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What Causes Tremors While On Haloperidol And Valproate?
Question: Hi! My mom is 96 years old and she has dementia,
About two weeks ago, she was in the hospital, where she was admitted because she had shaking / tremor hands and legs.
Psychiatrist in the hospital has prescribed Haloperidol 1mg and Valproic ACD 1 tea spoon 2 times per day.
these medications have made her very sleepy and weak.
per her doctor's advice, we have reduced the dose of Haloperidol to 0.5 mg.
she was sleepy despite of reducing the dosage.
after that we have decided to reduce the dosage of Haloperidol to 0.25 mg. my mom had sleep a bit less,but the hands and legs have started to shake again.
please advise how to adjust medication somewhere in between (so hand shaking and sleep due to drowsiness are balanced), or should we change the medicationefresh] Print this page
Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Psychiatrist
User Selected Specialty : Psychiatrist
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Patient Profile
Gender: Female
Age: 86
Visited a Doctor: Yes
Medications Tried: Haloperidol and Valproic ACD, see dosage changes in description above
Hi! My mom is 96 years old and she has dementia,
About two weeks ago, she was in the hospital, where she was admitted because she had shaking / tremor hands and legs.
Psychiatrist in the hospital has prescribed Haloperidol 1mg and Valproic ACD 1 tea spoon 2 times per day.
these medications have made her very sleepy and weak.
per her doctor's advice, we have reduced the dose of Haloperidol to 0.5 mg.
she was sleepy despite of reducing the dosage.
after that we have decided to reduce the dosage of Haloperidol to 0.25 mg. my mom had sleep a bit less,but the hands and legs have started to shake again.
please advise how to adjust medication somewhere in between (so hand shaking and sleep due to drowsiness are balanced), or should we change the medication
About two weeks ago, she was in the hospital, where she was admitted because she had shaking / tremor hands and legs.
Psychiatrist in the hospital has prescribed Haloperidol 1mg and Valproic ACD 1 tea spoon 2 times per day.
these medications have made her very sleepy and weak.
per her doctor's advice, we have reduced the dose of Haloperidol to 0.5 mg.
she was sleepy despite of reducing the dosage.
after that we have decided to reduce the dosage of Haloperidol to 0.25 mg. my mom had sleep a bit less,but the hands and legs have started to shake again.
please advise how to adjust medication somewhere in between (so hand shaking and sleep due to drowsiness are balanced), or should we change the medicationefresh] Print this page
Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Dr. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Psychiatrist
User Selected Specialty : Psychiatrist
Upload New Reports ยป
Patient Profile
Gender: Female
Age: 86
Visited a Doctor: Yes
Medications Tried: Haloperidol and Valproic ACD, see dosage changes in description above
Hi! My mom is 96 years old and she has dementia,
About two weeks ago, she was in the hospital, where she was admitted because she had shaking / tremor hands and legs.
Psychiatrist in the hospital has prescribed Haloperidol 1mg and Valproic ACD 1 tea spoon 2 times per day.
these medications have made her very sleepy and weak.
per her doctor's advice, we have reduced the dose of Haloperidol to 0.5 mg.
she was sleepy despite of reducing the dosage.
after that we have decided to reduce the dosage of Haloperidol to 0.25 mg. my mom had sleep a bit less,but the hands and legs have started to shake again.
please advise how to adjust medication somewhere in between (so hand shaking and sleep due to drowsiness are balanced), or should we change the medication
Brief Answer:
Addition of Propranolol and Olanzapine can help her.
Detailed Answer:
Hello thanks for asking from healthcaremagic.com
I can understand your concern. Both Haloperidol and Valproate could cause tremors and since she is 96 then there is high risk that both of these drugs worsen her tremors. She had tremors prior to starting these drugs too. Please tell me in follow up if she was taking any other drugs prior to hospitalisation?
Why was she admitted to hospital especially in psychiatric consultation?
What were her main presenting symptoms?
If her tremors are persistent the apart from reducing the dose of Haloperidol we can think of reducing the dose of Valproate too. Reducing the Valproate dose would help in reducing the tremors. Addition of Propranolol is also another option. The drug will relieve her anxiety and will also reduce the tremors. These drug adjustments would help in making her symptoms better.
Substitution of Haloperidol with Olanzapine is also a good option. The drug is safe to use and is better tolerated.
So please talk with her psychiatrist for these dose adjustments.
Thanks and Take care
Addition of Propranolol and Olanzapine can help her.
Detailed Answer:
Hello thanks for asking from healthcaremagic.com
I can understand your concern. Both Haloperidol and Valproate could cause tremors and since she is 96 then there is high risk that both of these drugs worsen her tremors. She had tremors prior to starting these drugs too. Please tell me in follow up if she was taking any other drugs prior to hospitalisation?
Why was she admitted to hospital especially in psychiatric consultation?
What were her main presenting symptoms?
If her tremors are persistent the apart from reducing the dose of Haloperidol we can think of reducing the dose of Valproate too. Reducing the Valproate dose would help in reducing the tremors. Addition of Propranolol is also another option. The drug will relieve her anxiety and will also reduce the tremors. These drug adjustments would help in making her symptoms better.
Substitution of Haloperidol with Olanzapine is also a good option. The drug is safe to use and is better tolerated.
So please talk with her psychiatrist for these dose adjustments.
Thanks and Take care
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
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