Help! Donezepil (Aricept) nausea

AlzWife2023

Hello, Hi!

How did your LO react to Aricept?

My husband has been on it for a week and immediately improved, but after a few days he became really nauseous & it’s not getting betters—it’s debilitating.

I called the doctor during the week—no call back. I emailed Friday—no answer.

I’m afraid to stop him cold turkey. 

Also, it’s helping so much it’s be nice to find a work around.

Right now he’s just incapacitated but he remembers why! 

Any advice?

GothicGremlin

Hi @AlzWife2023 - This happened with my sister too, she'd get diarrhea as well, so it was pretty unpleasant for her. We were told to try eating a banana before she took the pills. So she'd eat half a banana right before meals, and it worked! I have no idea why it worked, but it did.

AlzWife2023

Dear @GothicGremlin thanks for the advice. I’ll try that tomorrow! Did you give the pill in the AM or PM?

GothicGremlin

It was in the morning. Good luck!

ButterflyWings

I hope the banana helps. What dosage is he taking? DH had no nausea from that med, but such total appetite suppression that he lost a lot of weight in just a few weeks. It was alarming for a lean man. So, Dr. stopped the Donepezil and that was that for us.

AlzWife2023

Hi @ButterflyWings its definitely reducing his appetite, but I can get him to eat yummy things like chocolate milk and lots of other stuff. He’s on the lowest dosage 5 mg.

storycrafter

My husband had the nausea also. He takes a reduced dose (1/2) and tolerates it well. Not as helpful as a full dose might be, but still provides a little help.

ButterflyWings

AlzWife, he was started on 5mg and no negative effect, but I also had no idea if it was positively impacting anything either. When doc saw he could tolerate it, he increased dose to 10mg and that's when DH basically stopped eating. Not in protest or being disagreeable or anything, he just didn't' feel hungry, and did not eat.

I'd never before known him to have zero appetite, even when sick. And the weight just fell off! It was scary fast. So, Dr. and I agreed it wasn't worth it. We will never know if it would have helped his cognition, but many forum mates weren't sure if it was beneficial or not either; their LOs were taking it just in case.

Iris L.

You might consider Exelon patch. It bypasses the GI system. I have been using for several years and I have no GI distress. I wish it did slow my appetite, though.

Iris

AlzWife2023

Hi @Iris L. thanks for the tip. I just read about this last night. I’ll have to ask doc.

AlzWife2023

Hi @ButterflyWings that must have been scary! I could see that happening with a higher dose for sure!

AlzWife2023

Hi @storycrafter I was wondering if he could go on and off the pill to reduce the symptoms but keep the benefit. It took three days for symptoms to start and the half life is three days; & the improvement showed up in three days too so I had an idea that something like that could work. I’m not a doctor or a pharmacist tho! I’ll be asking the doc if he ever calls me back. Have you heard of the Exelon patch? I will ask the doc about this too.

storycrafter

I have heard of the Exelon Patch. It sounds to me like a good option that bypasses the digestive system. My dh refuses to use it.

scarfire

my mom has advanced Alz dementia. she has been on 5mg donezepil for 8 years. we honestly don't know if it has slowed her advance or not ( she's been at this stage for about 7 years). she also has IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) so she also takes Levbid so that helps with diarrhea and nausea.

AlzWife2023

Hi @scarfire my friend who was a nurse in care homes in Ireland says she didn’t see much effect from Aricept in her patients over the years and if it means more meds or constant nausea, it might not be worth it. She said EBIXA is a good drug (weekly patch) that helps with behavioral symptoms. I’m starting to wonder about the Aricept since most people say they saw no difference. I’ll be keeping a close eye. Thanks for the tip about Levbid.

JLB43

We have been on Exelon Patch for five weeks now and it has worked well.

AlzWife2023

Good news @JLB43 ! Thanks!

gampiano

the aricept really helped my husband with cognition . He had some nausea at first, but ginger, ginger ale, and banana helped. The drug really helped and hes been on it for 2 years now, with the addition of Memantine. The latter gave him some intestinal problems, but we rode the wave and he tolerates both drugs well now.

AlzWife2023

Hi @gampiano thank you for sharing your experience! I’m so glad it helped!

Palmetto Peg

My husband had severe insomnia with Donezepil. He had nights where he literally did not sleep at all. He also had some stomach distress and loose bowels, so I took him off of it. He had been taking it for several months and I didn't see any cognitive improvement while he was taking it, or any decline when he stopped. It could be that the lack of sleep was keeping him from any benefit, but it definitely did not work for us. When I told the neurologist that I had stopped giving it to him, he said okay fine and that was it. I felt like the doctor didn't really think it had any value, either!

Drapper

My DH tolerated Donezepil well, , but it gave him bad dreams at night. We switched to am, which worked better. Maybe insomnia would go away if taken early in day.

Palmetto Peg

I did try giving it to him in the morning, but he still wasn't sleeping at night. As soon as I stopped it, he went back to a much more normal sleeping pattern. His upset stomach went away, too. I guess it is like all medicines, it doesn't work for everyone.