Posted by SLS on December 18, 2009, at 7:38:21
In reply to Re: SSRIs in Elderly » SLS, posted by donnam125 on December 18, 2009, at 6:49:21
I'm sorry that things are so overwhelming for you right now. I asked those questions in an attempt to differentiate late-life depression from an organic dementia like Alzheimers or vascular (post-stroke). To me, it sounds more like depression with some psychotic features rather than Alzheimers. I can't be sure, of course. Very often, late-life depression looks very much like dementia and is sometimes referred to as "pseudodementia". It might not be a bad idea to pressure the doctor into committing to a diagnosis. If it is depression, then I hope you can cross your mother over to another drug without too much upset. Did the doctor mention any other antidepressants that could be tried? Perhaps a combination of Effexor and Seroquel? The doctor could cross over directly from Zoloft to another serotonin drug like Effexor or Lexapro to minimize a withdrawal syndrome. I'm not smart enough to know what to do next. I hope the doctor is.
For what it's worth, I read that elderly people metabolize Zoloft at about the same rate as younger people as long as there is no overt liver disease. She probably has not been overmedicated.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:929718
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091217/msgs/929813.html