start meds?

JDancer

Friends ask if my DH is on meds for his dementia. He isn't. I have many reasons. I don't think they are very effective, I worry about side effects, I worry about getting him to take them daily, etc.

 I feel judgement from those that ask. Should I reconsider? Namenda? Aricept? Anyone have experience- positive or negative- with these treatments?

Ed1937

My wife doesn't take any, for the reasons you mentioned. It will stay that way. Most people will tell you they don't really know if they are helping, but they continue to stay on meds because they don't think they're hurting anything.

Ernie123

I suggest you have him assessed by geriatric psychiatrist. Since it is their specialty you would get good advice. My experience is no side effects for my DW and possible benefit from the usual ones like aricept which she started in 2012.  These meds tend to slow the progress but do not prevent progression.

However, as his condition progresses, it is good to have him in the care of a geriatric psychiatrist because it is common to need antipsychotic medications should he become delusional, paranoid or violent. Before moving into Memory Care, my DW had become delusional, did not recognize me, and tried to force me from our house on many occasions extremely upset. A prescription of Risperidone eliminated that behavior with no side effects. A year later, in care, the delusions returned with extreme paranoia. She would hide in her closet in fear. The psychiatrist quickly adjusted her meds and now she takes Olanzapine. She is calm, content and seldom has delusional thought. To my view, these meds have given her a quality of life. She has no short term memory, has trouble recognizing her children and sometimes me, but her emotional state is calm which is totally attributable to her medications.

M1

My partner isn’t on meds either JD, didn’t tolerate either aricept or namenda. I don’t think you’re missing much. If you need meds later for sleep or symptom control that’s another thing.

ButterflyWings

Echoing Ernie - we did need to access prescription help for terrible delusions and hallucinations that were causing my DH significant angst, and leading him to dangerous behaviors. 

We tried aricept only very briefly soon after diagnosis. Could not see any positive impact but it did cause him mild gastro issues and he completely lost his appetite. A very lean man, he lost 15+lbs quickly so we decided it wasn't worth that. 

Of note, he has taken Singular for years (for asthma) and I learned on these boards that med might help slow the progression of dementia (?) I can believe that, based on our experience with his memory which fooled a lot of people, including the initial memory center evaluators. He was really able to showtime and overcompensate for quite some time. But now, in mid-late 6... not anymore.

jfkoc

My husband was put on the usual (Aricept/Namenda)in Oklahoma. Our Dr in New Mexico was adamant that they be stopped. He said the only winner was big Pharma.

They were stopped and I did not notice any change.

Rescue mom

Your reasons are valid, and that decision is absolutely yours to make.

My DH with Alzheimer’s takes the two (Aricept and Namenda). I cannot tell that they have helped, but they don’t seem to have bad effects, the cost with our insurance is not significant, and *maybe* he’d be worse without them, but who can know that? Meh. It’s not a matter I would argue or debate much, if at all.

Joe C.

DW first tried  Aricept but needed to stop almost immediately due to side effects. Now she is on Namenda for the past 3 years and I have seen absolutely no benefits. I planning of discussing the reasoning for continuing Namenda at her next neurologist appointment. 

I am not a physician but My understanding of meds like Aricept & Namenda is that they do not slow the disease they only mask the symptoms for a period of time by helping the brain synapses function a little more efficiently. Once the medications stop working the PWD will rapidly progress to the point where they would have been if they had never taken the medications. As I stated, I am not a physician but I have read this in several medical publications.

As for the friends that make you feel guilty about not using meds: I had a friend who would always say to me, “You know that there are medication that will help her”. Sadly a few years later her mother was diagnosed, at that point she would say, “I’m not putting my mother on those medication, they don’t do anything anyways”. Interesting how people views change when the shoe is on the other foot.

tryingtolearn

Butterfly wings.  That is very interesting about the singularity

My loved one has been taking Singular for years and clearly has a neurological problem

but was able to barely pass examinations last year

Her condition has worsened and trying to get her to doctors again this spring to be reaccesses

I wonder if the singular helped her in the beginning?