my dad had Aricept and Namenda, and while I think they did slow down the progression, and I do not think they did anything negative, they did of course not cure it I would take it if I were in that position. He also took Ativan when he was in agitated states and it really did work wonders, for him anyway. He would be agitated and an Ativan would have him being fine within an hour. The Dr. was worried about an Ativan dependence. I said hes 93, who cares if he is addicted. The Dr. agreed with me.
My moms primary dr. gave her a referral to a Geriatric dr and I said YES I would like that. (due to dementia)
My mom has Medi-care with Kaiser.
the geriatric dr. and her staff were very helpful and understanding. where it seemed the primary dr didn't really get "into" the dementia issue.
dr said mom had moderate Alzheimer's. saying since the symptoms started back in 2010(?) and it was slow moving.
but my mom was starting to say crazy things and making up stuff. (and repeating over and over)
dr only gave my mom low dose of Citalopram(celexa) which is for antidepressant/mood disorder. It did seem to help and the upsetting stories stop for the most part. (but didn't offer any alz RX, which was ok by me)
they also gave my mom a caseworker to monitor any changes. so any thing that comes up I let her know about it. and she calls maybe once a month.
my dad who passed away in 2015 was on Namenda and Aricept. (one or another or both cant recall) but he took that for years even before I could tell he had problems. seems to me, his dementia progressed slowly over close to 10 years (guessing)
as far as I can tell im not sure it made any difference. once he was really bad towards the end, dr gave him an anti psychotic drug to calm him down.
My aunt was on aricept and namenda. She switched to Namzeric which is a combo of the two if you aren’t familiar with the name. She seems to be doing great on her meds. I should clarify she hasn’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Mom's been on Aricept for the last 5 years. She went from stage 3 to stage 5 in a year and a half. To me, that says it doesn't work, progressing 2 stages in 18 months.
She's still on it, why I don't know. She does not remember anything of her life and lives in a "void". She's 95-1/2 years old and is holding at stage 6.
How do you REALLY evaluate a dementia medication? Since we have no idea how fast the dementia will progress, there is no hard core "evidence" that the medications actually work.
Mom was on aricept 10 mg for about 9 years at first diagnosis. And it seemed to keep her at the same low level for most of that time with no side effects. She was taken off it, and a lot of other meds, due to some issues with low heart rate. Now she’s on Namenda extended release 7 mg. She seems to be doing a tiny bit better cognitively having been on it for a month. Hard to say...
Namenda. But IMHO nothing works for my mil or it seems all the drugs that are supposed to help her sleep or calm her depression and anxiety work opposite of what they are supposed to do. Good luck to you !
My mom has Medi-care with Kaiser.
the geriatric dr. and her staff were very helpful and understanding. where it seemed the primary dr didn't really get "into" the dementia issue.
dr said mom had moderate Alzheimer's. saying since the symptoms started back in 2010(?) and it was slow moving.
but my mom was starting to say crazy things and making up stuff. (and repeating over and over)
dr only gave my mom low dose of Citalopram(celexa) which is for antidepressant/mood disorder. It did seem to help and the upsetting stories stop for the most part. (but didn't offer any alz RX, which was ok by me)
they also gave my mom a caseworker to monitor any changes. so any thing that comes up I let her know about it. and she calls maybe once a month.
my dad who passed away in 2015 was on Namenda and Aricept. (one or another or both cant recall) but he took that for years even before I could tell he had problems.
seems to me, his dementia progressed slowly over close to 10 years (guessing)
as far as I can tell im not sure it made any difference. once he was really bad towards the end, dr gave him an anti psychotic drug to calm him down.
I should clarify she hasn’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
To me, that says it doesn't work, progressing 2 stages in 18 months.
She's still on it, why I don't know. She does not remember anything of her life and lives in a "void". She's 95-1/2 years old and is holding at stage 6.
How do you REALLY evaluate a dementia medication? Since we have no idea how fast the dementia will progress, there is no hard core "evidence" that the medications actually work.