Don’t Drug Grandma: Relieving Pain and Agitation without Sedation in Dementia

We’ve all seen it: people with dementia, lethargic and disoriented when treated for aggression.

Should this be the goal?

We know pain, as well as delusions, paranoia, and distress come from the progression of disease, unmet needs and the effects of the local environment.

Can we do better? 

Join a geriatrician to unpack the causes and bust the myths of treating agitation and pain.

When person centered care techniques fail – caring for needs, providing for comfort, playing music, etc – when these do not work, there remains a reliable solution.   

However,  it requires rethinking our approach and finding the right treatments, not constantly relying on the blunt instrument of sedation to relieve distress and psychosis.

Stop trading agitation for sleepy confusion.

The meds matter.