Dad has been taking aricept and namenda since July 2004. He takes namenda first thing in the am and before bed. We have been giving him the aricept mid afternoon. Recently the Dr said it was better to take the aricept at night. When we tried it it seemed to cause increased confusion. He seemed to know who we were but was convinced he wasnt in his own home and that he wanted us to take him home. He was some what paranoid. Has anyone else had this experience? How do you take the combo of aricept and namenda? Hope someone will reply SBAHGAT@STNY.RR.COM
Hi. My husband started with Namenda, and that seemed to work pretty well. Then the doctor added Aricept. Since then, he has had hallucinations and nightmares almost every night and seems to have gone backward in his abilities during the day. We recently cut his Aricept dose in half to see if that would help. I don't know. It's had to tell. Namenda is still a pretty new drug, and doctors don't really know exactly how it will work. Hang in there.
Sue Lick suelick@casco.net http://www.suelick.com
Posts: 9 | Location?: South Beach, Oregon | Registered: January 25, 2005
Mom takes Aricept and Namenda together in the mornings and another dose of Namenda at night. She is very stable on both of these (has been on them a year now). She has delusions, not really hallucinations, occasionally where she hears someone talking to her and wakes her up--there is the key with her. She doesn't have them when she's first awake in the mornings, but later in the afternoon when she naps.
Posts: 481 | Location?: Kentucky | Registered: January 26, 2005
Grace, My husband is still having the hallucinations, and they are getting worse despite cutting the Aricept in half. We will see the doctor on Thursday and this will be a major topic of discussion. He is seeing people, animals, all sorts of things in the room. When he gets up to go to the bathroom, he gets lost. Very scary. A small percentage of people can't take Aricept. Maybe he's one of them. However, he seems better this week during the day than he has in a long time. Almost his old self. It's hard to know what to do. Sue
Sue Lick suelick@casco.net http://www.suelick.com
Posts: 9 | Location?: South Beach, Oregon | Registered: January 25, 2005
Hi Sue, My Dads response to Aricept seems to be the same as your husband. It seems to be more of problem when he take the aricept close to the namenda. Please let me know what your doctor says. My dad is only on 5mg of aricept now down from 10. Recently I started only giving him the pill every other day. I will let you know how that works out. I dont like the idea of playing with his meds but sometimes I just feel like we need to try different things to see if it will help. At the stage he is in I will try anything to give him some quality of life. Louann
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I AM DOING THIS RIGHT I HOPE YOU GET THIS RESPONSE I READ IN ONE OF THE ALZ PAPERS THAT A STUDY SHOWED TAKING THE MEDS LATE IN THE DAY THEY DID NOT WORK AS WELL. I TRY AND MAKE SURE MY HUSBAND TAKES HIS PILLS NO LATER THAT ABOUT FIVE.
quote:Originally posted by Louann: Dad has been taking aricept and namenda since July 2004. He takes namenda first thing in the am and before bed. We have been giving him the aricept mid afternoon. Recently the Dr said it was better to take the aricept at night. When we tried it it seemed to cause increased confusion. He seemed to know who we were but was convinced he wasnt in his own home and that he wanted us to take him home. He was some what paranoid. Has anyone else had this experience? How do you take the combo of aricept and namenda? Hope someone will reply SBAHGAT@STNY.RR.COM
My husband has been on Namenda for about six months - we saw a tremendous improvement in the beginning - unfortunately, he also has stomach problems and can't always keep the medicine down (we are looking into this problem too) When he is not on the med, he resents me mentioning it - so besides loosing function, we have to deal with the paranoia - anyone else see this? Lynn
Posts: 3 | Location?: foothills of the Adirondack Mts | Registered: February 12, 2005
hi, my father has been on aricept (taken at dinner time) for about 2 years now. About 6 months ago, the dr. introduced namenda (to be taken in the a.m. and at bedtime) and i noticed right away that he seemed to be getting worse. i called the dr. and we discussed how i may change his meds and dosages and he suggested to only give the namenda once a day and to keep up with the aricept since he has never had any problems with it. I have now seen such a decline in my dad's memory that i don't know what to do.
