Before taking Aricept, tell your doctor if you have a heart rhythm disorder such as "sick sinus syndrome" (slow heartbeats), an enlarged prostate, urination problems, asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease, or a seizure disorder such as epilepsy. Found this on the side effects of the drug. According to the nurse that came to visit my mother on her initial visit these types of drugs have side effect. She told me after one year of using the drug her mother ended up with a pace maker. My mother and I agreed that at 86 she wasn't willing to risk the side effects for something that may or may not help her. I would research the side effects and weight the plus and minuses! Good luck!
That's what is so difficult with all of this. Everyone can react differently. We really didn't find anything that didn't cause more problems than what we were trying to avoid or help. Think the only thing you can do at this point is try what they recommend and then raise cain to get them off of it if it is not working or is causing additional problems. The doctors are only relying on what info is out there and there just isn't enough available for dementia or alzheimers. They end up trying to control symptoms and it's frequently not a good answer. When & how to coordinate the meds is necessary, I agree. Sometimes too I think we just need to try elimination. Doctors & PA's can frequently be guilty of trying too much and it backfires on the patients and caregivers -nightmares for all!
As a retired RN, I SO agree with you! My Dad took these drugs when he was handling himself OK, on advice of his neurologist. In early dementia, if no side effects, they may have kept him functioning better...who knows. He got 8 more years of life, functioning fairly well. BUT, what I see with how those not educated in medicine, nursing and such, assume with these drugs, IS that they will 'reverse' the illness effects. My Mom was one. She still thinks someone can give my dad some drug that will make all this 'better' and he will be able to be like he was 5 years ago. It's what she talks about all the time, what she hopes for. And even though she did not take the initiative to be feeding him well all his life, NOW, when the disease is severe, she thinks if 'someone' would be there to feed him the right foods and 'make' him eat them, he would get better! Now that he has no teeth, must be on a soft diet, and is getting better nutrition in his facility than she was providing at home, she constantly criticizes their food choices and say it's keeping him from getting well. I generally don't want to try any mind altering drugs...preferring natural care first. I use essential oils for my chronic pain and get better results than I got with narcotics and all their side effects! I agree with Melatonin too. Got my dad to try that early on....but later in his disease if the doc didn't order it, he was having nothing to do with trying anything new. As Dad's very smart caregiver used to say to my Mom, " It becomes time, at some point, to simply say, It IS what it IS....and give him lots of love, hugs and support rather than push and criticize him all the time for what happens or how he acts". That however, used to just make Mom mad. And now it's her turn to go through it all herself.
My husband was prescribed Aricept for his frontotemporal dementia and took it for about a year. It was developed for Alzheimer's but is used in other dementia's due to the lack of other meds. It didn't seem to slow the disease to a noticeable degree. He did, however, have a severe side effect. He had an ulcer bleed out requiring hospitalization for five days.
My husband was prescribed generic Aricept (donepezil) for mild cognitive impairment to slow down further deterioration. He was started at 5 mg to see if he would tolerate the drug without gastric effects. After a month with no problems, he was increased to the regular starting dose of 10 mg. This dose increased his ability to converse and socialize. The neurologist also prescribed generic Xanax for his increasing anxiety in noisy social situations. I was reluctant to use it as it is addictive and can have fatal effects if mixed with alcohol or other sedating drugs. I was advised to use 1/2-1 pill of the smallest dose no more than 1-2x/week. This week I tried it and he was able to play music at a concert in a noisy environment and even joke with people who complimented our playing.
Both of my parents have been on Aricept with their dementias. My Dad was on it for years, with no trouble....started at a very low dosage to help preserve his memory back when his cognitive dementia was considered mild and all the way to his current severe dementia. They've now stopped it, in the past 6 months, since he's in a memory care unit as the doctors feel there is no further help from it, and they had other meds he needed that would also affect his brain, so just wanted to keep the least amount of brain affecting drugs being used. My Mom started on it just a couple months ago, and she had to stop because the lowest dose caused her to have persistent diarrhea...which is a listed side effect. Because her dementia is early and mild right now, the neurologist said she could stop it and we would re evaluate if she was better or worse by this coming December.
Folks, know that no pill will change a dementia diagnosis. Doctors give Aricept, Namenda, and others just to say they are trying to "help", but these drugs have more side effects than benefits. Since the diagnosis will not change, the patient is not really helped, then with the constipating side effects, why would anyone subject their loved one to these drugs? But, you must decide. My husband doesn't take any of those meds and I don't try and "control" him. I just let him explode now and then, walk away, and when I return, he has calmed down and forgotten what it was he was angry about...Sleeplessness, try Melatonin about 1.5 - 3 mg. over-the-counter. Isn't a drug, won't cause addiction, and your loved one will get some sleep. Combative behaviors? Leave them alone and do not confront, just walk away. Try simple measures instead of drugs. That's what I do and I am trained in medicine.
Thanks 4 days now and just nausea as ive said ill give it a month but if she is going to be sick everyday then no way. My mum is a little calmer but i think this is just a phase of the dementia shes going through she just seems in a world of her own but in good mood not depressed. I agree that I am not too keen on giving them anymore drugs unless it really helps. Its suppose to slow down the deterioration if this gives us more time with her then we will see if she starts to deteriorate anyway then ill take her off them.
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