My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 5 years ago. A recent screening for a drugs trial included analysis of his spinal fluid which indicates that he doesn't have Alzheimer's but probably a variant of FTD.
Whilst discussing the results with the trial doctors I mentioned how DENEPEZIL had given my husband dreadful nightmares & made him angry & violent, so much so that at times I really was in fear of my life. A reduction in dosage did help reduce the nightmares & violence but not eradicate them completely. The doctor's comment was that this wasn't surprising as OH doesn't have Alzheimer's & so his brain was being massively over-stimulated. He also mentioned it wasn't the first time he had come across this problem, someone else who had been misdiagnosed had had the same experience.
If anyone out there is going through the same experience with Donepezil it might just be worth questioning the diagnosis & asking for a second opinion. Had we known OH was being mistreated we could had saved ourselves months of fear & horror.
Whilst discussing the results with the trial doctors I mentioned how DENEPEZIL had given my husband dreadful nightmares & made him angry & violent, so much so that at times I really was in fear of my life. A reduction in dosage did help reduce the nightmares & violence but not eradicate them completely. The doctor's comment was that this wasn't surprising as OH doesn't have Alzheimer's & so his brain was being massively over-stimulated. He also mentioned it wasn't the first time he had come across this problem, someone else who had been misdiagnosed had had the same experience.
If anyone out there is going through the same experience with Donepezil it might just be worth questioning the diagnosis & asking for a second opinion. Had we known OH was being mistreated we could had saved ourselves months of fear & horror.