BARRY’S JOURNEY No. 23

To drug or not to drug

It is the end of summer and life for Barry is a lot different from what it was at the beginning of summer.
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On Memorial Day, Barry was on his second trip to the hospital because he was acting out at his care center. His hospital stay and the medications involved turned him into a vegetable, but he was easier to care for. No more fighting when he takes a shower or needs changing. I have to admit that I didn’t care how much they drugged him as long as he wasn’t kicked out of the care center for bad behavior. But the drawback was that he slept all day and couldn’t communicate very well when awake.

Now at the end of summer, his doctors are trying to tamper back his medications. They are looking for a happy medium where Barry’s aggression and agitation are controlled, but he is more alert. This is not a fast process because the drugs stay in his system a long time.

Everyone dealing with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is faced with the same dilemma — to drug or not to drug? Nothing really seems to work and, of course, there is no magical cure for the devastating disease. As much as I daydream about it, I know that I will not arrive one day and find Barry back to his old self, ready to go home.

So for now, we are experimenting with his poor mind, and he doesn’t have a clue why. We will have to wait and see what this fall will bring to Barry’s journey!

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