Dear Sue: My husband has not had experience with the sedative Altivan- but
he
did have an episode much like your dad's while he was on Eldepryl. He had
been
on Sinimet about 6 yr. and we read the news of what Eldepryl was supposed to
do
and pressed our neuro. for a prescription. About 6 weeks later we were
travelling in
our mobile home and Judd became totally disoriented, paranoid, and began
talking
about being an FBI agent and was going to make a huge deposit to our bank,
etc....
It was rather scary for me at the time, though he never did anything too
dangerous,
but he did want to leave and "go places". Needless to say, we immediately
dis-
continued the Eldepry and he has never had such a severe break with reality
since.
There have been some other mild hallucinations but we know that the Eldepryl
was
causing some severe mental changes and were not willing to continue with it
for the
alleged benefits ( we never found them and I haven't heard anyone attest to
knowing
that Eldepryl really does extend or help the Sinimet, as claimed). I can only
caution
you about what is happening in your case , but perhaps you may want to
investigate
the situation further - keeping in mind that adding sedatives and additonal
meds may add additional side effects of other kinds even.
My husband and I still travel over 200 miles to make appts. and any
travel is
stressful anymore but we feel like he can handle it best with as clear a mind
as
possible. Just some thoughts you might want to consider as you work to help
your
dad maintain as enjoyable a life as possible....
My thoughts, prayers are with you..... Marie Care-partner
husband 69/l2
