Dementia And Zyrtec

It was all going as well as expected to be. We knew she was going to get worse, but I never figured this so quickly to happen.

Mom's had Alzheimers for a while and has been getting worse slowly but the Zyrtec totally screwed her up and made what was slowly getting worse into simply, really, really, really worse.

It started with her nose running when we'd move her from room to room. After a few weeks of this, my Sis thought Zyrtec would clear up the snot. Oh, boy, she got so worse so quick and I do believe that she can't come back to what she was, which was almost manageable.

That Zyrtec messed her up. I gotta put this disclaimer up, it was years out of date so that may have had something to do with it. Either way, she's gotten so bad that now I have to furiously try and get a place to live as she's frakking unmanageable. I'd swear that she's stronger than a UFC fighter. You can't imagine how hard it is to move a person who simply refuses to be moved, and is 84 frakking years old. The damned lady beats me up.

This was a situation that was bearable, but after the Zyrtec, she's a frakking zombie. She used to feed herself, not now. She used to take a crap, almost always......not now.

She used to walk, albeit slowly, now she's so unaware of what is going on that I HAVE to attribute this rapid decline to Zyrtec, or maybe the fact that it was out of code. She can barely talk, barely walk, barely stay asleep, and while she was mucked up before the Zyrtec, she's so much more frakked up because of it.

It was bad, but now it's like carrying a corpse around the house that's alive. This 84 year old is stronger than myself and my sister combined, at times.

Yet today, she seems almost back to her unusual self of a few weeks ago. I know it can't last but I'm hoping she can be manageable until we sell this place and she goes into a home.

It's so hard to deal with someone who is like this. Then we have to deal with this bad drug frakking her up. I'm really pissed that this could happen but I don't know if that's exactly the cause although she went downhill right when she took it. Figured you guys could tell me what happened here, there's enough smart people here that will tell me if I'm full of it.

You sure she didn't have a stroke? Damn! My mom has Alzheimer's and is 80. No Zyrtec for her!

I find a lot of these antihistamines make one very drowsy and befuddled.

I only take on a need-to basis, and then I find Loratadine does the trick for the allergies without many side-effects.

That Zyrtec situation sounds serious, especially when combined with other meds.
I'd say stop the Zyrtec - there are other options.

I recall Zyrtec was once hailed to me as the new allergy medicine with none of the side-effects of the older ones.

I think doctors really believed this.

But, I was skeptical, if so then why does my Allergex package insert consist of a page of possible side-effects, but Zyrtec ... OK page one, now fold it over - flip this is like the map of some unknown country!

Hey Halfoldman, are you reading the newspaper or a map?

Nah, I'm just reading the Zyrtec side-effects in the package insert.

May cause drowsiness, make sure before you operate any machinery ...

Yeah, so first check it out.

Practice a bit with that wrecking ball in lower class communities before you take it to Buckingham Palace.

Forgiveness, just taking a dig at the "pharma" aspect of it.

Wishing you and yours all the very best, from the bottom of my heart.

Although it's rare, I've also met somebody who gets a strange rebound effect from most antihistamines.

To him they feel like speed.

Just goes to show how individual side-effects can be,

a reply to: spirit_horse

Don't think so but good idea. I don't think that because she still can fight like a mother frakker to get up and go to bed. I will have to look into that.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

IS she on any medication? If so, did you check with the Dr. to see if there are any interactions with her meds?

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

it was years out of date

You rolled the dice, it didn't land in your favor.

Seriously there is expiration date for a reason I disregard them with almost all food, I never disregard pharmaceuticals expiration date.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

Dementia is chronic and degenerative and when it worsens, it does so quite rapidly.

Zyrtec may have caused it, but I have seen dementia take hold in days in people who aren't on any particular medications.

I wish that it wasn't the case because I lost both of my step parents to dementia, and they died soon after. We are fragile beings and unfortunately dementia hits those whose have greater cognitive history, far harder.

a reply to: chr0naut

I had a knock down drag out fight, with a doctor a number of years ago, about a very similar incidence.