Linda The same thing happened when my mother was put on Namenda. I called the Pharmacist to see if it could be taken with the Aricept and he assured me it could. I did leave her on it for 3 weeks and it was awful. One day I went to the doctor's office while Mother was getting her hair done and asked him to take her off the Namenda and he agreed to try her off of it for five weeks until her appointment. She was better as soon as we stopped the Namenda. He didn't even suggest trying it again. She has been on the Aricept for 4 years and the progression has been slow.
LADY DI
Posts: 914 | Location?: Indiana | Registered: February 08, 2005
My mom was on Aricept with minimal positive affect. Since January 2004 she has ALSO been on Namenda first at 5 and then 10 mg 2 x a day. When her dosage was cut and then stopped she deteriated cognitively. Upon restarting the Namenda, mom again converses albeit brokenly, does her own personal hygiene, shows emotions like, laughing at jokes, crying when sad, smiling for pictures, & participating with family. We would recommend trying it at the higher level. Do you know if even higher levels are administered?
Are there any trials being done in SW Florida with other drugs that will accept a person with a level 4 to 5?
quote:Originally posted by Louann: Dad has been taking aricept and namenda since July 2004. He takes namenda first thing in the am and before bed. We have been giving him the aricept mid afternoon. Recently the Dr said it was better to take the aricept at night. When we tried it it seemed to cause increased confusion. He seemed to know who we were but was convinced he wasnt in his own home and that he wanted us to take him home. He was some what paranoid. Has anyone else had this experience? How do you take the combo of aricept and namenda? Hope someone will reply SBAHGAT@STNY.RR.COM
Posts: 32 | Location?: CA | Registered: February 16, 2005
quote:Originally posted by lizlee: dear Louann, My husband has been diagnosed with combination of vascular dementia and alzheimers. He is on namenda 2 times a day and aricept in the evening during dinner time. Yes, he is showing the paranoid behavior, locking up everything when the sun go down and then put all the night lights around the house. I did talk to the doctor about it, he said that my husband is a sundowner, I don't exactly understand the terminology but maybe you can talk to your dad's doctor about it. My husband is also showing confusion around in the afternoon. What I did with my husband, I got all the list of his medication including the blood pressure medications and vitamins and arranged it according to what the doctor's intruction on the bottle. If you can, get like a pill box and put everything in there, mine has the morning, mid day and mid afternoon and evening. Maybe this will help you. Take care and goodluck with your father. Liz
quote:Originally posted by Louann: Dad has been taking aricept and namenda since July 2004. He takes namenda first thing in the am and before bed. We have been giving him the aricept mid afternoon. Recently the Dr said it was better to take the aricept at night. When we tried it it seemed to cause increased confusion. He seemed to know who we were but was convinced he wasnt in his own home and that he wanted us to take him home. He was some what paranoid. Has anyone else had this experience? How do you take the combo of aricept and namenda? Hope someone will reply SBAHGAT@STNY.RR.COM
Posts: 32 | Location?: CA | Registered: February 16, 2005
quote:Originally posted by Sue Lick: My husband have the same symptoms with Aricept. The medication was cut down in mg and added namenda. He has not been dreaming so much and screaming in his sleep. But his memory is still gradually going down. Please email me at phoenix_62@yahoo.com, would like to share some personal experiences. It has been very emotional for me. Take care.
Liz Hi. My husband started with Namenda, and that seemed to work pretty well. Then the doctor added Aricept. Since then, he has had hallucinations and nightmares almost every night and seems to have gone backward in his abilities during the day. We recently cut his Aricept dose in half to see if that would help. I don't know. It's had to tell. Namenda is still a pretty new drug, and doctors don't really know exactly how it will work. Hang in there.
Posts: 32 | Location?: CA | Registered: February 16, 2005
Hi again. The doctor took my husband off Aricept last week. He was worried about the hallucinations--but not as much as we were! Now Fred's taking riminyl twice a day with the Namenda. So far he seems sharper than he has been in quite a while and the nights have been peaceful. Last night, he was quite restless, but I'm hoping this combination will work. Sue P.S. I have been missing from the board lately because things have been going well and I have been busy enjoying life. I wish you all peaceful days and nights with your loved ones.
