Newly diagnosed husband and now Donepezil
- Thread starter Lesley22
- Start date
Hi @Lesley22
Everybody's personal chemistry is different.
My OH has Alz's and been on Donepezil 10mg about 4+ yrs now. Maybe she was lucky (?) but no noticeable side effects, I believe it did help slow down the decline, but hard to know to what degree.
If your OH has noticeable side effects, speak GP soonest, but 5mg dosage is v small.
Best wishes
Everybody's personal chemistry is different.
My OH has Alz's and been on Donepezil 10mg about 4+ yrs now. Maybe she was lucky (?) but no noticeable side effects, I believe it did help slow down the decline, but hard to know to what degree.
If your OH has noticeable side effects, speak GP soonest, but 5mg dosage is v small.
Best wishes
My husband seemed to calm down a lot while on donepezil. However, he had a few side effects, mainly tummy when he went on to the higher dose. The consultant switched him over to another drug called rivastigimine which was also helpful. So donepezil is not the only option if it doesn’t suit.
Ok thanks, the problem right now is that he is suffering from a bout of diarrhea, which I think is anxiety related as never had before, so don't feel he can even start them. Will have to wait until that clears I guess the try the 5mg
Such a massive learning curve
@Lesley22 . I’m afraid that I have to report the opposite to the previous posts.
My husband was ok on 5mg but when it was increased to 10mg, this kind gentle man turned aggressive and one night he punched and kicked me out of bed and I had to escape to the car and lock myself in the car until the police came.
Due to the difficulty with getting GP appointments, I took it upon myself to stop the Donezepil and he then returned to the person he was before.
My husband was ok on 5mg but when it was increased to 10mg, this kind gentle man turned aggressive and one night he punched and kicked me out of bed and I had to escape to the car and lock myself in the car until the police came.
Due to the difficulty with getting GP appointments, I took it upon myself to stop the Donezepil and he then returned to the person he was before.
My wife started on 5mg shortly after her formal diagnosis and she felt a few side effects for the first week or so (nausea, if memory serves me) but eventually went up to 10mg and she's been on that dosage for a year now and takes it every morning.
It had a profoundly positive effect on her when she started taking it and it seemed to rewind her to how she'd been 6 months previously. As a result the issues we'd been experiencing stopped and (touch wood) haven't returned yet. Pre-donepezil she was convinced she saw people and things that weren't there and she was often convinced that she wasn't at home and became aggressive and upset about it. She also often believed that there were two of me in the house (Jekyll and Hyde I think...). She still gets a little confused about going somewhere else to sleep (she's in a hospital bed downstairs) but once I explain she's at home in bed she settles so it's definitely been a good thing for her.
Her late mother also had donepezil in the years before she passed away and the family reported that it had been helpful for her too.
It had a profoundly positive effect on her when she started taking it and it seemed to rewind her to how she'd been 6 months previously. As a result the issues we'd been experiencing stopped and (touch wood) haven't returned yet. Pre-donepezil she was convinced she saw people and things that weren't there and she was often convinced that she wasn't at home and became aggressive and upset about it. She also often believed that there were two of me in the house (Jekyll and Hyde I think...). She still gets a little confused about going somewhere else to sleep (she's in a hospital bed downstairs) but once I explain she's at home in bed she settles so it's definitely been a good thing for her.
Her late mother also had donepezil in the years before she passed away and the family reported that it had been helpful for her too.
Wow ok, that must have been very scary. I have been told there are alternatives if not suitable so maybe you could try an alternative? I am assuming it would be unusual for that kind of reaction, but this is all new to me. Take care and good wishes
My husband is no longer with us but thank you.
I have seen many posts on TP where people with dementia became aggressive with Donepezil so it isnt a one off case.
Just something “else” to look out for.
Good wishes to you too.
My husband is 70 and was diagnosed and put on 5 mg for 4 weeks and then went to 10 mg a few days ago. He has diarhorrea sporadically which I assume is a side effect. The Nurse is due to come to our house tomorrow to discuss his medication.
I did think last week that they seem to be calming him a bit but that lasted about 3 days and I can't say I have noticed any improvement with anything although I think it takes quite a while before it does any good. A Dementia nurse I know did say to me dont expect miracles from it, it is more that it will stop him becoming agitated by things.
I did think last week that they seem to be calming him a bit but that lasted about 3 days and I can't say I have noticed any improvement with anything although I think it takes quite a while before it does any good. A Dementia nurse I know did say to me dont expect miracles from it, it is more that it will stop him becoming agitated by things.
I did think that myself. My mum's memory doctor and the prescription said 7pm. Although it has confused my mum so much as she takes her other tablets at 6pm so for the sake of an hour we though it would be OK. I'm sure every patient is different so if you have been told evening, then stick to that.
hi seaswallow
i lost my husband of 43 years august 22...he was also subscribed donepezil...i was told it was good for early dementia....and may slow the disease down...his doc prescribed this...but obviously she was unaware that he was in the mid stages....it made him very very agitated and he couldn't sleep....so stopped it after a week..but maybe for your hubby it may work??? so so sorry i know how hard this is...feel free to reach out...a lot of great folks here
As you have seen everyone’s experiences are different . As were ours. In our experience Memantine had worse side effects (agitation, aggression) than Donepelzil though after four years one professional did say that my husband’s agitation ‘might’ be worsened by the Donepezil too. What I never researched (but would now) is what would happen if he took nothing. He was around dozen years younger than your husband so we jumped at the ‘slowing down’ argument but it’s impossible to tell whether it did slow it down. I’m unconvinced.
