EP 82 :: Dementia and the Use Of Anti-Psychotic Drugs :: Susan Wehry, MD
Dr. Susan Wehry talks with Bobbi and Mike about why reducing anti-psychotic medication to people with dementia remains so important.
Susan Wehry, MD, is a geriatric psychiatrist with over 35 years of experience as a clinician, educator, public administrator, and long-term care advisor. She is currently Chief of Geriatrics at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she directs AgingME: Maine’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the new TeleHealthy program.
“Once you get on an anti-psychotic, there is a fear among the caregiver, either staff or family members, that the behavior is going to come back if you stop the drug,” Susan explains. “People never want to take people off of medications, and that is why the regulators have said, ‘Sorry, you have to.’ There is a required gradual dose reduction. It's always anxiety provoking, so it's kind of better never to start if you don't have to because stopping is equally challenging.”
“I would like to have your audience understand something else really important about anti-psychotics and that is their side effects. I think doctors, nurses, and others often miss a very specific side effect of anti-psychotics called Akathisia,” Susan says. “If they think that their loved one might be experiencing Akathisia and are on an anti-psychotic, they should speak with their doctor.”
Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a subjective feeling of inner restlessness accompanied by mental distress and an inability to sit still.
“People living with schizophrenia and people living with dementia are first and foremost people. That might sound kind of trite, but what I mean by that is, simply, they have good days, just like you and me, and they have bad days just like you and me. The temptation that we have as caregivers and as health professionals is to leap to the diagnosis as the explanation as opposed to just that anybody might get cranky,” Susan says. “With not enough sleep, you or I might get a little cranky and the same is true for people living with schizophrenia and people living with dementia.”
You can learn more about Dr. Wehry and any of her upcoming webinars on her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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