Sue Lick suelick@casco.net http://www.suelick.com
Posts: 9 | Location?: South Beach, Oregon | Registered: January 25, 2005
hello my mom is on namenda and aricept. she takes the namenda in the morning then around 3 then she takes her aricept around eigth at night. the dr. also gave her xanx(spelled wrong)that she takes at night before she goes to bed she is only on 1mg and normally takes half unless she has had a real bad day then she takes a whole. but that seems to help her a lot.
Posts: 1 | Location?: baton rouge, la | Registered: February 26, 2005
Hello, I am relieved to hear that some of you are having some problems with these medications, after reading all the positive remarks in the caregiver forum, I was starting to think I had really made a mistake when my father was taken off of these meds. While taking the Aricept, he began having hallucinations and he was quite delusional. His dr. kept saying that it would take time, he was on it for three months, and he just kept getting worse, the longer he was on it. He improved within a week of being off of it. Then his doctor tried him on the Namenda. The hallucinations and delusions returned, and he started losing bowel control. He improved slightly when taken off of the Namenda, he now takes no meds for Alz. and continues to deteriorate, but at a slower rate than he did when he was taking the meds. His first med., Reminyl had caused the same type of reaction from him, that one was about two years ago. I am so glad that these meds work for some, just wish they had done the same for my father.
Posts: 1369 | Location?: oregon | Registered: March 11, 2005
Debbied: I am sorry the most popular meds are not working for you. They are great for those they work for. You did a great service with your post so that others who are new to the meds will be watching for signs of an adverse reaction such as you experienced. Ask the doc to check his vitamin B level and also if he should be taking vitamin E as well. Both vitamins are essencial for the health of our memory. If those levels are low, perhaps he can at least tolerate the vitamins.
emma_@midmaine.com
Posts: 626 | Location?: Maine | Registered: January 24, 2005
To all of you trying to juggle the meds--remember to READ ALL instructions and the contraindications for them. I keep the brochures that they give with the meds from the pharmacy and reread them periodically to make sure I'm giving them to mom correctly. I found out that mom can no longer have grapefruits because she is on Lipitor (for her high cholesterol). She also takes both of her blood pressure medicines in the morning (has diurectic properties in them). Has anyone been told by their doctors to put your alz. person on Vitamin E, C and Folic Acid? When mom started the Namenda back last year (with the Aricept), he put her on these also. She has never even had an upset stomach with all the meds she takes. She is also still hovering around stage 4--maybe later stages do not do well with the Namenda.
Posts: 481 | Location?: Kentucky | Registered: January 26, 2005
Originally posted by Louann: Dad has been taking aricept and namenda since July 2004. He takes namenda first thing in the am and before bed. We have been giving him the aricept mid afternoon. Recently the Dr said it was better to take the aricept at night. When we tried it it seemed to cause increased confusion. He seemed to know who we were but was convinced he wasnt in his own home and that he wanted us to take him home. He was some what paranoid. Has anyone else had this experience? How do you take the combo of aricept and namenda? Hope someone will reply SBAHGAT@STNY.RR.COM
My husband has been on Namenda x2 and riminyl x2 since last year when Namenda was first released in the US. He gets along really well. Riminyl is very well tolerated. He was put on that instead of Aricept because it is tolerated better.
Trouble and the Grace to bear it, come in the same package.
My wife is on both namenda and aricept.Your doctors suggestion to take aricept at night is only because it sometimes upsets your stomach. Early on my wife took aricept at night but for the past three plus years she takes it mid morning after breakfast with no ill effect.
Dan
please pray with me for a CURE
Posts: 145 | Location?: 01568 | Registered: April 04, 2005
Originally posted by Grace: To all of you trying to juggle the meds--remember to READ ALL instructions and the contraindications for them. I keep the brochures that they give with the meds from the pharmacy and reread them periodically to make sure I'm giving them to mom correctly. I found out that mom can no longer have grapefruits because she is on Lipitor (for her high cholesterol). She also takes both of her blood pressure medicines in the morning (has diurectic properties in them). Has anyone been told by their doctors to put your alz. person on Vitamin E, C and Folic Acid? When mom started the Namenda back last year (with the Aricept), he put her on these also. She has never even had an upset stomach with all the meds she takes. She is also still hovering around stage 4--maybe later stages do not do well with the Namenda.
