Mom (94) has recently been started on donepezil / aricept. 5 mg initially, just upped to 10 mg. Now it's "something is not right." Any ideas?

I called her NP and we are cutting it to 5 for 3 days and then stopping. Hopefully, this will eliminate these new mood/mental issues. Thanks for all your replies.

Aricept is generally prescribed for mild to moderate Alzheimers, but not proven to help with confusion or memory problems in any way. It also does not help with agitation, which is a big issue for most people who suffer from dementia of any kind. Stopping this medication cold turkey IS NOT RECOMMENDED as intense hallucinations can occur.

I'm not sure there IS any 'answer' for dementia, personally. My mother suffers from moderate non-specified dementia and takes NO medications for it, specifically. She is the type of person who winds up with more side effects from medications than benefits, that's for sure. One of the dozens of times were were in the ER with her, her medications were taken down by HALF and she wound up feeling better as a result.

Please call her doctor first thing and express your concerns so he can WEAN her off of this medication which is likely causing more issues than it's curing!!

Best of luck!

Please call her doctor, and report her symptoms. Ordering doctor should be the one to advice you. Do not adjust her meds without doctor approval.

Call the doctor who prescribed it. It wouldn't be right as layman to advise you.