My father took Aricept 2 days in a row starting on Tuesday. Tuesday, he took it with food. There was no problem. Yesterday, he took it on an empty stomach; and he has had an upset stomach today. Yesterday, he was not feeling too well either.

He is on 5 mg. capsules. Should we consider splitting the capsule in 1/2. Should we always give the Aricept with food. When is it best to take the Aricept? I have a call into the doctor asking these questions, but was curious what the consensus from those who have given it to their LO's was.

Thanks.

Wendy

When my mom first started Aricept, she felt "not like myself", and said she was dizzy. The dr. suggested she take it at night, which she did, and never any problems. We always gave it with her evening meal, however. By the way, she was on Aricept for about 5 years, and then with Namenda added for about 2 years, and recently we took her off both of them and have not noticed any changes. So who knows, maybe it gave her those extra years of being more or less "with it". Over that time she has not changed that much mentally in the moment, but physically she's gradually gone downhill. Her memory continues to slowly deteriorate, both short and long term.

My partner's specialist recommended giving her the 5 mg Aricept between 10:30 and noon daily. The other main option is bedtime. I think he recommended morning to noon because she was having a lot of trouble going to sleep and staying asleep at the time.

I don't think it's a good idea to split the dosage, but your doctor has the last word on that.

For what it's worth, my partner was nauseated and felt yukky most of the time for at least the first three weeks on Aricept. She lost her appetite and I could hardly get her to eat anything.

I'd have given up on the Aricept, except that a friend recommended giving it at least four weeks, preferably six. She was right; now my partner has no discernable side effects from it. Her appetite is great now too.

How old is your partner? My dad is 90, and doesn't have much patience for the situation. His appetite has been poor already. I did talk to him about the fact that we are trying to keep him in his home independently. Its not easy, but we are checking on him often. My husband is there for my father much of the time as dad's house is on his way home from work.

quote:

Originally posted by Cathy J. M.:
My partner's specialist recommended giving her the 5 mg Aricept between 10:30 and noon daily. The other main option is bedtime. I think he recommended morning to noon because she was having a lot of trouble going to sleep and staying asleep at the time.

I don't think it's a good idea to split the dosage, but your doctor has the last word on that.

For what it's worth, my partner was nauseated and felt yukky most of the time for at least the first three weeks on Aricept. She lost her appetite and I could hardly get her to eat anything.

I'd have given up on the Aricept, except that a friend recommended giving it at least four weeks, preferably six. She was right; now my partner has no discernable side effects from it. Her appetite is great now too.

Hi Wendy,,,Aricept does upset stomachs very easily. Make sure that your Dad takes it on a "full stomach",,,and don't cut the pill in half.

This is one of the "unfortunate side effects" of Aricept. Now,,if taking the medication continues to upset his stomach alot,,and it doesn't seem to pass,,,call the Dr and tell him/her that you don't feel that he can tolerate the Aricept. My Mother couldnt' take Aricept or Namenda.

Also understand that in 6 weeks time,,,the Dr will want to increase the dosage of aricept from 5mgs,,up to 10mgs,,,and will most likely want to add Namenda along with it to start taking at the same time.

If your Dad starts to complain alot about stomach aches,,muscle soreness,,can't sleep well,,starts to imagine things,,,that is a negative side effect and medication should be stopped.

Aricept and Namenda work well for some,,and awful for others. All I can tell you is ,,,be very very observant with things,,and any concerns,,call the Dr. If the Dr seems to blow you off and tells you just have him keep taking it,,,then you must make a decision,,to do what you feel is best,,or do what the Dr says.

I opted to stop Aricept and Namenda with my Mother,,cause both of those meds caused too many problems for her.

I wish you and your Dad the very best of things,,and please keep us posted on things. Peace

My mother had an upset stomach, while on Aricept & so the doctor stopped it & put her on the Exelon Patch. The patch did not help her at all, so he stopped it & put her back on the Aricept, along with something to take along with it for the upset stomach.

You may want to ask the doctor about that if the Aricept helps him.

Elizabeth

Thanks for the response. Dad's doctor is a man among men. He even made a house call. He definitely will not blow this off as he warned me there were side-effects to begin with. If you google Tom Shiovitz (Beverly Hills) you will see how amazing he is. We couldn't have a better doctor!!

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Hi Wendy,,,Aricept does upset stomachs very easily. Make sure that your Dad takes it on a "full stomach",,,and don't cut the pill in half.

This is one of the "unfortunate side effects" of Aricept. Now,,if taking the medication continues to upset his stomach alot,,and it doesn't seem to pass,,,call the Dr and tell him/her that you don't feel that he can tolerate the Aricept. My Mother couldnt' take Aricept or Namenda.

Also understand that in 6 weeks time,,,the Dr will want to increase the dosage of aricept from 5mgs,,up to 10mgs,,,and will most likely want to add Namenda along with it to start taking at the same time.

If your Dad starts to complain alot about stomach aches,,muscle soreness,,can't sleep well,,starts to imagine things,,,that is a negative side effect and medication should be stopped.

Aricept and Namenda work well for some,,and awful for others. All I can tell you is ,,,be very very observant with things,,and any concerns,,call the Dr. If the Dr seems to blow you off and tells you just have him keep taking it,,,then you must make a decision,,to do what you feel is best,,or do what the Dr says.