My Mom is on those vitamins and a few more. No problems with Namenda. It seems to be working.
If you read this, Mom takes her Aricept and Namenda with her breakfast, along with other morning pills. She gets a second dose of Namenda with her night pills around 7:00 pm. No upsets yet.
Posts: 481 | Location?: Kentucky | Registered: January 26, 2005
My mom was taking namenda twice a day, but seemed to be getting worse memory wise. Her Dr. has now added aricept & she has become extremely lethargic. She sleeps till noon, cannot stand long enough to wash her hair in shower & retreats to bed in afternoon. Anyone experience this behavior?
Daddy has been on Namenda since early Jan., twice a day and in late Feb. the dr. added aricept which we give him with his night pills. He hasn't had any additional health issues although we have to be careful with his meds because he suffers from dizziniess and headaches sometimes. He's also on 135mg of Effexor (anti-depresent) which I can see a definite benefit from.
I asked his live-in caregiver (who is a CNA) whether she thought the meds were doing him any good or if I should ask the dr. about taking him off of them because I see him continuing to gradually decline. She advised against taking him off because it's not hurting him and we risk him having a more significant decline if we take him off.
Meds are so hard, especially with this disease, because it is sometimes almost impossible to notice any results. And, of course, everyone reacts differently. So keep evaluating them with your dr. and hopefully you will come up with the right combo.
Ann R
"The perfect love that drives out all fear is the divine love in which we are all invited to participate." Henri Nouwen
Posts: 766 | Location?: Arlington, VA | Registered: January 25, 2005
MY Mom also has been on Aricept for 2 yrs. and Namenda for 7 months I thought the combo was working well enough until she started with the delusions and they were awful, the Dr. then put her also on Seroquel twice a day and that has really helped with her delusions. It is so hard to say what has really helped more than others because you don't want to take them off any in case that is the one pill that works for them. Who knows what they'd be like then so it's so hard to tell what works. I often think that the meds they are on are more for our benefit than theirs, cause we just want them to be more like they were before this horrible disease.
Originally posted by Colleen: MY Mom also has been on Aricept for 2 yrs. and Namenda for 7 months I thought the combo was working well enough until she started with the delusions and they were awful, the Dr. then put her also on Seroquel twice a day and that has really helped with her delusions. It is so hard to say what has really helped more than others because you don't want to take them off any in case that is the one pill that works for them. Who knows what they'd be like then so it's so hard to tell what works. I often think that the meds they are on are more for our benefit than theirs, cause we just want them to be more like they were before this horrible disease.
My mother has recently been diagnosed as "very early stage" Alzheimer. The doctor put her on Aricept and wants to add Namenda after 6 weeks. In my research on Namenda, I find that Namenda is for "mid to late stage" Alzheimer's. I am trying to understand why he would be starting her on Namenda so early. I am concerned that we're giving her too much, too soon. Does anyone have any experience with using Namenda in the very early stages? Thank you.
Posts: 16 | Location?: Chicago | Registered: February 13, 2005
Greetings Willow and Vine, My wife is 57, has early onset AD, and is still in the mild to moderate stage. She has been on Namenda for about 15 months and aricept for 21 months. The Namenda has made a huge difference for us.
My understanding is that the "mid to late stage" for Namenda was a feature of the testing and also a desire for the pharaceutical company to position the drug in a segment of the market where it is the only thing available. Once it was approved, it then is up to the doctors to decide when to prescribe it. Personally, since it has worked so well for us, we are very glad that we were able to get it earlier. There does seem to be some indication that the earlier the treatment, the more likely that the drug may have a positive effect before more parts of the brain are damaged by the disease.
