My Mom was on the Namenda RX slow release. Anyone have good results?

My mom has been on regular Namenda and the Exelon Patch for several years before symptoms even started I think. How does one know if its working if she is getting worse? I do not dare stop it for fear it might make her even worse. I HATE this disease. I have make a will that if I get this, my children are to put me in a home and regardless of how they feel, its in writing and they cannot care for me and ruin their lives. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I will not destroy my sons!!!!!!

This is very interesting!! The XR seems to be more convenient at 1 pill per day. Gradual release. Pharmacies still have regular Namenda to be taken twice per day. I believe the drug rep I spoke with said the XR is manufactured in Australia??? I can't remember right now. (I had a surgery today and still feelings effects of anesthetic). Anyway, my mother takes a medication along with Namenda called Guatanamine ( will get back with u on correct spelling. Less nausea for her than the Aricept)

No medication is going to solve the dementia diagnosis. It may help in the short run, but the disease is unrelenting in the destruction it does to the brain. Try melatonin over-the-counter for sundowners and keep her as active during the day as you can. Enroll her in a senior daycare program and see if that helps. My best to your mom. Been there, done that already with my mom. She died in 2002, now I have my husband with dementia, and it starts all over again.

I absolutely agree with ferris1 on every point. A busy day is a great solution to sundowners. Don't underestimate the benefits of an antidepressant. Progress is only temporary, dementia is a relentless march forward.

Same with my mother. Manufacturer trying to catch up on more XR. Since on regular Namenda, she's had a couple of strange incidences. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth having her on it, but will continue to follow advice from neurologist.

Is there really a shortage of Namenda XR? I gave an RX for it to the pharmacy and they filled it with plain Namenda at a higher dose. Can I insist on them filling the next time with XR? Should I split the plain Namenda and have my husband take 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM?

My Mom did the trial pack with good results. But with the shortage we have gone to 2/ 10 mg a day. Still with good results. Our main goal with adding it to her Aricept was it seems to make her less combative.

I was not aware of a shortage of the XR, or that the regular was still available. I had understood that the regular would not be manufactured after mid-summer, so my mom was switched to XR in May. I saw a news report on TV that one state (I think it was New York) is suing the manufacturer because of an internal memo that talks about getting users switched to the XR to lessen the impact of sales lost when the regular goes generic in 2015.

As much as I dislike the side effects of Namenda, without it, my husband can not comprehend anything that is said to him. After he began taking the XR version last spring, I noticed that it did not work quite as well, but his paranoia disappeared. After two months on XR, I switched back to the old immediate release version and within 2 days the paranoia was back. So I switched back to the XR version. When he runs out of the XR version in two weeks I plan to break the twice per day tablets in half and give them every 6 hours. Also, I think drinking a lot of water reduces the side effects of the old Namenda.

I have trouble getting my husband to drink water. He will drink juice, but never finishes the glass. Any suggestions?