donepezil

That is not a good sign for sure. My DH is a kind, gentle person by nature, but that is gradually changing to anger (not to me yet), confusion, fear and forgetfulness. He has almost panic attach's if I leave the house. I will tell him I'm going to the store and he will say, ok, then ask where I have been when I get back. This is new to us so we have a lot to learn……patience for sure. Thank you for responding. I hope others do too.

Donepezil is helpful for 1 in 10, has too many side affects for 1 in 10, and is neutral for the rest. My mom couldn’t get beyond the lowest dose of it because it was too hard on her gastrointestinal system. There’s really no clear picture on whether it delays symptoms or not. The progress is still happening behind the scenes regardless, and the speed varies from person to person. Whether or not he takes is not something I’d choose to argue over.

@Bailey's Mom

Donepezil is prescribed to help PWD "function better". It is not a cure; the disease continues to ravage the brain regardless.

Reading other posts of yours, I've always had a sense that your DH and my dad were cut from very similar cloth. Our PWD was angry, bitter and mean as a baseline making the middle stages very difficult for my mom. As he progressed deeper into late stage 6 and 7, he seemed to lose that edge. By the last month of his life he'd regressed to "the sweet little boy" his doting aunts always described— he became warm and affectionate. YMMV, but fingers crossed it is similar for you.

I know mom and I would not have made a decision to continue any medication that preserved his ability to hold on to the negative emotions driving his ghastly behavior. Is he seeing a geri psych? Dad's was, after mom, the most important person on dad's team.
HB

You may have difficulty finding a geri psych outside of a teaching hospital memory center that takes your insurance. Psychiatrists often don't accept insurance. I've always paid out-of-pocket for my son's psychiatrists as neither took insurance. Dad's did take insurance, but mom's psychiatrist does not accept her insurance.

If his behavior changes are sudden have you had him checked for a UTI? I'd also try to downplay the taking of the pills - take yours with him - even if sugar pills -and call them vitamins.

Decisions or thinking they have to make a decision about pills throws PWD for a loop sometimes and then they resist to avoid the stress of a decision their brain can no longer process. You maybe be stressed and worried about getting the meds in him and he feels that anxiety

Thank you…very informative.