Wellness

[Bibione]

I am researching this drug.My 89 year old mother has dementia.Since November, when she started taking Quetiapine,she has involuntary mouth movement and is often constipated. These are 2 known side effects.I asked her dr.if he can give her a different medicine.He was defensive and smiled with contempt after I confessed I read about it in the internet.

Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Since November,my mother also is in a wheelchair and has kidney cancer.Thanks.I am in Italy now visiting my mother.

[Laura14]

@Bibione Your local pharmacist can answer that all day long and would be the best resource.

From a pharmacy tech like me, quetiapine is an antipsychotic and not really meant for what you've described. It's more for mental disorders like schizophrenia. Having said that, there are a lot of off label uses for a multitude of medications and a pharmacist would be very familiar with them.

[blackhole99]

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@Bibione wrote:

I am researching this drug.My 89 year old mother has dementia.Since November, when she started taking Quetiapine,she has involuntary mouth movement and is often constipated. These are 2 known side effects.I asked her dr.if he can give her a different medicine.He was defensive and smiled with contempt after I confessed I read about it in the internet.

Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Since November,my mother also is in a wheelchair and has kidney cancer.Thanks.I am in Italy now visiting my mother.

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@Bibione So, if I'm reading your post correctly you are saying your mother is in a nursing home in Italy and you are questioning her Italian doctor about this med?

[Mindy D]

Tardive dyskinesia is not a minor side effect. The involuntary mouth movements are TD.

[Mindy D]

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@Bibione wrote:

I am researching this drug.My 89 year old mother has dementia.Since November, when she started taking Quetiapine,she has involuntary mouth movement and is often constipated. These are 2 known side effects.I asked her dr.if he can give her a different medicine.He was defensive and smiled with contempt after I confessed I read about it in the internet.

Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Since November,my mother also is in a wheelchair and has kidney cancer.Thanks.I am in Italy now visiting my mother.

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Here is the FDA Warbning for Quetiapine.

Warning

Increased Mortality in Geriatric Patients

• Substantially higher mortality rate (4.5%) in geriatric patients with dementia-related psychosis†receiving atypical antipsychotic agents (e.g., quetiapine, aripiprazole, olanzapine, risperidone) compared with those receiving placebo (2.6%).a 97 98

• Most fatalities resulted from cardiac-related events (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infections (mostly pneumonia).a 97 98

• Atypical antipsychotics are not approved for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis.a 9798 (See Increased Mortality in Geriatric Patients with Dementia-related Psychosis under Cautions.)

Suicidality

• Antidepressants increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) compared with placebo in children, adolescents, and young adults (18–24 years of age) with major depressive disorder and other psychiatric disorders; balance this risk with clinical need.99 100 103 (See Pediatric Use under Cautions.)

• In pooled data analyses, risk of suicidality was not increased in adults >24 years of age and apparently was reduced in adults ≥65 years of age with antidepressant therapy compared with placebo.99 100 103

• Depression and certain other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with an increased risk of suicide.99 100 103

• Appropriately monitor and closely observe all patients who are started on quetiapine therapy for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior; involve family members and/or caregivers in this process.99 100 101 103 (See Worsening of Depression and Suicidality Risk under Cautions.)

[Mindy D]

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@blackhole99 wrote:

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@Bibione wrote:

I am researching this drug.My 89 year old mother has dementia.Since November, when she started taking Quetiapine,she has involuntary mouth movement and is often constipated. These are 2 known side effects.I asked her dr.if he can give her a different medicine.He was defensive and smiled with contempt after I confessed I read about it in the internet.

Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Since November,my mother also is in a wheelchair and has kidney cancer.Thanks.I am in Italy now visiting my mother.

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@Bibione So, if I'm reading your post correctly you are saying your mother is in a nursing home in Italy and you are questioning her Italian doctor about this med?

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Resource 1.  Quetiapine is not approved for elderly persons with dementia. I was going to copy and paste complete information but I think you should look under Quetiapine at drugs .com✅ Just put drugs. com into the search bar. Also check under the heading for physicians. I’d print this out if I were you. Quetiapine is also called Seroquel. 

Resource 2.  The black box warning for this drug warns of increased risk of death for elderly patients  with dementia related psychosis. This is from the FDA. It’s very extensive.

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/020639s049s054lbl.pdf

[qbetzforreal]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@blackhole99 wrote:

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@Bibione wrote:

I am researching this drug.My 89 year old mother has dementia.Since November, when she started taking Quetiapine,she has involuntary mouth movement and is often constipated. These are 2 known side effects.I asked her dr.if he can give her a different medicine.He was defensive and smiled with contempt after I confessed I read about it in the internet.

Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Since November,my mother also is in a wheelchair and has kidney cancer.Thanks.I am in Italy now visiting my mother.

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@Bibione So, if I'm reading your post correctly you are saying your mother is in a nursing home in Italy and you are questioning her Italian doctor about this med?

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Resource 1.  Quetiapine is not approved for elderly persons with dementia. I was going to copy and paste complete information but I think you should look under Quetiapine at drugs .com✅ Just put drugs. com into the search bar. Also check under the heading for physicians. I’d print this out if I were you. Quetiapine is also called Seroquel. 

Resource 2.  The black box warning for this drug warns of increased risk of death for elderly patients  with dementia related psychosis. This is from the FDA. It’s very extensive.

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/020639s049s054lbl.pdf

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The OP is in Italy.  FDA regulations do not transfer to other countries.  Different standards and regs.

[simplyfriends]

@Bibione   Please don’t take advice from any of us here. I work in the healthcare field and have seen that drug used successfully in treating aggressive behaviors associated with dementia. Please speak to her physician/neurologist. 

[mom2four0418]

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@simplyfriends wrote:

@Bibione   Please don’t take advice from any of us here. I work in the healthcare field and have seen that drug used successfully in treating aggressive behaviors associated with dementia. Please speak to her physician/neurologist. 

The OP already researched the drug and is asking for input from anyone who has experience with it.  So far, no one has.

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[september]

Yes, my husband took this drug for dementia related issues.  He was taken off it when he was transitioned to medical cannabis, which may or not be legal in your state