Xanax seems to be the only drug that calms her down at night she seems to be entering stage 6 dementia. I am her only caregiver I have been 24/7 for 2 years, but recently she has been sundowning. By 4pm she starts to become manic, she becomes obsessive, she starts to want to wander and leave the apartment. It's nerve-wracking. We have tried so many different medications but the only one that helps her is Xanax. Soon as I give her her 0.25 mg which is the smallest amount within a half-hour she's like thank God she's so calm. We have tried Risperidone, Quetiapine, Bupropion and Doxepin which helps a bit at night. Her doctor is obviously semi-retired and never comes in the room to see her anymore. He just sends his assistant and I am quite annoyed because I feel that if he's going to prescribe something for her that he should sit with her for 5 or 10 minutes and observe. He claims that she has built up a tolerance for Xanax I said how could that be she's only on 0.25 which is the mildest that they make. I know that I'm rambling on but I'm beside myself. Nobody gets a good night sleep the early evenings and through the entire night are up and down all night both of us. My question is after all these attempts at different medications and him not even coming in to see his own patient anymore I'm thinking I need to find a new physician. He suggested that I need a break and that he will request that a social worker come to our house to observe her to see if she qualifies for respite. I'm happy to take a week off and go back home to see my children but what happens the rest of the time that I'm here taking care of her with a doctor who won't listen to me regarding how she's reacting to different medications! Thank you so much for letting me vent I am seriously at the end of my rope. I'm actually considering going to the drugstore and getting some over the counter sleeping aids for her. It breaks my heart to watch her on the camera that I have set up toss and turn and get out of bed get into bed get out of bed get into bed non-stop all night.
Best of luck finding a new doctor, you may be able to take her to urgent care and get some for the interim between docs.
I hope you find a solution quick, sleep deprivation is a killer.
The physican's assistant is right, one can built up a tolerance for meds if one is on them for too long. But that doesn't seem to be the case with your Mom, apparently the med still works for her.
Since your Mom's doctor isn't available, that's a good time to search for a new doctor. Find one who deals with elders as they are more familiar with the workings of an elders body and mind.
If you have a near-by hospital, go to their website, and on the website hopefully the hospital will have "Find a Doctor", that way you can check around that section, learn the doctor's education, specialty, etc.