Search Results for: antipsychotic

Advocacy, Challenges & Solutions, Toward better care

7 reasons why physicians continue to prescribe antipsychotic drugs to people who live with dementia when they shouldn’t

My Alzheimer's Story

There is irrefutable evidence that prescribing antipsychotic drugs to people who live with dementia does more harm than good in most cases. These drugs are NOT approved for use in dementia care in most countries. So why are physicians still prescribing these medications to people who live with dementia? Because physicians: are often pressured by… Continue reading 7 reasons why physicians continue to prescribe antipsychotic drugs to people who live with dementia when they shouldn’t

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Toward better care

10 seldom-mentioned “side effects” of using antipsychotics in long-term dementia care, which are also 10 more good reasons we should #BanBPSD

My Alzheimer's Story

There are a tonne of reasons not to give antipsychotics to people who live with dementia. I’ve blogged about them here, here and here (among many other places). There are also a tonne of reasons why people are given antipsychotic medications in long-term care, most of which have something to do with their normal responses… Continue reading 10 seldom-mentioned “side effects” of using antipsychotics in long-term dementia care, which are also 10 more good reasons we should #BanBPSD

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Death & Dying, Life & Living

human rights watch nails crux of antipsychotic problem in nursing homes

My Alzheimer's Story

This six-minute video is the précis version of Human Rights Watch’s 165-page report published on February 5, 2018. It confirms what many dementia care advocates and activists, and even the US government itself has known for years: there’s a drug abuse problem in the country’s long-term care industry, and elderly people who live with dementia bear the… Continue reading human rights watch nails crux of antipsychotic problem in nursing homes

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Life & Living

15 experts tell the truth about antipsychotic use in nursing homes

My Alzheimer's Story

A 165-page Human Rights Watch report published on February 5, 2018, confirms what many dementia care advocates and activists, and even the US government itself has known for years: there’s a drug abuse problem in the country’s long-term care industry, and elderly people who live with dementia are bearing the brunt of it. According to… Continue reading 15 experts tell the truth about antipsychotic use in nursing homes

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Toward better care

elderly man with dementia dies in quebec ltcf from inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic drugs

My Alzheimer's Story

Christin Belley’s 89-year-old father Jean-Pierre, who lived with Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia, was still driving in the summer of 2017. He had some health issues (who doesn’t at 89?), but he was relatively well when entered a long-term care facility (LTCF) in the province of Quebec on December 11, 2017. He was walking and… Continue reading elderly man with dementia dies in quebec ltcf from inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic drugs

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Toward better care

teepa talks antipsychotics: 6 quotable quotes

My Alzheimer's Story

When I read reporter Gillian Slade’s Medicine Hat News article on Teepa Snow’s perspective on antipsychotics, the quotes jumped out at me. It was the first time I’d “heard” Teepa speak out so clearly about how antipsychotic medications often make things worse rather than better for people who live with dementia. I thought it would… Continue reading teepa talks antipsychotics: 6 quotable quotes

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Toward better care

20 caregivers answer the antipsychotic question

My Alzheimer's Story

Anyone who reads this blog knows my position on inappropriately prescribing antipsychotic medications to people who live with dementia. Risperdal (risperidone) and Seroquel (quetiapine) robbed my mother of her ability to live her life as fully as she would have wished for her last four years. Their use on her was cruel, abusive and completely… Continue reading 20 caregivers answer the antipsychotic question

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs

misprescribing antipsychotic drugs to elderly dementia patients is an outrage. it’s also elder abuse.

My Alzheimer's Story

  I’m re-blogging this article with the express permission of the author Dr. Michael A. Carome, Director, Health Research Group. It originally appeared in Public Citizen’s online Health Letter in 2015 (see http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=6520). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Carome wrote: The warning, written in bolded letters and placed in a black-bordered box at the front of the labeling… Continue reading misprescribing antipsychotic drugs to elderly dementia patients is an outrage. it’s also elder abuse.

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, Toward better care

20 behavioural expressions for which antipsychotic medications are unwarranted and ineffective in people who live with dementia

My Alzheimer's Story

Antipsychotic medications are meant to treat psychosis, not dementia. Dementia care pioneer Dr. Allen Power explains: “What happens in the brain chemically–even when people are labeled “delusional”–is not the same in diseases that cause dementia as in classical psychosis where dopamine activity is increased, causing hallucinations and delusions. The primary action [of antipsychotics] in that disorder… Continue reading 20 behavioural expressions for which antipsychotic medications are unwarranted and ineffective in people who live with dementia

Antipsychotic drugs, Resources, Toward better care

List of 15,645 US nursing homes showing percentage of residents on antipsychotics

My Alzheimer's Story

The United States’ Medicare.gov website includes a comprehensive section called Nursing Home Compare, which contains quality of care and staffing information for all 15,600+ Medicare- and Medicaid-participating nursing homes in the country. Among a wealth of other information, Nursing Home Compare offers data on fifteen quality measures from the “percentage of long-stay residents with a… Continue reading List of 15,645 US nursing homes showing percentage of residents on antipsychotics