I was asked by a local doctor to go do a wellness check on one of his patients that had missed her appointment, and sounded strange on the phone.

I went to her home an hour or so later, and found the lady sitting in her kitchen, with looked like it had never been used. She was dressed very smartly, and you could tell she was used to the finer things in life, but she looked severely unkempt.

It did not take long for me to realize that this lady was in the full throes of dementia, and had been for at least a couple of days.

I called her son, who was a doctor, that lived in another State, to inform him of my findings.

He told me he had just spent the weekend with his mother and that was less than five days ago, and she was just fine. He insisted that I had to be mistaken in my report, and there was nothing wrong with his mother. He was irate and extremely rude.

The lady's doctor made arrangements for her to be hospitalized for evaluation. She was found to have Alzeheimer's, and required full time supervision.

The son, who was a medical doctor, did not believe there could be such a severe change, in such a short time, but I have known Alzeheimer patients that are aware, something is changing in them, and you could tell they were trying to control it, until they just couldn't control it anymore.

I am not saying an antihistamine did not have a negative side effect on @TheSpanishArcher's mother, but dementia, as you said, can appear to come on, and progress quite rapidly.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher
This is just a guess. I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist.

Zyrtec is an antihistamine drug and they are associated with anticholinergic side effects. They block the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Dementia medications work by increasing the amount and duration of action of acetylcholine. So, maybe wise to avoid giving a person with dementia anything with anticholinergic side effects.

Most commonly, anticholinergics can cause the following side effects, which may be more pronounced in the elderly:
Drowsiness or sedation
Blurred vision
Dizziness
Urinary retention
Confusion or delirium
Constipation

a reply to: CJCrawley

You are correct. Anticholinergic's are suspected of increasing risk for dementia and are avoided in use for dementia patients,

Importance Many medications have anticholinergic effects. In general, anticholinergic-induced cognitive impairment is considered reversible on discontinuation of anticholinergic therapy. However, a few studies suggest that anticholinergics may be associated with an increased risk for dementia.

Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergics and Incident Dementia

She might have Urinary tract infection,it is very common in elderly ladies. Alzheimer patients when it alzheimer goes worse then they also sleep more cos brains need more sleep then. Urinary tract infection can mess up mind, more confusion and erratic behavior. Urine goes cloudy and smells bad.
Alzheimer do have sudden lows and after slow it do not really improve much after those.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

I take Costco's version, works like a charm at clearing me up.

You, however, have a lot of answering to do for giving an old, mentally screwed person expired meds, though, and attempting to explain the effects of bad/expired/spoiled meds as "Zyrtec". No, you folks screwed up here, it wasn't the meds. You made mom sick, own it. And pay attention to your freaking expiration dates, FFS!

Also, sounds more like a stroke was triggered. Revist the symptoms, and a checklist to make sure.

if you research zyrtec, there is so many bad side effects people report. also bad withdrawals. I always stayed away from it. Have you tried giving her coconut oil pills. Suppose to really help alzheimers a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn
Would Loratadine be considered an anticholinergic?

a reply to: justmeonly

Loratadine is a medication used in the management and treatment of allergic rhinitis and urticaria. It is in the second generation antihistamine class. This activity reviews the indications, action, and contraindications for loratadine as a valuable agent in the treatment and management of allergic rhinitis and urticaria. This activity will highlight the mechanism of action, adverse effects, and other key factors such as dosing, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, monitoring, relevant interactions pertinent for members of the interprofessional team in the treatment and care of patients with allergic rhinitis and related conditions.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

Though it is a second generation antihistamine, some people do experience anticholinergic effects to this medicine.

I would not classify it as a dangerous drug for the elderly. I would suggest running it past the doctor, and close monitoring for untoward symptoms, but I would say the same about any medication being given to the elderly.

Bad reactions can occur. My mother took Atenolol for over thirty years, then out of the blue she developed angioedema, and had to be hospitalized. So caution is always a good practice.