I called and talked to a nurse named Dan for about a half-hour this morning. He told me that her doctor is Dr. Caliendo, although I already knew that. We discussed her current medication schedule and he said that Dr. Caliendo had recently prescribed:
- Benadryl to calm her a little and as an anti-anxiety drug
- Aricept, which is a drug given for dementia which I thought she was already taking
- Namenda, which I already knew she was taking
- and 5mg of Zyprexa daily
When I told him that I was in Los Angeles, Dan told me that he had visited Culver City last year.
Dan asked for my approval to give mom 50mg of Benadryl twice each day, which I granted.
He said that mom is very calm and relaxed today.
At this point I am seriously starting to think that Dr. Caliendo really has no idea what he’s doing and is simply throwing every psycho pharmaceutical he can imagine at her.
The NIH website says this about Zyprexa:
Olanzapine is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of behavior disorders in older adults with dementia. Talk to the doctor who prescribed this medication if you, a family member, or someone you care for has dementia and is taking olanzapine.