This is just one person's experience...hope it helps. Bill
_______________ Seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14
Posts: 639 | Location?: VA 22181 | Registered: January 26, 2005
After reading all the messages re: meds I am thoroughly confused. My mother couldn't tolerate Aricept and takes only Namenda. There has been such a decline in the last couple of weeks. She is angrier,doesn't realize where she is every evening, has tried to leave her home to go home and last night her conversation didn't make any sense at all. She is depressed and paranoid. The dr. put her on symbiax which isn't fda approved for persons w/dementia. Now it has been changed to rimderal (I'm too upset to check spellings) which isn't approved either. Can someone suggest a medication for depression and paranoia that won't add to her problems? I am at a loss. I cannot get a caregiver to stay because she is so nasty and yet during the day when she is lucid, she begs not to be taken out of her home. Help!
Right after my wife went on Aricept she started hallucinating about hearin music all the time and has had several nightmares. We just found out that this medication can cause hallucinations and nightmares. I am waiting for the neurologest to change her medication.
God, grant us the Serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the Courage to change the things we can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Posts: 200 | Location?: Matawan,NJ, USA jpn1010@yahoo.com | Registered: February 17, 2005
There is a great deal being written about a correlation between Lipitor and memory loss. Sometimes, there is complete amnesia from the Lipitor. You may want to check the internet for some of the articles. My mother's doctor took her off the cholesterol medication to see if there could be an improvement in her memory. The research doctors think it will take 2-6 months to see an improvement, so it's still too early to tell. Of course, you have to weigh the possible benefits against the risks of the cholesterol going back up. Interestingly, when commenting on those risks, the doctor said that there was a bigger risk of getting in a car accident on the way to the doctor, so we decided that it was worth a test of our own. Here is one link to a big study that is going on about Lipitor and other cholesterol drugs and their impact on memory:
Originally posted by dan: George, My wife age 57 takes 400 IU's perday of vitamin E and her neurologist said it was ok to take them. She also is on lipitor for chloresteral.
Dan
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Willow and Vine,
Posts: 16 | Location?: Chicago | Registered: February 13, 2005
Hi - my husband was put on Namemda and did not do well with the drug at all. He had really bad hallucinations and was phychotic on the drug. His doctor said some people do well with the drug, and others don't have any results. With my husband, the results were negative. After being off the drug for 2 days, he was back to "normal". He still talks all night long (in his sleep) which is reminicent of when he was on the drug, but not very often. I honestly didn't think about the possibility of a conflict with Aricept. The doctor really wants to keep him on the Aricept, but at this late stage (doc says he is now in "severe" Alzheimers), I'm not sure what good it's doing. Maybe I should try him on the Namemda without Aricept...??
Oh yes...one more thing. I once accidentally took my husband's meds and vitamins in the morning. That's when he takes Aricept. Boy was that an experience! I was loopy all day. It was a terrible feeling. I suppose that after some time, one gets used to the drug, but I honestly thought about taking him off it because of that experience.
Maidm - My husband is on Risperdal. He was put on the drug after a phychotic episode. It has helped him tremendously. It's a drug you can "work with", as his doctor says. I give him one in the evening...and if he is anxious in the morning, I can give him another. It's been a godsend.
I'm not on Nemenda yet,BUT I did take Aricept for 4 yrs.I always took it in the morning. I've also heard from other caregivers that giving the Nemenda befor 2 pm was best.
[QUOTE] We just found out that this medication can cause hallucinations and nightmares.
Dear Jack, I didn't realize how lucky we are that my husband isn't experiencing any problems with either Aricept or Namenda. (This is my first visit to this site, and know that it will be extremely valuable to all of us over time.) My husband began Aricept in February following the suggestions on the Patient Starter Kit (5mg increasing to 10mg). He has always taken it in mid-morning. In April he added Namenda (same type of Patient Starter Kit......5mg - 10mg). And without side effects, he is now on Aricept in AM, and Namenda both AM and PM. His disease is in the early stages and we are hoping to slow down the progression. My main concern now is the cost of these meds. Does anyone know of any of the new Senior Discount Cards that allow for discounts on either (or both!) of these medications? He has Medicare (primary) and Blue Cross (secondary). Any info would be appreciated. Anne L.
