topic Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences) in Community Chat

Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Lotus — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:52:26 GMT

I'm wondering if anyone here has experienced having a loved one on Aricpet and if you noticed any negative behavior changes with them.

What were the changes and how soon/long after starting on Aricept did you notice it?

(yes, I have a call into the doctor)

TIA

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Pianomama — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:47:31 GMT

My DH is on Aricept right now (although it is the generic). He was also on it a couple of years ago, and then stopped for a while due to insurance issues. I saw a difference in his mental ability (slight) with it. As far as I know, he is having no adverse effects. He is also on a high dose of Seroquel which keeps him calm (or less agitated ). My DH has later stage Alzheimers.

P.S. if this is the case in your situation, alz.org has great information on their message board.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

kdgn — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:55:20 GMT

Lotus, I noticed no negative effects when Mom was on it.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Lotus — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:50:49 GMT

Thanks ladies...Neurologist said to stop right away.....and call him in a few days.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Shorty2U — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 03:44:11 GMT

My dad was on it in the home (before he died). It made him a zombie and not the dad I remembered who was fun and talkative. Long story I don't want to relive now but we tried to get them to stop giving him it to no avail.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

september — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 03:54:15 GMT

Sometimes, it takes a while for someone to react positively to a new drug. I would also have to recommend going to the alz.org boards, and joining their message boards. You can also find local support groups in your community...for family members of Alzheimer's patients.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

shoekitty — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 04:41:41 GMT

My dear friend's Mother took Aricept for the longest period allowed. Her Mom was diagnosed at 62. She took Aricept for 5 to 7 years? I thought I understood that Aricept works for only a certain amount of time, and by 5 years it ceases to be effective.

My friend told me it DID help the first 3 or 4 years with little things. I think it delayed the progress a bit. But her Mom had it real bad, and descended quick after being diagnosed 6 years. She dies last year after 15 years with this awful disease. She was in her 80's.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Gooday — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:02:15 GMT

By the time my mom was started on Aricept in 2004, her Alzheimer's was too far advanced. She was tried on Seroquel but within 24 hours her neck got so stiff and rigid, it was stopped. Nothing helped. She was up all night and slept all day.

I think that those who have experienced loved ones with this disease, could write books about their experiences.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

jubilant — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 12:42:36 GMT

My dad is in the early stages of dementia. Aricept has helped him tremendously. He can sit and hold an adult conversation without repeating himself a dozen times and even tell you about an article he read several days ago. He is at the end of stage 1 dementia just going into stage 2. He has been on it now just a little over a year.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Lotus — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:03:28 GMT

Mom was 5mg of Aricept for 30 days....I found myself telling friends that she seemed to be getting worse instead of better. I couldn't tell if her disease was progressing quickly or it was the meds. We had an appointment on Tuesday (that's a whole 'nother story...the Neurologist was obnoxious and condescending to my mom) and he increased her to 10mg....she took that for 2 days.

She had a REALLY bad day yesterday....woke me up screaming at 745A....I jumped out of bed, I had thought that she fell or was hurt.

She was screaming about me stealing her lock box with her important papers....which I didn't....actually never even looked in it (which I have to do soon w/o her knowing) and the day went downhill from there. She ranted for about 4 hours....saying the most horrible things to me. It was really bad. :'(

I put a call into the obnoxious Neurologist at 9am.....and again at noon....he finally returned my call around 4pm and told me to stop the Aricept an to call him in a few days.

I know it's too soon to see a change yet by stopping the meds......but she seems a lot calmer today.

My sister is coming up from VA today....and together we will figure out what is best for mom.

I did go to the Alz.org message boards last night and found some posts from caregivers with a similar experience with their loved one on Aricept.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

kdgn — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:22:43 GMT

((((Lotus))))

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Shelbelle — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:30:36 GMT

My Dad had dimentia, he took it for about 10 years, it may stop the progression somewhat, but other than that no change in him. At first it made him nautious, but that quickly went away.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

lulu2 — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:32:56 GMT

Lotus, I am sorry to read about your mother and what you are going through.

We have elderly neighbors and he is suffering from Alzheimer's. I do not know what medications he is on presently but I do know it took awhile to get him to his present "calm" demeanor. His wife told me she and their grown children decided it was better for everyone that he was a shade above catatonic as opposed to aggressive. One on one, he can converse but at times he nods off mid sentence. If there are more than 2 or 3 people around him, he will not join in the conversation. He loves to sit and hold our dog by his leash. He always talks to him.

