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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Parkinson S Disease And Alzheimer S Disease Be Treated?

I am 76 year old female. In excellent health, but have been leaning on .5 mg Ativan to cope with a stressful life. Also to cope with my husband who is in early Parkinson s and Alzheimer s This little pill helps me immensely. My concern is i am on NO other medication, have studiously avoided pills. But i enjoy this one, and i wonder if it it is safe for me, at 76, to continue taking the daily .5 mg.
posted on Tue, 26 Sep 2017
Twitter Thu, 12 Oct 2017 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 12 Oct 2017 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Older adults using this medications are more likely to be more sensitive to the side effects of this medication because of the increased penetration of the medication to the brain. So far if you don't have any side effects pulling you down , like lack of coordination, excessive sleepiness, major mood swings or hallucinations , then you can continue to take the pills. There is also possibility that some elderly patients loose the effect of this drug and no longer helps with the anxiety, if you come across such a situation, then it is advised that you no longer increase the dosage but rather decrease the dosage little by little and stop taking the drug.
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How Can Parkinson S Disease And Alzheimer S Disease Be Treated?

Older adults using this medications are more likely to be more sensitive to the side effects of this medication because of the increased penetration of the medication to the brain. So far if you don t have any side effects pulling you down , like lack of coordination, excessive sleepiness, major mood swings or hallucinations , then you can continue to take the pills. There is also possibility that some elderly patients loose the effect of this drug and no longer helps with the anxiety, if you come across such a situation, then it is advised that you no longer increase the dosage but rather decrease the dosage little by little and stop taking the drug.