questions about medications

John_inFlorida

My DW has been on Aricept for close to 2 years now. hard to tell if it has done anything, but at least there doesnt seem to be any bad side effects.

After last visit with Gerontologist, she was put on Mementine along with the Aricept.  Has anyone had experience with this drug? Any issues? Any improvements?

Just started today, on half dose for 2 weeks then moving to full dose 1 pill twice a day.

Just wondering what if anything to expect

June45

Hi John,

Was your wife diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another dementia?  It is my understanding that these 2 drugs work best for those who have Alzheimer's vs other types of dementia. But there are others on here who might know more about that.  The article I am posting explains how the drugs work. They don't cure or stop the progress of the disease. They help "manage symptoms".

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20048103

My husband was started on both drugs when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's almost 4 years ago (already mid-stage at that time).  I do believe that both drugs kept him amazingly stable for a full 2 ½ or so years; he was able to be independent in his ADLs, etc. Then last Fall, he "fell off the cliff."  In other words the medications weren't as effective and he was noticeably declining. I kept him on both drugs until only recently.  I just finished weaning him off of Memantine.  I did see some decline but he was already in a steady decline before that so I think no harm was done. Next I am going to wean him off of Aricept. If needed, I will start it back up.  As long as your wife can tolerate the drugs, it is worth trying the Memantine, but it is a personal choice.  I got the generic and it was very cheap.

Addendum: Of course, I couldn't know for sure how well the drugs were working, but because my husband was stable, I will assume they were helping.  He tolerated them well so that made it a easy decision to keep him on them.

Joe C.

John, My DW has been on mementine for over 3 years. I have not noticed any side effects but I am not sure if has any benefits either. She was originally prescribed Aricept but after a few weeks I had to discontinue the Aricept due to gastrointestinal side effects.

Rescue mom

My DH has been on both for a couple years, starting maybe 9-12 months after his Dx with Alzheimer’s. I’ve seen no bad effects, and his progression has, in fact, been pretty slow. Whether it would have been faster without the drugs, who knows? But given no bad effects, and slow progression, and minimal cost with our insurances, he still takes them. I’ve heard many here say they become less effective after 2-3 years. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

Stuck in the middle

My wife has taken Aricept and Memantine since 2017.  We have noticed no side effects.  She is declining, but very slowly, so I think they probably help.

markus8174

Perhaps others with a better medical background can answer my concern but I have never understood not starting both meds at as high a dose as is tolerated as soon as Alzheimer's is diagnosed until the symptoms of dementia are minimized.  It's like the docs are saying "We can give you meds to help manage your dementia, but we want you to get as little improvement as possible so we're only going to start one."  Aticept gave some improvement, but when I insisted we start memantine I saw the biggest benefit. In late stage Aricept has never been shown to be helpful, but as long as the person isn't suffering serious side effects why wait. With the addition of memantine my DW went from needing constant supervision and being virtually home bound to going out to resturants and attending family functions. She got another 18-24 months of having a nearly normal life. As people have said- these meds aren't in any way theraputic, just palliative. The disease will still be progressing albeit with less noticable deficits. I also tried a number of "theraputic" meds with my DW. Some helped a lot, but she tollerated them poorly, some helped a little but were horribly expensive for what little gain she received. IMHO there is no reason to not start memantine as long as there are deficits that are interfering with the PWD's enjoyment of their life. The disease is going to take that away soon enough, so why wait? Depending on your loved one's financial state, explore all the options for memantine. Once a day sustained release was way more expensive than the equivalent twice daily dose. "Combination meds" with both drugs in one, once daily were rediculously costly just to drop from one tablet a day from 3.

Iris L.

markus8174 wrote:

With the addition of memantine my DW went from needing constant supervision and being virtually home bound to going out to resturants and attending family functions. She got another 18-24 months of having a nearly normal life. 

These medications may help the PWD remain in the community and functional for a longer period of time.  Who wouldn't want that? 

I pay $50.25 for a 90 day supply of memantine 28 mg xr and $75.00 a month for Exelon patch.

Iris 

sunshine5

DH diagnosed with mild Dementia. Memantine and Aricept both gave home side effects like passing out and confusion. Had to take him off both. Trying mct oil and coconut oil 2 tbs each daily. He walks daily. Not sure it’s helping him but at least no side effects. 

I am on the other hand getting frustrated at times, he doesn’t remember what he did few minutes ago- got the icecream out of the freezer and left it on the counter. I may have to ask for Medicare home help. The neurologist is sending me a referral.

John_inFlorida

Thanks everyone for your replies.

June, my wife was diagnosed with vascular dementia with signs of Alzheimer's. I think its more on the mild side but I can see things progressing. She's been on Aricept for a couple of years now. Last week we had a tele visit with the Gerentologist. I spoke to the doctor first and I had a list of behavior's that I had noticed.  She said that she thought it was time to start the Memantine. Later when my wife spoke to the doctor, she has her take the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. She scored 3 points lower from the same test 4 months ago. Not sure if that means anything, as everyday is different, one day she knows things, the next she doesnt. I feel like if she took the test again, it could just as easily be higher.

Just started on Memantine on Saturday. Needs to be taken twice a day. I was told to give her only half a pill each time for 2 weeks, then go to full pill. So far, I havent noticed anything different.

Jeff86

John,

My DW has been on Aricept and Memantine for four years.  No noticeable side effects but unknown if there’s been any benefit…she has progressed over that time frame to late stage 6, but no way to know if it would have been more rapid without the medications.  I doubt they’re helpful at this stage but the neurologist believes some patients experience further decline when/if taken off.  So we persist.

Btw, I used to go to Wesley Chapel every winter for tennis camp at Saddlebrook.  That ended with my DW’s dementia.