They say now that Aricept binds receptors that would otherwise heal, so it's not good for MS - it's specifically for Alzheimer's. My new neuro was horrified when she learned I had been on it for five months.
I don't know anything about that - all I know is that before Aricept, I was in a gray mist, and after five months of Aricept, everything seemed to make more sense.
Those are standard anti-depressents. However, I personally know about Aricept because I tried it for tardive dyskinesia and had a pretty poor response. My grandfather was prescribed Aricept for age related memory loss after a cardiovascular impairment. He couldn't tolerate it either. That doesn't mean at all its the wrong medication generally. Its just it has a fair amount of side effects for some people.
Is the person having memory problems? If not, why are they taking it? There are lots of drugs that have "off label" uses for lots of drugs so perhaps it was prescribed for something else. The doctor can probably let you know what that is and why it's being used. I don't think it will hurt, but there are side effects in every med and it would be a good idea to check drug interactions, etc. Try Drugs.com. If you cannot speak to the patient's doc, can you call your own?
My husband has been taking 10mg of Aricept for 2 years now and I have not noticed any significant difference in his memory. Actually, my observation is his memory is becoming worse. I'm struggling with whether I should discontinue the medication since I don't see improvement and because it is quite costly. I also know Aricept is designed to slow down the dementia so if I discontinue it I'm wondering if he will become worse much faster.
This should be started only on prescription of your treating physician. It is used for treatment of Alzheimer’s, but is helpful for short term memory loss.
Aricept is a drug of choice to treat Alzheimer's, but its use is not restricted. It has been observed that Aricept improves cognition and function, which includes effects on memory and performing everyday tasks, hence it would have been prescribed.
The effect of memory is exerted through one such chemical called acetylcholine.
If one looks at the history of treatment of young children with autism, one finds a long list of treatments that have been espoused to be the next cure for autism. Many of these treatments have been embraced with no scientific evidence to back them up.
The genetic testing was to possibly find out why he has Autism and to provide data for research purposes. His father and I have also given blood for these tests but have not been given our results. I find the whole thing very interesting. I do believe that Autism is a genetic disorder. If blood tests could be refined for the purpose of diagnosis, it would be quite helpful. I've read that some studies have linked this specific deletion with autism.
I am confused as to which is the most important issue and how I approach each. I see a neurologist this week and have been placed on Aricept. Yet still the confusion lingers. Please give me some directive on which is the most imperative issue.
When I was having some serious cog fog, I asked my neurologist for a sample of Aricept. Had to argue with him, actually. It worked! I got back some of my cognitive function - not all, but enough that I felt confident about my decisions.
I took it for four months, total. I still have one month left over on the scrip, so if I really need it, I'll have it.
She has moderate to severe short term memory loss and has been started on Aricept. She has also recently had an MRI of the brain.
Could you explain: "moderate diffuse cerebral atrophy and chronic white matter small vessel disease"?
Thank you!
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