1. < Caregivers: Dementia

Husband with early Alzheimers: Question about medications

Posted by clayton48 @clayton48, May 25, 2016

My husband is 68 and was diagnosised with alzheimers two years ago, he has done very well and is currently on both donepezil and Namenda. He has complained recently of more anxiety and frustration. He is very alert in the morning but struggles as the day goes. If I ask his doctor to increase his medications would that help with his anxiety and frustration? He says he feels "on the edge" a lot. He is a very low key, quiet man. Any suggestions?

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19lin | @19lin | May 31, 2016

clayton48: My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's as was one of his sisters and one brother. I took care of my Dad as best as I could which was mostly to keep him out of a nursing home, which was his one request of me when he was getting sick. I do not remember any medicine he took as this was in 1992. His health was always good, but he developed a heart problem and died in only a few years. I think he preferred this. His sister was in a nursing home for close to 10 years before she died. I also hate any thought of going to a nursing home as that is just not part of my personality. Others I know of are willing to do it when it becomes necessary. I hope God will spare me this final ordeal. Sorry I have no good advise except be sure to get rest yourself and use what ever family and community support you can so that you are not always busy with him as you have to take care of yourself so that you can be their for him as well as others. Good luck, 19lin

REPLY
shellsk24 | @shellsk24 | Jun 1, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@clayton48 we brought your questions to a pharmacist here at Mayo Clinic. She writes: "Treating Alzheimer’s..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@clayton48 we brought your questions to a pharmacist here at Mayo Clinic. She writes:

"Treating Alzheimer’s Disease can be difficult as some of the side effects of medications may be difficult to distinguish from signs and symptoms of the disease. Both donepezil and Namenda may cause anxiety, nervousness, aggression, confusion and fatigue. Depending on what his current dose is, and if the provider thinks these symptoms are from the disease rather than the medication, there may or may not be room to increase it. There may also be other medications to treat the new symptoms he is noticing. It is a good idea to keep an open line of communication with his provider regarding these changes and never hurts to talk about adjusting medication doses. Often times we see dose adjustments and medication changes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease as their symptoms change. You are asking great questions, and I’m glad to hear he is still doing well. It can also be exhausting to be the caregiver, so remember to take care of yourself, too! Best wishes."

@shellsk24 this is definitely in line with the experience you had with your father too, isn't it?

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Yes absolutely @colleenyoung I agree it is VERY crucial to communicate any medication reactions, big or small and any changes in behaviors to the doctors. Things can change so fast sometimes with Alz and it just helps so much to stay on top of it - as detailed, tedious and emotional as some things become, you definitely have to remember to care for yourself too @clayton48 ! 🙂

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jul 6, 2016

Hi @saltyfrog and @clayton48, we haven't heard from you in a while, so I wanted to take a minute to check in.

@saltyfrog How are you and your wife doing? Are you having more visits with the grandchildren now that school is out?

@clayton48 How are you and your husband doing? Did his doctor make any adjustments to his medication? How is the "on edge" feeling?
I really hope to hear from both of you.

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jhammer | @jhammer | Aug 18, 2016
In reply to @shellsk24 "Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when..." + (show)
@shellsk24

Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when he started taking Namenda it made him very anxious and frustrated, so they lowered his dosage. He was the same as your husband very low key and quiet, so the change was very noticeable. You are awesome to notate these things and be his advocate with the doctors. The medications will be a key factor in his care.

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I'm curious about the medicine Namenda ; my Neurologist told us ( my wife is in early stages of Alzheimers) that the medicines being promoted for this disease provide little help . Did you find the Meds helped ? Is it hard to tell ?

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 18, 2016
In reply to @shellsk24 "Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when..." + (show)
@shellsk24

Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when he started taking Namenda it made him very anxious and frustrated, so they lowered his dosage. He was the same as your husband very low key and quiet, so the change was very noticeable. You are awesome to notate these things and be his advocate with the doctors. The medications will be a key factor in his care.

