24 – Depression Kicks In

Albert spends most days in the bed sleeping because his doctors have prescribed him many different medications that he takes every day, morning, noon, and at night.  The meds cause him to be lethargic, groggy, and tired. While he’s in the bed, he spends his days in silence watching television. I think that the meds that he’s taking are excessive, but they’re what the medical professionals are prescribing. 

Jordan, our teenaged son, and I go to school/work around 7 am and return home between 6-8 pm. When we walk into the house, Albert is still in bed sleeping, watching television, or he’s laying down quietly looking as if he’s deep in thought. It’s concerning to see that Albert doesn’t have the drive to get up and do something about his condition. He seems to be satisfied laying down and doing nothing all day, but at the same time, when I see him silently in thought, I wonder what he’s thinking about. Does he know that the stroke was so severe that he might not recover? Does he think that he’s going to recover? I don’t ask him questions because I know that he can’t talk to me about his thoughts or feelings because of the aphasia.   

Albert’s lack of drive and sleepiness has caused me a lot of concern for months.  At one of his doctor appointments, I talked to his primary care physician to see what could be done to get him out of the bed and to be more active.  A discussion occurred and Albert and I were asked many questions, that only I could answer based on my experiences and observations of Albert’s behaviors. At the end of the discussion, we were told that Albert had post-stroke depression.  The doctor stated that some stroke victims withdraw into a state of apathy, while others become irritable or even agitated. I learned that the eating and sleeping patterns in stroke victims can be exaggerated.  I have seen all of these behaviors in Albert at some point since the stroke and gave the doctor this information.

The physician spent time with us and seemed to really care about Albert’s well-being. He gave Albert some physical and mental exercises to do at home and then he confirmed that Albert would have ongoing referrals to receive speech, occupational, and physical therapies. After this, he prescribed Albert a higher dosage of the anti-depressant medicine.  I’m not sure that Albert needed more antidepressants but the doctor said they were needed at this time.

Albert agreed to take the antidepressant, but I’ll keep my eye on him everyday to make sure that he improves physically, intellectually and emotionally.