are there helpful medications these days?

mb123

my wife is becoming more and more forgetful and it's becoming more serious. she had a double mastecomy 4 years ago and i saw a deteriation about 2 years ago. tomorrow, we are visiting her cancer doctor for what is supposed to be the last time. i am going to talk to this doctor about what's going on and try to get my wife to whatever kind of doctor diagnoses dementia.

can anyone tell me if there are drugs now that can slow the progression?

GA-Mom

I am so sorry to hear about your wife's illness. Sometimes elderly people do not do well under anesthesia. 

My husband is on Namzarac, which is a combination of two generic drugs in one capsule. None of the drugs available will cure dementia, but some do slow the progression (your mileage may vary) and help deal with the symptoms. I don't think it's helping my husband any more. I need to have him seen by a neurologist again. 

In this forum, search by 'drugs' and you will see a variety of comments on different drugs to help with different symptoms of the disease. 

Best of luck. 

M1

Hi mb123. There are several medications approved that can be of modest temporary help, but none slow the progression of the disease. The figures I cite are that about one in twelve patients treated will benefit, one in twelve will have a significant side effect, and the remainder will neither benefit or be harmed. Not great statistics. I think most of us try them at some point for lack of better options. If you're anywhere near a major medical center, you can also ask about research studies in your area. Good luck, none of this is easy.