donepezil... any success with this

[spuddle]

I was hoping beyond hope , and hoping a bit more that when mum started taking her memory pills (donepezil) things may improve. no result whatsoever, if anything she has become more depressed.
she started on 5mg and has gone up to the full 10mg dose. I phone every night to make sure she takes her pill,.
a I hoping too much for a miracle pill,
has anyone had any success with this medication.
any info gratefully received. thank you

 

[Lawson58]

I was hoping beyond hope , and hoping a bit more that when mum started taking her memory pills (donepezil) things may improve. no result whatsoever, if anything she has become more depressed.
she started on 5mg and has gone up to the full 10mg dose. I phone every night to make sure she takes her pill,.
a I hoping too much for a miracle pill,
has anyone had any success with this medication.
any info gratefully received. thank you

My husband has early AD and was put on Aricept (donepezil) and is still on 5mg. It seemed to calm him down a lot but doesn't seemed to have done much more than that. He will go on to 10mg dose in about 2 weeks' time but I am not hoping for too much. Doctors say that it should just make things easier but will not stop the progression of the disease.

If your mum is depressed, perhaps you need to talk to her Gp for a bit of help.

 

[christmas]

When I took my husband to see the doctor he was very quiet and was not talking to anyone when he told me he had Alzheimer's I was very upset . Then he told me he could have donepezil. When we got them he only took one and the next morning it was like I got my husband back ,the Change was amazing so for him it does work I thank God he has it.

 

[Linbrusco]

Mum started 5mg of Donepezil back in December.
10 mg this March.
Her memory is a little worse since December, but she is less agitated and anxious
10mg though gave her tummy upsets and constipation so back down to 5mg.

 

[GrannyA]

My Aunt has been taking 5mg Donezepil fot the last two weeks, since we've been able to get her husband's carers to ensure she toook it! So far we haven't seen any improvement in her memory but she is complaining of feeling sick and being very tired. Her Memory Nurse thinks that the Specialist will increase her dose ina couple of weeks but Iwonder if her side effects might also increase too? My husband and I care for her and her bed bound husband as best as we can. He has an assessment with the Memory Nurse soon, so we may well be caring for two peopke with Mental Health problems

 

[spuddle]

thanks very much for your comments. mum has only been taking it for 7 weeks. 5mg for 1 month and now on 10mg.
grannyA, my mum was horribly sick a week after starting the 5mg dose but she doesn't seem to have been affected by the increased dosage.
sounds like it can affect/help different people in different ways. I suppose that's part of this whole horrid disease.... 1 size doesn't fit all.
I would just be really pleased if her 'memory pills' actually helped her to remember to take her 'memory pill'...

 

[Badietta]

Hi there

My husband was prescribed Doneprezil 5 mg 5 weeks ago and I was concerned that it didn't seem to be working, so asked the Neuropsych. She says that the effect is cumulative and it only really works when upped to 10 mg a day. For my part I don't know when this can be upped because we're waiting on the Cardiologist to give his OK, given that there is a bradycardia (slow heart rate) issue in play at the same time.

Anyway, if the neurophych's right, don't give up. The improvement should kick in over time.

 

[Kevinl]

my wife's been on Donepezil/Aricept (same thing) for about 2 years and there is no improvement that's not what it does but I feel there has been a significant slow down in her rate of decline, She too became unhappy, I wouldn't call it depression but certainly there was a change, she was prescribed Citlopram (a low dose, it's an antidepressant) and that seem to have done the trick prescribing the 2 together seems to be quite common.
K

 

[PamD]

Mother, aged 97, has been on Aricept/Donepezil about 12 years. I gather this is pretty unusual. She moved into a care home last summer after a couple of falls, but apart from having no short term memory she is pretty good: sometimes a bit weepy and "I can't cope here all on my own" (her husband, my father, died 4 1/2 years ago), but generally joining in with conversations, enjoying sitting outside in the sunny garden, very mobile with her zimmer frame, etc.

Either she's a very good advert for Aricept, or she hasn't actually got Alzheimers as per her diagnosis, or she's just very lucky. She was always very bright, went to uni in the 1930s, and her "memory problems" didn't start till she was 80+. She's not had any side-effects that I know of from the Aricept.

I guess just as Alz affects everyone differently, so everyone reacts differently to Donepezil.

I think she was lucky to get her diagnosis at a time when Aricept was being prescribed for early stage Alzheimers, and has stuck with it since then (the Memory Clinic nurse pops round to see her once a year to check how she is and that she's still in the right range for it).

Pam

 

[GrannyA]

My Aunt has been taking 5mg Donezepil fot the last two weeks, since we've been able to get her husband's carers to ensure she toook it! So far we haven't seen any improvement in her memory but she is complaining of feeling sick and being very tired. Her Memory Nurse thinks that the Specialist will increase her dose ina couple of weeks but Iwonder if her side effects might also increase too? My husband and I care for her and her bed bound husband as best as we can. He has an assessment with the Memory Nurse soon, so we may well be caring for two peopke with Mental Health problems

My Aunt's nausea is beginning to subside now. However she says that she can't possibly go out of the house because she's 'just not up to it'. She's not been out now for a week It looks like we will need to get an extra visit per day from Carers to do some shopping. When we mentioned this she wouldn't hear of it because she says she goes out every day!!!