Has anyone tried Axona for Alzheimer's/dementia?

The studies are too numerous to count that demonstrate retrospectively that regular moderate physical exercise helped in preventing and/or delaying the onset of dementia. I think there are also pro-active studies as well. While you are correct that people with dementia are likely to become less active, there are clear indications for increasing exercise BEFORE developing symptoms. It is easy simply to Google "Alzheimer's and exercise." There are many bona fide medical studies. Interestingly, programs that improve cardiac health seem to also benefit cognitive health.

The state of most clinical research at this time is towards early intervention and prevention rather than on treatment. Monoclonal antibodies have proven effectiveness with removing Amyloid Beta plaques. However, by the time the plaques have amassed, it is too late to reverse the symptoms. The damage has already been done. The A4 study, which is currently ongoing and is looking for non-symptomatic volunteers between ages 65 and 85, is randomly splitting the volunteers into a treatment (monoclonal antibody) group and a placebo group for 3 years in order to determine the efficacy of such early intervention.

Hello DoctorJC. I'd be interested to know where you found that info on exercise, and whether or not they showed that the exercise was causative in preventing it, or whether (as I am inclined to believe) that lack of exercise is merely correlated with dementia. Especially as you would be highly likely to find both (lack of exercise, and dementia in the same (aged) population. And whether they eliminated the other (highly likely) possibility, that folks with dementia just don't exercise as much; making it a chicken-egg issue. ie: which came first.

The only thing that has universal support in the research literature is exercise. Nothing else has a clear and scientifically substantiated benefit.

Because I specialize in working one on one with Alzheimer's patients I regularly look at the research about the disease and in doing so I discovered that there is no medication of any kind that cam actually help ALzheimer's.

What I have read is Jean Carper's small, easy to read book which lays out as simply as possible what doctors and researchers are doing themselves for ALZ's.
The disease is known as a "lifestyle"" disease. Meaning that most of the public eats foods known as Omega 6 foods. To avoid ALZ's a person needs to eat a Omega 3 diet and use vitamin supplementation, as well as other simple to follow ideas. The book is: 100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer's.
This book is worth its weight in gold.
One of my patients is taking Vitamin B Complex, D3, and Folic Acid with B12.
These vitamins are all in liquid form. Talk to your local foods market to see if they can get the liquid forms of these vitamins,
My patient is carrying on conversations with me and making a real effort to keep a few thoughts a day in mind and then speaks about them later.
This person was diagnosed with ALZ's 9 years ago.
There are no miracles but one researcher in 2014 (Dale Breeden) had success using diet and vitamins in combination with a few other simple things.

No way I could get my wife to take the drink in the prescribed dosage, even if our doctor prescribed it. She can still drive, cook, and do laundry anyway. If she becomes unable to do those things, we'll have people come and do them, or move to Assisted Living in a nearby nursing home. (I'm disabled and can't drive.)

While there is a lot to be said for coconut oil, there is no proven and/or medically or scientifically acceptable evidence of its efficacy in treating Alzheimer's disease. There is a physician who claims that it initially reversed and then slowed the progression of her husband's illness. Not reproduced in other studies. Desperation breeds irrational hope. I even tried it with no benefit on my wife.

I was given some for my wife by her neurologist, followed all of the instructions and gave it to her for a month. Did absolutely nothing.

Coconut oil is very helpful. It can cause diarrhea in high doses. It is best to work up gradually to the dose that you can tolerate. My Mom takes it with no side effects. I take it (1 TB twice a day) and do not have side effects except less of an appetite which is fine with me since I need to lose some weight. I love using it on my face and for swishing in my mouth.

As a physician, I have never used Axona on a patient. I read the literature which revealed poorly designed studies and minimal/questionable results. Most Alzheimer's experts don't give it much attention.

Hello Tarajane, My Dad's doctor also gave us a few boxes of the samples. We never really gave it a try either. This was because of how difficult is it to take. Dad was still living in his own home at the time and taking his medications with the help of a locked. timed. and alarmed dispenser. He was mentally able to go to the machine and take out the dispensed pills and take them when the thing rang. Anything more involved than that, he wouldn't have been able to do. That Axona needs to be mixed with a measured amount of water (equlivalent to a large glass of water) and drunk slowly over 30 minutes only. And the person cannot have eaten for a certain amount of time before, and cannot eat for while again after taking it. ( I think it was like 2 hours before and one hour after. Can't swear that's accurate). Anyway, there was no way Dad could have done all that on his own, even with an alarm to tell him when to take it, or even if I would have driven over there to mix it; because it needs to be taken four times per day. That would have meant someone would have to be with him from the beginning of the hour before each dose, mix it for him, monitor and control how long and how fast he drank it, and stay with him to remind him not to eat after for that 2 hour wait after. Do that four times per day and you've spent 12 hours watching him. I was still working them and there was no way I could devote that much time to him. Even if he had moved here then, I couldn't be present with him that much, as I was working night shift, and needed to sleep during the day. And even then, it would require Dad to be cooperative to actually drink it all, four times a day, everyday, which was highly unlikely....... All in all, I think Axona would be pretty useless as requires a Catch 22: If have the ability to take this stuff, you likely don't have the disease it's supposed to treat.

Axona is quite expensive if I remember correctly and is not covered by most insurance plans.

Coconut oil helps some people. Not sure what that means either. What does help mean? But coconut oil is notorious for causing diarrhea!

Do you live in an area with access to naturopathic physicians? Google American Association of Naturopathic Physicians to find one in your area, then tell him/her about Axona. If you don't have a lot of experience in NMDs, they are trained as traditional primary care MDs but have additional training in naturopathic treatments. In AZ, where we live, NMDs are licensed as primary care doctors. NMDs are trained to use food as medicine and this is what Axona is - just food - without the big mark-up of profit to the MD/DO and to the pharmaceutical industry. NMDs are trained to understand conventional pharmacology; for example, my NMD has put me on a natural cholesterol-lowering supplement but understands the chemistry of how Lipitor works. MCTs/caprylic triglyceride - in it's true form - should not give someone any side effect; any side effect is either from that person suffering from another medical condition or it's from the other toxic "junk" that is combined with caprylic triglyceride to make the final product. Ask the doctor to clarify what he/she means when he/she says the drug has worked on some people; what was their health status before the drug; what side effects did they experience; and the such. Then get a second opinion on this drug from a true NMD if you can locate one close to your home.

Read up and try coconut oil instead. Basically does the same thing...provides an alternative fuel for the brain to use. However, start slowly and build up because it will cause stomach issues in some people. There is a lot of info out there to read about with people using this for Alzheimer's.

Whoops, reread, you just returned from doc?

I am surprised to hear he is still working?

give the doc the year, he said 2150, 2051, and two other combinations. Thanks for asking. Don't think I will try Axona.

He is ok. One night I came home from work at 8pm and he said "Have you been working?" I got weak in the knees. He thought I went to the doctor and then went to work I think. Anyway he didn't look like he had had a stroke. I just don't know what made him ask that. Last Monday he got an A+ from his memory doc. Except he never could

Hi Tara. My Mom was given a sample of Axona by her doc that said it works for some people. We did not try the sample as one of the common side effects is diarrhea. Since my Mom has had this problem for as long as I can remember, never a normal BM EVER, I decided not to try it. More frequent or worse D was the last thing I needed! That was a few years ago, now I wish I had asked the doc what he meant by "it works for some people". Nothing cures dementia unless the synptoms are actually caused by something else that is determined with other testing.

How is your husband doing?