My Mom was put on Exelon January 3 along with her Namenda. She has lost her appetitie, losing weight and now is having problems with her head. She hears swooshing sounds, is light headed nad dizzy. She had an MRI and other testd done yesterday. I want to take her off the Exelon, but Doctor wants me to hang in there for a couple of weeks. She gave me Magace to help her get her appetite back but we just started today so it is to soon to tell. Anyone have any problems or good results or opinions about Exelon? thanks.

My Mom is in late stage. She has been on excelon for about 5 years. Have not had any problems. Sorry.

Hi Christine,
My mother has been on Exelon for 2 1/2 years, on Namenda since last November.
It may be it affects your Mom differently or it may be that it is unrelated...make sure you talk to her Dr.

ff the Exelon. It made her weak, dizzy, loss of appetite and other side effects. This was not living. I kmow it slows down the Alzheimers, but since it doesn't stop it, I rather have her feeling well before the Alzheimers gets worse. Thanks again for your reply and support. By the way, have you seen an improvement since your Mom was on Exelon? My Dr tells me it works great.

Hi,
My husband is on Exelon and he also had a lot of nausea and loss of appetite when he first started. They recommend taking it after a substantial meal - they told us you have to eat a good meal (not just toast or something simple) before taking it. He lost about 25 pounds before he started getting over the nausea, but eventually he did get over the side effects and then began gaining the weight back and eating good again. I don't remember him complaining about dizziness but he did complain about his head feeling funny. The side effects do eventually go away but they increased the dosage so slowly that it took quite a while (a couple of months for him).

My mom has been on Exelon for a few years. This is in addition to Namenda. My Dad always said the two are wonder drugs - they have really slowed my Mom's AD. No, it doesn't cure it, but for us it has slowed the disease considerably.
I hope your Mom is feeling better soon.

~Betsy

thanks for your response. I took my Mom off the Exelon. She was just in a daze. She seems to be back to normal (as normal as you can be with Alzheimers) but her blood pressure keeps droping for no apparent reason. WE are going to see a Cardiologist as no one else can seem to find out what is going on. It probably wasn't the Exelon but now I've stopped it and am afraid to go back. Thanks

Christine, my husband was on it for several years with no problems. I would do whatever the doctor advises.

my husband has been on exelon for a year. I too sometimes wonder if his appetite is from medicine or just from the disease or from taking so much medicine-as he takes bloodpressure med. also. I understand your question j macdonald

According to the dates on the other replies,,,,,mine is a little late but I wanted to respond. My father-in-law lives with us and is in the 5th to 6th stage of alzheimers and was put on Exelon soon after his diagnosis. He was on the medication for approx. 6 mos. and he began losing weight and couldn't eat which resulted in a trip to the hospital. They ran tests and discovered his liver was not functioning properly due to the exelon. We took him off the medication and he recovered completely (physically that is). Just thought you would like to know.

My mother jas been on exelon and namenda since May- have not had problems

Hi, I see my post is a little late but wanted you to know that my husband has been on Exelon for about 2 months, with no side effects. He eats very well; has a good appetite. It has helped a lot with the hallucinations. Good luck with your mom. My prayers are with you.
Marcia

quote:

Originally posted by ChristineC:
but her blood pressure keeps droping for no apparent reason.

You may want to consider Lewy Body Dementia - blood pressure drops are very common with those with LBD. For more info: www.lbda.org

Victoria: I realize full well that it has been almost two years since you posted this reply, but I had to come here to thank you. I followed the link to www.lbda.org and lightbulbs started going off all over the place once I read the description of the disease. I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck that this is what my 86-year old mother has. I have set up an appointment for her with the head of a Johns Hopkins memory clinic in July. Meanwhile, my relationship with my mother has improved dramatically since I have a better understanding of what she is going through. Thank you again.