Aricept - Anyone Have a Family Member Using This?

Lotus · ‎03-09-2010

Are they using it for Alzheimers......or dementia? (I'm still trying to figure out the difference) and what kinds of results did they have?

Any side effects?

Thanks

"People with closed hearts will always feel as though they are at war with the world." ~My friend Nancy

insomniac · ‎03-09-2010

I've been taking it since 2006, when I had a brain aneurysm. It doesn't seem to be hurting me. (I have many friends my age--senior citizens, and we all have similar problems with memory!)

focksie · ‎03-04-2012

Lotus, just to clarify Alzheimer's and dementia... Most people use the term interchangeably but dementia can be caused by many things. Alzheimer's is a specific diagnosis under the umbrella of dementia.

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

My dad died 3 yrs ago. But yes my dad took it in the nursing home. I dont know the milligrams but he was a zombie on it (it totally calmed him and he just sat and stared and looked terrible, and we kept arguing to get him off it but they didn't bother to and argued he needed it. Again I do NOT know the milligrams he was on.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

Marp2 · ‎01-31-2012

My mom was on Aricept for dementia. She did not start taking it until her condition was well established. When first started mom's status was declining rapidly and the Aricept dramatically slowed her decline and gave her another two to three years of being semi-functional. There were no negative side effects.

ETA: I would not hesitate for one moment to take it myself if/when needed. The sooner it is started the better the results.

kdgn · ‎03-09-2010

On 8/2/2014 Marp2 said:
My mom was on Aricept for dementia. She did not start taking it until her condition was well established. When first started mom's status was declining rapidly and the Aricept dramatically slowed her decline and gave her another two to three years of being semi-functional. There were no negative side effects.

ETA: I would not hesitate for one moment to take it myself if/when needed. The sooner it is started the better the results.

This was my experience with Aricept. Mom had vascular dementia although the neurologist diagnosed Alzheimer's. This was close to ten years ago and I'm not sure if an Alzheimer's diagnosis was required for the prescription at that time. Didn't matter, she flunked his memory test. I wish she had been able to start it sooner. It did help for the first several years. After about 6 months on the medicine her PCP added Namenda.

She never, ever gave the appearance of being drugged. It had quite the opposite effect for her: she became more alert and more focused. She could concentrate again.

She stayed on the drug combination until her death 8 years later. We didn't know if the medicine was still helping her but we knew it wasn't hurting.

dawg lover · ‎03-15-2010

My mom has been on Aricept, Namenda, and an Exelon patch for the past year, and it has kept her mind relatively stable and has kept her from slipping from moderate to severe Alzheimer's. These drugs have been a godsend for us and have given her a better quality of life for the past year.

JustJazzmom · ‎03-09-2010

Aricept is one of the drugs used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Website on Aricept

☼The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. GBShaw☼

BeckiWV · ‎04-12-2011

My mother took it and it slowed her dementia progression for awhile. Eventually, it did not help when the disease became advanced but it did make a wonderful difference for a time. I was glad that she had it available.

mewsmomtoo · ‎03-05-2014

My sister had early-onset Alzheimer's so her journey was a little different, but she was on Aricept with positive results and no side effects (unlike the Exelon patch which literally almost killed her). I can highly recommend the boards at www.alz.org if you haven't been there yet. There is so much useful information and the people and support are amazing. Wishing you the very best!!!