Alzheimer's Medicine or Treatment

[Hodegetria]

Wow, don’t hit the “bullets” button or everything will disappear and Safari will shut down! At least, it just did so 2x for me on my iPad…

Anyway, I typed a long post and it all disappeared, so maybe it’s a sign to keep it simple:

In 2 weeks I’m taking my 75 yr old mother to doctor. I already made sure her GP can and will prescribe Alzheimer’s medication for mom if doc deems it appropriate. (Aricept was mentioned by me, only because I’ve seen the ads.) We’ve already been through the whole Alzheimer’s experience with my grandpa (her dad), who died of it 20 years ago. They didn’t have any meds for this awful disease back then.

My specific question is:
**Has anyone had good results with a particular Alzheimer’s medication or treatment?

Thank you very much and God bless you all!

 

[Antegin]

I’ve had 2 neighbors with Alzheimer’s. The one who started symptoms when he was 52, took Razadyne, then Aricept and finally Namenda. Nothing worked bit I remember the wife saying doctors did not expect much because of the type of Alzheimer’s he had.

The other neighbor I had made an off hand comment about was a joke Aricept was (because of my experience with neighbor #1) and she informed me that she was 82, took Aricept for 3 years and still worked. She remained Independent till she turned 93 and died a year later.

There’s a brand new drug for the more severe cases, Namzaric. I don’t know anyone who took it but Medscape has a comprehensive article about it if you can handle the medicalese.

 

[asia53]

My 79 year old Mom takes Aricept. It worked for awhile; increased her attention span, and she was able to remember more. It’s not working as well now. However, this is her fault; she won’t get any physical exercise, or stimulate her brain with crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, or anything to exercise her brain. Mom is a TV junkie, and TV doesn’t provide enough stimulation for our brains. My siblings and I have resigned ourselves to the inevitable.

She tried Namenda, had a bad experience. Namenda is a drug, where you work your way up to the top dosage, 28 mg, in a four week period. Mom got to week 3, 21 mg; she complained of a headache trying to come on, and feeling like her brain was in a fog. Namenda was stopped.

The very best to you and your Mom.

 

[TARRAT]

My mother has been gone for several years now so my dealing with alzheimers is a little behind the times. You want to know if the meds work. I think they do from my experience. Mom never seemed to get totally out of it. But you have to remember there is no cure for it.
All you can do is support her and make sure she get their meds. Some of the meds the previous posters are talking about weren’t even around when Mom needed them.

Good luck and God Bless.

 

[EasterJoy]

You should ask your mother’s physician about her condition, but on the average the medications that were recommended for my relatives have histories showing an average delay of entry to nursing homes of about 24 months compared to peers who did not receive the treatments. Especially when you’re 75, an extra two years in your own home makes a big difference.

 

[Catholic1954]

Wow, don’t hit the “bullets” button or everything will disappear and Safari will shut down! At least, it just did so 2x for me on my iPad…

Anyway, I typed a long post and it all disappeared, so maybe it’s a sign to keep it simple:

In 2 weeks I’m taking my 75 yr old mother to doctor. I already made sure her GP can and will prescribe Alzheimer’s medication for mom if doc deems it appropriate. (Aricept was mentioned by me, only because I’ve seen the ads.) We’ve already been through the whole Alzheimer’s experience with my grandpa (her dad), who died of it 20 years ago. They didn’t have any meds for this awful disease back then.

My specific question is:
**Has anyone had good results with a particular Alzheimer’s medication or treatment?

Thank you very much and God bless you all!

My friend’s father is on Aricept and has had very good results. I think the key is to start it as soon as possible. I do not know of any treatment for Alzheimer’s except for medication. There is an Alzheimer’s family support group in my city, maybe you can find something similar in your area and connect with people in the same situation and see if there is anything else you can do to make things easier for the whole family.

 

[The_Old_Maid]

An excellent book is The Complete Guide to Alzheimer’s Proofing Your Home by Mark Warner and Ellen Warner.

Loving care at home is the most desirable situation for many Alzheimer’s sufferers and their families, but it is difficult to realize. Warner’s thoughtful book aims to help by showing how to make a home more navigable, comfortable, and just plain livable for the Alzheimer’s patient. Nicely presented and well illustrated, the book deals with rearranging and remodeling the patient’s living space clearly and concisely and also addresses “thinking-related issues” such as the misinterpretations, hallucinations, and delusions attendant on the disease. In short, Warner strives for comprehensive coverage of the specifics of caring for afflicted loved ones in the home. A generous directory of relevant products and manufacturers and a helpful glossary further distinguish this superlative resource for home caregivers.

–from the book review by Booklist Magazine

Highly recommended.

 

[EasterJoy]

An excellent book is The Complete Guide to Alzheimer’s Proofing Your Home by Mark Warner and Ellen Warner.

Highly recommended.

Understanding not just that dementia makes things that used to be easy into something difficult but how it makes things that used to be easy into things that are difficult and how those difficulties can be avoided or minimized is invaluable.

For instance, when a patient’s short-term memory starts to go, it does not help to try to “teach” the patient the things that are forgotten. Instead, I learned to use “soap opera dialogue.” Just as the soap operas used to use dialogue that caught the listener up on the story line, a technique that allowed writers to get viewer back on track when they had to miss a few episodes, family members can learn to graciously slip clues about who they are talking about into conversations that are being shared with a dementia patient.

I could go into examples, but I’ll just say that the degree to which this will lower the stress on the patient and on the family and others in the patient’s life can hardly be overstated.

 

[Hodegetria]

Thank you all so much! I was away for awhile, so I apologize for the delay in answering. Mom got her Rx yesterday and all we can do is wait and see. I don’t even know what she got yet, I hope Aricept. Thanks again and God Bless you all.

 

[Zelie_Louis]

Unfortunately, we cannot allow members to offer or solicit medical advice on CAF. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.