It is so sad to see our loved ones slip away.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

jubilant — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 15:44:32 GMT

This may or may not apply to your situation but my dad had a lot of depression. He has had many surgeries with most of them being pretty major so they added Lexapro to the Aricept and also a small dose of a psychotic drug. It sounds like your mother's situation is different from my dads, although he was getting quite angry at times. He threatened to run over me with his walker and he became suicidal....at which point he had to go to a nursing home. He also talked mean to to us at times and I know how much that hurts. Right now, that has passed for us and hopefully these medicines can keep him the way he is now till he dies. That is what I am praying for....so far...so good. They may have to experiment until they hit the right combination for your mother. That is hard to watch. Hopefully they will find a good mix. I hope so.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

kdgn — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:00:16 GMT

Lotus please remember that Aricept may allow the person to focus more, be less confused but it will NOT eliminate the stages of dementia/Alzheimer's. Your mother's actions, as you described them, is unfortunately quite common with the progression of the disease. They will say horrible things, accuse you and others of stealing from them but you have to keep something in mind: it's the disease talking and not them.

Mom was on Aricept and Namenda but it didn't stop her from the anger/anxiety stages. Xanax, given as needed, helped. But she was further along than your Mother is and Mom was very compliant about taking any medication given to her.

One grandmother had what we now believe was Alzheimer's. She accused her DIL of stealing her good silver and china. Back then there were no medications, I don't even think it had a name yet or if it did, it wasn't well recognized. My aunt had two nervous breakdowns over this. My grandpa had stroke-induced dementia and accused my grandma and uncle of stealing money from him. It did get worse.

Whether Aricept had anything to do with your mom's episode may be questionable. I remember once that it took me over 2 hours to calm my mom down after she decided that she didn't really live where she was and needed to go home.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Lotus — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:09:50 GMT

Thanks everyone....it's helpful to read about all of your experiences and I am very sorry that you had to go thru this too.

Mom is much calmer today....I have NEVER seen her like she was yesterday.

I forgot to mention that the doctor also put her on Lexapro this past Tuesday....I know it will take some time to see any results from that. If it helps perhaps I can start with the Aricept again. Yesterday's episode scared and saddened me.

This is a horrible disease.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Mj12 — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:11:11 GMT

(((((Lotus)))))

Agree, it is a truly horrible disease. Very happy to read your Mom is doing better today.

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

reese2 — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:17:47 GMT

{{{{{Lotus}}}}}

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

september — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:39:07 GMT

Lotus, I'm sorry to hear about what you and your mom went through yesterday. Sadly, paranoia is also a symptom of this disease, so it's hard to say if this wouldn't have happened even if she weren't on a higher dose of the drug.

Again, I have to say that the people at the Alzheimer's Association are there to help. There is a 24 hour hotline, weekly classes and support groups. They'll also provide help with legal issues, or point you to an elder law attorney if you decide to get power of attorney for your mom. While your sister is here, perhaps she can take your mom somewhere for a while, so you can go through papers and learn what accounts, etc your mom has. Also....keep an eye on what she's throwing away. Many people with this disease just randomly start discarding important paperwork, medications, and more!

Re: Question on Aricept (personal expriences)

Jeremiah 2911 — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:38:25 GMT

Hi Lotus,

First I wish to tell you that I'm very sorry about what is going on with your mother.

My mother-in-law was prescribed Aricept one week after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Before she started taking Aricept she had problems with memory but she could still communicate well, tend to most of her daily activities and could still live independently with the help of her husband.

However, immediately after starting Aricept she began experiencing severe side effects of Aricept. She had physical side effects of gastrointestinal problems; vomiting and diarrhea and also began having nightmares and hallucinations.

She went back to the doctor and complained about how terrible she was feeling. Instead of discontinuing the Aricept, the doctor upped the dosage.

A few days later she had a psychotic episode that sent her to the hospital. She never fully recovered. She never recovered her ability to communicate and was subsequently moved into a nursing home.

A certain portion of the population can be sensitive and/or allergic to the piperidine derivatives contained in Aricept. Unfortunately, my mother in law was one of those people. We blame the Aricept for her demise.

Read about the efficacy of Aricept compared to placebo on the www.fda.org website. Here's a link to a letter from FDA advising the makers of Aricept to stop overstating the efficacy of Aricept:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/WarningLettersandNoticeofViolationLetterstoPharmaceuticalCompanies/UCM201238.pdf

Because of the shocking demise of my mother-in-law immediately after taking Aricept -- and from what we've read about the serious side effects of Aricept, we've decided that the risks of Aricept far outweigh the benefits of taking Aricept.

I feel for you and wish you all the best while navigating through this terrible illness with your mom.