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Welcome to Connect @jhammer
@clayton48 @shellsk24, what can you tell JHammer about your experience with Namenda?

JHammer, we look forward to getting to know a bit more about you and your wife. What are some of the activities that comfort or relax your wife the most?

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clayton48 | @clayton48 | Aug 19, 2016
In reply to @shellsk24 "Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when..." + (show)
@shellsk24

Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when he started taking Namenda it made him very anxious and frustrated, so they lowered his dosage. He was the same as your husband very low key and quiet, so the change was very noticeable. You are awesome to notate these things and be his advocate with the doctors. The medications will be a key factor in his care.

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My husband is 68 and was diagnosed over two years ago. He started with Aricept and then we added the Namenda. He is very quiet and reserved, and I did notice a little frustration at first, so we increased his Aricept. We stuck with with it and I see a difference. My position is, unless he is having terrible side effects I'm willing to take those chances. My husband still has good coginition. He has processing and short term memory issues. We know he has been struggling with this for at least four years, but it took a diagnosis at Mayo's to convince us that is what he was struggling with. The doctor we saw at Mayo's encouraged us on both medications and said it might buy him a few more cummulative years of cognition.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 21, 2016
In reply to @shellsk24 "Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when..." + (show)
@shellsk24

Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when he started taking Namenda it made him very anxious and frustrated, so they lowered his dosage. He was the same as your husband very low key and quiet, so the change was very noticeable. You are awesome to notate these things and be his advocate with the doctors. The medications will be a key factor in his care.

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Great info Clayton. Thanks for popping back on.
@jhammer - are you reluctant to start the medication?

REPLY
jhammer | @jhammer | Aug 21, 2016
In reply to @shellsk24 "Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when..." + (show)
@shellsk24

Hi - I cared for my dad with Alzheimers. I will say that I noticed when he started taking Namenda it made him very anxious and frustrated, so they lowered his dosage. He was the same as your husband very low key and quiet, so the change was very noticeable. You are awesome to notate these things and be his advocate with the doctors. The medications will be a key factor in his care.

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My wife was on the patch for a year and a half then statred having nausea and vomitin. we stopped the patch and symtoms disappeared. recently we went to a different Nuerologist and follwing the exam had a discussion about Namenda and the Patch. His comment were they give very littel benefits and not worth the side effects if there are any. . We were on the highest dosage of the patch.

REPLY
shellsk24 | @shellsk24 | Aug 22, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@clayton48 we brought your questions to a pharmacist here at Mayo Clinic. She writes: "Treating Alzheimer’s..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@clayton48 we brought your questions to a pharmacist here at Mayo Clinic. She writes:

"Treating Alzheimer’s Disease can be difficult as some of the side effects of medications may be difficult to distinguish from signs and symptoms of the disease. Both donepezil and Namenda may cause anxiety, nervousness, aggression, confusion and fatigue. Depending on what his current dose is, and if the provider thinks these symptoms are from the disease rather than the medication, there may or may not be room to increase it. There may also be other medications to treat the new symptoms he is noticing. It is a good idea to keep an open line of communication with his provider regarding these changes and never hurts to talk about adjusting medication doses. Often times we see dose adjustments and medication changes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease as their symptoms change. You are asking great questions, and I’m glad to hear he is still doing well. It can also be exhausting to be the caregiver, so remember to take care of yourself, too! Best wishes."

@shellsk24 this is definitely in line with the experience you had with your father too, isn't it?

Jump to this post

Yes we found Namenda had little or no relief. His moods began to change and he became more aggressive, but in actuality we aren't sure if it was the meds or if it was the disease and symptoms transitioning. Unfortunately to me so much of the meds for Alz patients is trial and error because the disease is so complicated.

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fflowhplar | @fflowhplar | May 9, 2017

who is the best doctor at mayo mn for early onset of memory loss possible alzheimer?????

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