Medication

Bellaboo24

New member
Sep 16, 2020
3
0
Hi does anyone have a family member who takes 20mg mematine .
I wondered how long people started on this untill it is perhaps no longer effective.
My husband has been on this for a year in December . Thanks
 

Violetrose

Registered User
Jul 18, 2017
69
0
Didsbury Manchester
My husband has 20mgs of Memantine daily. He started it in the summer and it did seem to help him focus and function a bit better, although after the first few weeks his abilities continued to deteriorate. Since going on Memantine he has a very unpleasant body odour, that I find repulsive. I smell it all the time. Even after I have washed his clothes and bedding I can smell it. I have resorted to 60 degree wash with added vinegar and I can still smell it’ . He takes the Memantine in the evening and the smell is strongest at night. The smell is just one more difficult thing to deal with.
 

silkiest

Registered User
Feb 9, 2017
865
0
Hi @Bellaboo24 , when these medications were first used it was thought that when they no longer seemed to be making a lot of difference that it was time to stop them. Since then there has been a lot of evidence to show that even if there is no longer any obvious help that stopping them can cause a drastic decline in dementia symptoms - its because of this that the medication is continued long term in most cases unless there are problematic side effects.
 

jenniferjean

Registered User
Apr 2, 2016
925
0
Basingstoke, Hampshire
My husband has 20mgs of Memantine daily. He started it in the summer and it did seem to help him focus and function a bit better, although after the first few weeks his abilities continued to deteriorate. Since going on Memantine he has a very unpleasant body odour, that I find repulsive. I smell it all the time. Even after I have washed his clothes and bedding I can smell it. I have resorted to 60 degree wash with added vinegar and I can still smell it’ . He takes the Memantine in the evening and the smell is strongest at night. The smell is just one more difficult thing to deal with.
My husband is on Memantine and I've noticed that smell.
 

Vitesse

Registered User
Oct 26, 2016
261
0
My husband has been on memantine 20mg for over 2 years. Who knows what it would have been like without it? I have recently started splitting it into two separate doses of 10mg each, one at lunchtime, and one in the evening, and it seems to help to avoid sundowning.
Earlier this week I asked his mental health doctor about it and she told me he should just keep taking it until the situation gets to a point where no medication can make a difference. Hope fully that‘s a little way off!
 

Afroze

New member
Sep 29, 2020
3
0
I have a partner with dementia ( Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia). Often agitated and argumentative. Diagnosis was confirmed in February 2020 and since then we have been abandoned. There is no follow up, no medication and no respite or memory stimulation activities. Apparently, lack of follow up is due to Covid restrictions.
 

spitfire1

Registered User
Feb 3, 2015
8
0
Hi Afroze this doesnt surprise me even without the covid !! My husband was diagnosed over 6 years ago. He was taken off there books near enough straight after his diagnosis. I didn't have any interaction with them until this june 2020 . He no longer takes his alz meds. Was going to put him on memantime but he has a arm that jerks for well over a year which I informed our doctor. Nothing was ever said re this. After comm health Visitor involvement they said this was a type of seizure so he cant have any meds. So now they have again taken him off there books once again. Sorry this probably doesnt help u but at least u know your not alone in this !! Sorry I seemed to have taken over your story .
 

Afroze

New member
Sep 29, 2020
3
0
Good evening spitfire1.Thank you so much for responding and sharing some history. I suppose it’s wishful thinking to expect some treatment after diagnosis! Aricept and memantine are mentioned in the literature on the subject, but unfortunately my husband was discharged as soon as the diagnosis was given in February - weeks before the covid lockdown . To be fair, a memory group was suggested , but with a waiting list. This sub group on medication attracted me as I hope to pursue this matter further with the medics. The “repulsive smell” of memantine is a new one. I’ll keep an eye on this forum. In the meantime, thanks again.