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.
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.
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.
I was diagnosed over 2 years ago but never got around to going to the Chiari Institute in NY as suggested by my geneticist, mostly because I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and know so, so many people who have had the decompression surgery and nearly all failed. So they say, it's due to also having EDS.
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.
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.
Are these mood swings and memory issues somehow related or located in the same area of the brain? Would taking Namenda and Aricept together help? Is there any type of anti-depression/anti-anxiety medication that has been found to work better in patients with MS? I have been on Zoloft, Effexor, and Cymbalta, at the highest recommended doses and none of them seem to help after about 10 weeks. Thank you for your time.
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!
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.
Tetrabenzene has been FDA approved but that can sometimes cause depression or temporary movement disorders. However, for some people it can effective. Botox shots are used for focal dystonia but if its full body as in me then that's less than helpful. There are standard anti-Parkinsonian medications such as Requip, Aricept, Baclophen and Mirapex though I could not tolerate them but they work well for some people.
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