Stopping and starting medication/ other routes of administration.

zan

Registered User
Jan 4, 2006
96
0
61
staffordshire
Because of severe swallowing problems my Dad has now not had his Aricept for about a week. I can see changes for the worse in his condition although I am not sure if these are due to not taking Aricept or other factors. Has anyone got experience of missing Aricept for a while then starting it again? Did it soon start to improve things? Also has anyone had experience of different routes for administering Aricept or having to change medication because it can't be given by mouth? Its not just that he can't swallow tablets - liquids won't go down either. Zan
 

barraf

Registered User
Mar 27, 2004
308
0
Huddersfield
Yes Zan.
Twice the memory monitoring nurse has stopped Margaret's Aricept becaus she failed to reach the required standard in the mini test. Twice after a few days I have restarted it because of an obvious deterioration and then rung them to say what I had done, on both occasions she regained most of what she had lost. The mini test is base purely on cognition and takes no account of any phyiscal wellbeing or loss of same. I found that I could talk to the nurse, who listened and acted sympathetically.

I am sorry but I have no experience of other forms of administering the drug.

Barraf
 

SallyB

Registered User
May 7, 2005
60
0
Hi Zan,

Is your Dad taking soft foods or thickened liquids? If so you could ask the Pharmacist about crushing the Aricept and putting it in some thing. Did you say he has a PEG in situ? If so and crushing is possible he could have it down that.
My dad's don't say have to be swallowed whole. They do say contact Dr if yoou miss them for a week or more though.

Hope this helps

Sally
 

zan

Registered User
Jan 4, 2006
96
0
61
staffordshire
Thanks Barraf and Sally, The hospital are going to try my Dad at swallowing again. If he manages, they will crush the aricept. If not, they might try a peg again - he pulled the last one out! It's upsetting to see the difference just over a week makes without it. They've written him up for haloperidal but when he was taking the aricept he didn't need it.It worries me about how we will cope at home but I can see that lots of people are coping, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Zan.
 

zan

Registered User
Jan 4, 2006
96
0
61
staffordshire
Dad has now been on Aricept again for a week and yes, it is making a difference - no more haloperidal at the moment and a return to how he was before they stopped it. Zan