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Dealing with a Spouse with a “Mild Cognitive Impairment”
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: 17 hours ago | Replies (405)Comment receiving replies
Is Donepezil (Aricept) helpful? My husband has a prescription. I would like to know the pros and cons before giving it to him. I would really appreciate anyone who could share their experiences with this drug.
Replies to "Is Donepezil (Aricept) helpful? My husband has a prescription. I would like to know the pros..."
@llthomson My husband was on Donepezil for about 3 weeks but had to stop due to loss of appetite and weight loss. He is now on Mementine which resulted in marked improvement in his cognition for about a year, but as things are progressing his symptoms are worsening slightly so, for us, this medication has it's limits too. But it's better than no help/medication.
@llthomson I know there are many that take Aricept, and it was the first one along with Memantine that my hubby was prescribed, but he was not able to take it. It made him very ill (nausea, dizziness) to the point he could not function. He suffered through for two weeks before we gave up on it. The neurologist doubled up his Memantine and then the next year added Rivastigmine patches. All your husband can do is try it, but if it doesn’t work for him, try something else. Honestly, I wonder if any of them really work. My hubby continues to decline, but I am afraid to stop him from taking them in case he might be even worse…
My husband was on Ariciept for a short time years ago. Even at that point, he was unable to tell me what he was feeling. But he would hold his upper abdomen and shake his head no. It's listed on his medical records as a drug allergy - nausea.
My mom was on Aricept for years with no side effects, but I don't know if it helped or not.
@llthomson
Greetings: caveat that our experience may not be like anyone else's. Within a month of taking Donepezil, my husband became much more confused, worse than he was. Was this a coincidence and happened with no connection to the drug? Who knows. It was not supposed to make his cognition improve, just keep it from getting worse.
A few months later we are now trying Memantine and we'll see how that goes.
One thing I found out about is called, 'Cognitive Masking'. Folks who are intelligent are able to 'mask' or cover up their Cognitive deficits by using other parts of their brain to take over when one part is failing. This of course can only go on for so long, then there's a crash, when they can no longer cover and things all of a sudden seem much worse.
So... was my husband's sudden decline due to not a good fit with Donepezil, or because he could no longer mask his decline, or both?
Good luck to you. 🫂
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@llthomson
My husband has been taking Donepezil for over a year now. I see no side effects and he seems to tolerate it well. It isn't possible to know if he would progress further into his dementia without it. I am not willing to try that. He is stable now both physically and mentally in the moderate stage of dementia. I am not willing to try any of the infusions with him as they are not a cure and have significant side effects. Our goal is the best quality of life not necessarily the longest. The Donepezil works for us.