an antidepressant and something such as zyprexa, risperdol.
You may have to ask the drs to change medications and suggest names of some to try. My last resort would be Haldol but I know some have
very good luck with that. I hope this helps.

Thanks Shar! He has actually been on several different meds. He is on haldol and an antidepressant. He took risperidol for a long time and he ended up having a really bad reaction to it. He has been on so many meds that the doctors really don't know what to try anymore.

I'm so sorry to hear this Judy. The only thing I can think of is maybe something is raising his dopamine levels.
When my husband went through his violent anger problem they put him in the hospital psych unit and detoxed him off of almost everything and then started over. We'll never know for sure, but one of the medications he had been given were medications they also give to Parkinson's patients. I never thought much about it, but Marsha gave me some interesting information.
Parkinson's patients don't have enough dopamine in their brains where HD patients often cannot regulate dopamine.

By the time my husband was admitted to the hospital he had lost over 60lbs, could barely walk, wouldn't eat, was hallucinating, could barely talk and lashed out at everyone, especially me.
They took him off any medication that could/would raise dopamine. That was a year and a half ago and with his current medication his behavior has been pretty stable and calm. I can tell the episode left perminant brain damage, but he's calm and doesn't give the staff any problems.

From what I understand, and hopefully Marsha can clarify, its not always easy to test dopamine levels. Many things can affect the test and so it became a trial and error of sorts. As soon as the Parkinson's medication was out of his system he calmed down and the hallucinations eventually stopped. In that year and a half his weight has gone back up, he's walking again, eating again and most importantly, not lashing out at anyone. The kids and I can visit and he's happy to see us.

We're 99.9% sure that for my husband the Parkinson's medication is what triggered his dopamine levels to go up, but maybe other things can as well? Might be worth looking into if there are no other ideas on the table.

I know there is no easy answer and I hope you find the one that works. It's heartbreaking to watch someone you love go through this and not know where to turn next. Keep us posted!
~Chris

indigo9585 - what was the Parkinson medicine your husband was given?
Thanks.
Shar

He was given Mirapex. He had been taking Ropinerole for his chorea/dancing legs and had complained that it wasn't working anymore.
They started him out on a low dose and right away the mood changed. When I called the Dr. they increased the medication saying he was given a very low dose. Well, needless to say that was the wrong direction to go. Of course all this is happening over a long weekend and each time the Dr.'s office said to keep giving him the meds and give them a chance to start working.

This was the 2nd Parkinson's medication that he had an adverse reaction to. The first one was a medication for nausea (I don't recall the name) but instead of stopping the nausea it caused sudden uncontrolled vomiting. Let me tell you, that was a very unpleasant experience.

Judy, so sorry to hear this news. Maybe he needs to be hospitalized and weaned off all the meds to start fresh. Sometimes a new set of eyes on this damn disease works wonders.
Your husband may also be experiencing pain, toothache or something else and cannot express himself. I'm surprised the NH keeps him there with that kind of behavior and the neglect of his personal hygiene is not a good sign.
You know I have been, and most likely will be again, on this same path. I've always said the psychiatric symptoms are the worst and treating them is not easy.
Thinking of you and the kids, I hope something changes for you and yours.

Carla