hi, i do know that when i bought my dads meds at the pharmacy we paid 247.00 and through the mail order the same meds were 87.00 per month instead of 247 so i have had great experience with this company it is called medco and the number is 1-800-662-8269 i know you will find that this is truly a great service for people to be able to afford their meds i have bc/bs from u s steel and my copays are very reasonable my dad also has medicare so i know you can also get this great deal on meds well also here is their web site go to www.medco.com you will be so glad you did. good luck to you
My mom started taking aricept a month ago and now the doctor has started her on namenda. It seems like the aricept has helped make her less anxious and angry. Has anyone else noticed this effect? The doctor was very positive about namenda and how effective it has been but in reading the posts here, I am a bit worried.
Posts: 6 | Location?: Connecticut | Registered: June 02, 2005
Jane R My Dad started with Namenda, then the dr. added aricept and effexor at the same time. He is definitely calmer but I don't know which drug has accomplished this so I'm keeping him on all of them!
Ann R
"The perfect love that drives out all fear is the divine love in which we are all invited to participate." Henri Nouwen
Posts: 766 | Location?: Arlington, VA | Registered: January 25, 2005
Originally posted by Jane R.: My mom started taking aricept a month ago and now the doctor has started her on namenda. It seems like the aricept has helped make her less anxious and angry. Has anyone else noticed this effect? The doctor was very positive about namenda and how effective it has been but in reading the posts here, I am a bit worried.
Don't pay too much attention to those posts. It is different for everyone. My Mom is on Namenda and it is fine for her. No side effects. Her doctor told me about side effects and said to give him a call if it happened. Never had to call. Ask the doctor what can happen and what you should do if it does. My Mom scored zero on the MM?? test. Doesn't know who I am(son that she lives with)the day, year or state but can bathe herself and go to the bathroom alone. Those are the important things now.
Thank you for your responses. My mom scored a 17 on the test when she took it a month ago. It was hard to watch her struggle with some of the tasks. I've just started reading the 36 Hour Day.
Again, thank you for your responses. I feel better about the drugs and will hope for the best.
Posts: 6 | Location?: Connecticut | Registered: June 02, 2005
My Mom has been on namenda for a week now and her main caregiver is concerned because she doesn't want to eat and appears nauseous when food is put before her. One of my siblings thinks we should stop the namenda. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced a problem with appetite from the medicine? The weather has also turned incredibly hot in the past few days and I am thinking maybe that is a big part of the problem.
Thank you!
Posts: 6 | Location?: Connecticut | Registered: June 02, 2005
This is my very first visit to this board. I was refered by a friend. I will be comming back often. I want to take a moment and thank each and every one of you for the valuable information on this page. It has been very helpful. My mother scored a 15 on that test. She has been on Namenda only and the results have been wonderful. It seems as if the disease is stalled for now. It definitely helped. As for the meanness that a lot of you mention, I haven't seen that yet. It seems that either Namenda or the Aricept work fine seperately, but together??? After this readingm I sure have some questions for mother's doctor. Thanks again all and may God Bless you all and give you His strength. George B.
Posts: 1 | Location?: South Florida | Registered: June 12, 2005
Hi George. You are right about this message board being a great help -- there is a lot of good information posted. My mom scored a 17 with the test and her doctor started her on Aricept at 5 mg with the intention of going to 10. But because of side effects, he left her at 5 and started her on Namenda once a day in the morning. She had just started taking it twice a day but because she was more confused than normal and not eating, he scaled it back to one pill a day. It's heartening to hear how well your mom has done with Namenda.
quote:
Originally posted by George B.: This is my very first visit to this board. I was refered by a friend. I will be comming back often. I want to take a moment and thank each and every one of you for the valuable information on this page. It has been very helpful. My mother scored a 15 on that test. She has been on Namenda only and the results have been wonderful. It seems as if the disease is stalled for now. It definitely helped. As for the meanness that a lot of you mention, I haven't seen that yet. It seems that either Namenda or the Aricept work fine seperately, but together??? After this readingm I sure have some questions for mother's doctor. Thanks again all and may God Bless you all and give you His strength. George B.
Posts: 6 | Location?: Connecticut | Registered: June 02, 2005
