Thinking about stopping Namenda...Any advice?

send it to 4295 ballinger rd , martinsville indiana . ill get back with you over whether its worth a sh*t or not ..

We spoke with my MILs doctor about stopping Namenda. We did not see any negative side effects but did not think it was providing many/any positive ones either. We tapered off the Namenda and did not see any substantial change in her. These medications work better for some people than others and perhaps for differing amounts of time as well. Most dementias are progressive so the person with it will continue to lose abilities and functions. The rate/pace of this and the most likely trajectory depends on the specific kind(s) of dementia. Other health issues can also complicate the situation.

The doctor put Ma on it a year into arecept and it did her no favors. It messed with her balance, she regressed socially and she her incontinence increased immensely. You use the word Progression, these medicines are intended to slow it down. I took her off "Numb"enda and magic she is back to "normal"

My mom has been on Namenda for over six years. She has not had any side effects, but it is impossible to tell if it has made any difference in her rate of cognitive decline. She has shown signs of dementia for at least 15 years. I asked her doctor a couple of years ago about taking her off of it due to the cost and questionable benefit. He said that no one knows if it is helping or not and if her cognitive ability declined after stopping it, she would not regain what she has lost. Another doctor told me that it helps to stabilize mood. Now mom has progressed to the agitated, angry stage and has basically no short term memory. Her score on the mini mental status exam is solidly in the "severe cognitive impairment" range. I plan to address this question again at her next doctor visit. It doesn't seem to be helping her mood and there is not much cognitive ability left to "preserve". To me, the only thing it is helping is her progression to Medicaid.

My wife is on the Exelon Patch. This is similar to Namenda in what it is suppose to do. Once my wife finishes her Clinical Trial in March I am taking her off of the Patch as she has regressed and now I am going to let the disease run its course. The doctor said I can always go back on if I wish. We will see if there is any difference once she is off for awhile.

I was worried my mom was taking too much medication and I took her does down to 1/2 a Namenda. Did the same for quite a few of her drugs. It helped. Her regular Dr. didn't agree but her heart Dr. said "A lot of elderly people need pediatric doses.

I tried this medicine and my dad actually became worse. He slept all of the time and he lost his clarity-the little bit that he had so i stopped that medicine. Try music videos of Dean Martin and cimefy shows like Seinfeld, as this seems to keep my 84 yr old father happy. At times, he does not sleep very well and becomes nervous and aggitated so i give him half of a sleep aid.

As a physician and caregiver, I have observed patients and my wife on Namenda, 10mg twice daily. When added to her solo Aricept, the improvement was dramatic. Now, after 7 years, we are tapering her off the Namenda and then the Aricept.
Both of these meds may slow the rate of deterioration in some individuals for up to 2 - 3 years. For some they do nothing and/or cause side effects.
The course of Alzheimer's is variable. It is thought that people blessed with great intelligence have tremendous cognitive resilience which accounts for a relatively slow decline. However, when the downward spiral starts, it moves relatively quickly. That is where my wife is now. No meds can do anything good for her anymore. Routine practice is to remove these meds when the pace of deterioration picks up which may be well beyond the initial benefit period. Alzheimer's is ruthless illness for patents in general and for my girlfriend of 53 years in particular. I hope these comments have been helpful.

Many people have areas of hyper development. For example, my dad, who was incredibly adept with business math, was evaluated for his micro infarct dementia and couldn't draw a clock, state the day, etc. but could repeat 13 numbers backwards which is beyond the ability of most 40 year olds. Dad was 91 years old.
Was your husband fastidious, well-organized, or otherwise super precise? We are all different and have unique strengths. That's why I am bothered by people making strict, exclusive, and global pronouncements about people, illnesses, and treatments.

Dr JC, yes that describes my husband, but numbers were his forte but the reading not so much. Public speaking, yes. I started home schooling him again with simple math etc, he did fine, but like your Dad could not pass the SAGE tests, a few but overall no. Now when the memory loss started (approximately) 9 years ago my husband had just been put on a STATIN, not for cholesterol but to aide with his A-Fib, I noticed his memory was beginning to fade so I asked our PC Dr at Bethesda (USN RET) if it could be a side effect of the STATIN, He told me to stop the STATIN for 3 weeks to see if there is any improvement, as statins stay active in the system for 45 days. Well the fog lifted and he was back to normal mentally, until we had to see the heart doctor again who told us he had to be on a statin and would change the brand or my husband had the chance of having a stroke without it. I bought it lock stock & barrel, and after about a year back on he started the downward spiral. I have, as many on this forum, seen the beast of this disease. I stopped his statins three years ago as well as mine, and to my amazement both of us have good numbers in our blood tests.