I opted to stop Aricept and Namenda with my Mother,,cause both of those meds caused too many problems for her.

I wish you and your Dad the very best of things,,and please keep us posted on things. Peace

I'm very happy that your Dad has such an outstanding and wonderfully compassionate Dr,,,those are very rare these days.

Just observe your Dad,,and if it doesnt' get better,,then perhaps the Exelon patch may work more gently for him. Quarterlady's husband has had wonderful results with the exelon patch,,rather than the aricept. As I say,,,what works for some,,may not for others,,,,but a good Dr is worth their weight in gold. Peace

hi there,
my mom also had a problem with aricept. She was changed to a different med after a couple of months. Good that you have a great doctor.

She's "88 and doing great" -- our catch phrase for the past few months. She had already lost about 15 pounds in the year before starting Aricept (for no particular reason her doctors could find), so I was really concerned about how awful those first weeks on it were.

Despite my concerns, I was upbeat every time I presented the Aricept -- called it "your memory pill" and assured her that it was working. "You've lost some of your short-term memories and this pill will help." "Is it helping?" "Yes, it is! I can tell a difference." Actually, I really could see improvement.

Her doctor said that Aricept causes noticeable improvement in about a third of the patients who take it, while another third see no change one way or the other, and another third have such terrible side effects that they think he's a sadist. These aren't the best odds we'd wish for, but they're not terrible, either. Why not expect the best?

quote:

Originally posted by redondo ca:
How old is your partner? My dad is 90, and doesn't have much patience for the situation. His appetite has been poor already. I did talk to him about the fact that we are trying to keep him in his home independently. Its not easy, but we are checking on him often. My husband is there for my father much of the time as dad's house is on his way home from work.

quote:

Originally posted by Cathy J. M.:
My partner's specialist recommended giving her the 5 mg Aricept between 10:30 and noon daily. The other main option is bedtime. I think he recommended morning to noon because she was having a lot of trouble going to sleep and staying asleep at the time.

I don't think it's a good idea to split the dosage, but your doctor has the last word on that.

For what it's worth, my partner was nauseated and felt yukky most of the time for at least the first three weeks on Aricept. She lost her appetite and I could hardly get her to eat anything.

I'd have given up on the Aricept, except that a friend recommended giving it at least four weeks, preferably six. She was right; now my partner has no discernable side effects from it. Her appetite is great now too.

Dad is just not eating well so taking Aricept on a "full" stomach is hard. He is eating ice cream and Ensure (which are both full of sugar), but at this point we just want food in him. Actually, my husband is trying to get more food in him, but dad is very resistant to this. Its a huge struggle. He will eat oatmeal for breakfast, and likes bananas. The problem comes at 1:00 p.m. when he decides that all he wants is one more meal during the day. I don't know if this is a result of the Ensure being added to his diet; but he has dropped weight. My guess is he is down from 135 to about 120 if that. He won't leave the home to see a doctor; but I was hopeful when we tried the Aricept. I did see a positive result in a short time. I am hoping we can try it again, but am not sure.

My daughter (who has Autism) takes a huge amount of my time. So, my husband and I have decided that I am mainly responsible for her, and dad is my husband's main responsibility. Its hard. Dad wants to stay in his home, and its just been a challenge to keep him there. I'm not sure if it will be possible in the long run, but we are trying.

Aricept seemed like the answer to some of these problems, but dad is resistant to any med/food, etc. at this point. He will take the 2 meds. he always takes. I believe he takes his Centrium Multi-vitamin. Food is not something he likes. Honestly, I too saw a change after just the first dosage of Aricept, but if it upsets his stomach I'm not sure it will be workable. I wish I could get more toast, carbs., in him. He's just not interested.

Wendy

quote:

Originally posted by Cathy J. M.:
She's "88 and doing great" -- our catch phrase for the past few months. She had already lost about 15 pounds in the year before starting Aricept (for no particular reason her doctors could find), so I was really concerned about how awful those first weeks on it were.

Despite my concerns, I was upbeat every time I presented the Aricept -- called it "your memory pill" and assured her that it was working. "You've lost some of your short-term memories and this pill will help." "Is it helping?" "Yes, it is! I can tell a difference." Actually, I really could see improvement.

Her doctor said that Aricept causes noticeable improvement in about a third of the patients who take it, while another third see no change one way or the other, and another third have such terrible side effects that they think he's a sadist. These aren't the best odds we'd wish for, but they're not terrible, either. Why not expect the best?

quote:

Originally posted by redondo ca:
How old is your partner? My dad is 90, and doesn't have much patience for the situation. His appetite has been poor already. I did talk to him about the fact that we are trying to keep him in his home independently. Its not easy, but we are checking on him often. My husband is there for my father much of the time as dad's house is on his way home from work.

quote:

Originally posted by Cathy J. M.:
My partner's specialist recommended giving her the 5 mg Aricept between 10:30 and noon daily. The other main option is bedtime. I think he recommended morning to noon because she was having a lot of trouble going to sleep and staying asleep at the time.

I don't think it's a good idea to split the dosage, but your doctor has the last word on that.

For what it's worth, my partner was nauseated and felt yukky most of the time for at least the first three weeks on Aricept. She lost her appetite and I could hardly get her to eat anything.

I'd have given up on the Aricept, except that a friend recommended giving it at least four weeks, preferably six. She was right; now my partner has no discernable side effects from it. Her appetite is great now too.