My partner had his first visit from local memory clinic nurse practitioner, three years after first diagnosis ( she was rightly appalled we had not received a visit until now) .... There is little she can do other than prescribe Donepezil but on looking it up on the Internet, it looks very powerful, unpleasant and not really a long term help.
We are thinking is it better just live life and face what comes as the disease ( Cerebral Amalaoid Angiopathy is the cause of dementia plus maybe some Alzheimers pathology) progresses?
There is already so much to deal with, without the terrible side effects.
Any positive experiences out there?
I have no one to share all this with .... Glad of having a place here to ask.
Feeling like many here ... Both of us, isolated with coming to terms with the affects of dementia.
My husband started on donepizil straight after his diagnosis and it definitely gave us 18 months + of virtually normal life. There were no significant side effects. Five and a half years on, the dose has been reduced because in the longer term it can be the cause of agitation, apparently, but stopping it is not a good idea as that can affect mobility. So all in all, I would say go for it but of course that's an amateur opinion!