Has anyone tried Axona for Alzheimer's/dementia?

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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