Memantine in Addition to Donepezil - What to Expect and For How Long

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mommyandme (m&m)

My mom was on Memantine for quite awhile, definitely by the moderate stage. I didn’t live near her then so I’m not sure how it helped. When I moved mom next door and I became her primary caregiver, she was still on it and in late stage 5. I continued it. When hospice came on board and pill burden also became a thing, Memantine was one we considered removing. She was still mobile with lots of assistance. I started to titrate her down and I did notice a change. For example, when I would prompt her to move her foot this way or that way just to move forward, she had difficulty understanding my direction. I put the 10 mg of Memantine back on board and she did understand directions a bit better. I attributed that very subtle benefit to Memantine. When we started crushing pills, I still gave her the Memantine in her “dessert”. I actually tried to titrate her off one other time with the same results. When there wasn’t much need for her to follow even simple instructions and was bedridden, I titrated her off of it. She was into stage 7 then.

My take on Memantine is it has benefits, although subtle, just as prescribed. I didn’t really know anything about it when I did that little experiment, so take my opinion for what it’s worth. I was told maybe it helps/maybe it doesn’t. I believe it did help in our situation, not sure for how long. That’s my little experience and tiny bit of knowledge. I hope there’s a benefit for you and your dad.

There does come a time when all bathroom trips must be supervised like everything else. I would say in stage 6 it’s time. When mom became doubly incontinent she was on Memantine. I guess I didn’t see a difference when on it or off because she’d was declining steadily down that road. Maybe it gave us a few more successful trips to the toilet, I’ll never know.