Aricept for dementia

Common Questions and Answers about Aricept for dementia

aricept

Avatar f tn 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.
246236 tn?1275478902 My neurologist wants me to start on Aricept for my cognitive issues. Apparently it just became available in generic about 3 weeks ago, but she gave me a month's sample of the actual Aricept. I'm excited to take it (I'm going to start it tomorrow so I have a few weekend days to know how it affects me), especially if it helps! I've looked online and on previous forum posts but didn't find a lot regarding actual experiences from those taking it who have MS.
Avatar m tn 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.
Avatar n tn My Mom is 92 years old. Has been living on her own in Elderly housing for 20 years. Her dementia consisted of repeating and repeating, forgetting who visited, etc. but went throughout her normal activities w/some services very well and very happiy. Always knew us but was starting to forget other people but after prompting she would be ok. 3 weeks ago she developed a very severe resistant UTI and then got c-dift (not sure how to spell that). Anyway ended up dilusional, confused, etc.
Avatar f tn I would not rest till someone could figure out why you have atrophy in your brain and what you can do. Maybe Aricept is something that would be helpful for you. I wish you luck.
Avatar f tn My husband has dementia. He takes the Bupropion in the morning along with his Aricept and Exforge (for blood pressure). He gets drowsy right after taking his pills and I think it may be the Bupropion HSL SR causing this. His neurologist told him the anti-depressant would probably make him "a little more fuzzy in his thinking". My husband is usually at his best in the morning as far as clear thinking goes.
338416 tn?1420045702 D'oh-oh'oh! Evidently I'm not 100% better! I haven't been on Aricept for 70 days - it's only been 40+ days, maybe 50. Dunno what I was thinking. I've never before had to worry about whether I could overdose on a drug. I think I accidentally took two one time - I had a hard time sleeping, and felt a little like everything was in high-resolution. Little hard to explain, but easier if you've ever taken hallucinogens.
900662 tn?1469390305 After discussion with MS Neuro and my wife , we agreed that I should start Aricept , it is used mostly for Alzheimer, so its off label and he says it has shown great results. I do have a damaged working memory and slower processing speed, cognitive impairment effects every day in some small way. I won't reveal to any other family or friends that I ve stated this med, I just think I would feel self-conscious about people looking for my errors and mistakes.
Avatar f tn 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.
649926 tn?1297657780 Hi! Thanks for the info on Aricept. I have a few days left until I see the Doctor and I guess Aricept is the front runner. Of course she may not be willing to give me anything, but I am pretty sure that she will once we talk. If anyone has scoop on their experience with Aricept or any other cognition helping drug please take a minute to chime in.
Avatar n tn 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.
Avatar m tn 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?
Avatar f tn I have been taking aricept for about 9 months. It is hard to tell if there is an improvement. It has been a while since I forgot my way home but I still forget a lot of little stuff. I keep taking it because I am convinced it cant hurt anything and it just might help a little.
704043 tn?1298056844 Hey, I took Aricept for five months to get over some cog fog. It was amazing, and kinda reassuring. I started with some samples, and noticed a difference immediately - I could follow directions, count change, remember conversations... Every time I ran out, I would wait a day or so and see if I noticed a difference. After five months, I reached a point where I felt normal without the Aricept - yay! I highly recommend it.
Avatar n tn My mom suffers from this lewy body dementia, and i wish there was something more effective out there other than aricept or exelon... If anyone knows anything about REMBA, please drop me a line.... I thank you and good luck to you ,or your loved one!
Avatar f tn Second visit to neurologist (3 week wait) he did the EEG, said I had dementia, prescribed Aricept and depakote, referred me to psychological evaluation. I went to the evaluation(after 7 weeks), did the tests, waited 8 weeks for the results. Third visit to the neurologist, he flipped the report to the last page, he looks up says you are just depressed.
1056589 tn?1273747102 s being cared for wonderfully in a great nursing home (I know, amazing for UK...). Dementia looks so savagely cruel. It's so sad for all the family as well. But it's weird, my mum is still in there somewhere, she's not a vegetable - and if you listen very carefully, she does make perfect sense, there is still communication. In some ways it's a much kinder, gentler communication, more fundamental.
Avatar f tn It troubles me that she seems to be being treated for dementia when, as a family member, it seems more to me like depression or some sort of grief reaction that she isn't recognizing. My other concern is that some of the new medications could keep her feeling confused masking how the clearing of her infection and the normalization of her electrolytes could be helping.
Avatar n tn 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.
338416 tn?1420045702 ) I asked him for a prescription for Aricept, and he seemed a little annoyed. He said that there are no real clinical trials to prove the effectiveness of Aricept on mild cognitive impairment, and that it would be a waste of time. I'm not sure he understands the results of the exam. I'm moderately impaired in a few specific areas. Average it out, and I'm in the 'mild' category. But at any rate, I talked him into giving me a month's worth of Aricept.
500374 tn?1210071413 t even know who my kids were and have been listed as having mild/moderate dementia since then. I think they are called multi-infarct dementia even though the doctor and counselor have it listed as Alzheimers. Obviously, I am too young for that. Do you know what caused your brainstem stroke? My doctors said there was nothing they could do but give me aspirin and pain medicine. What is your treatment for this?
338416 tn?1420045702 //clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00062972?term=aricept&recr=Open&rank=35 it is in stage III, and out of New York which is not TX, but maybe they know of other sites? Or you could do this study remote with the help of your doctor? I can't give you advice about talking to your supervisor - you have to decide that one.
338416 tn?1420045702 I think that's exactly what happened to me - I was in a fog for a long time. I asked for a script for Aricept, got it, and was on that for three months. It felt very much like the Aricept gave my brain enough 'power' to jump over the holes. After a while, it was more like the brain knew how to navigate around the holes.