16th August 2007
Hi,
My mom's on aricept and memantine. She's late-stage now. She's on no other meds. What we found was she is less agitated and easier to care for with the added memantine. Further, there's a new study underway in the USA to give a time-release of the aricept at an increased dosage with the memantine for late-stage patients. The meds tend to mask the decline for a longer period of time. My mom's decline is more like steps or stairs down than a constant slide. The key is to find the proper dosage, too little is ineffective and too much puts her to sleep. We haven't seen any downside to keeping her on the meds. I often find nursing home professionals eager to take patients off the meds other than psycho-active ones. Food for thought. I hope this info helps.
My mom's on aricept and memantine. She's late-stage now. She's on no other meds. What we found was she is less agitated and easier to care for with the added memantine. Further, there's a new study underway in the USA to give a time-release of the aricept at an increased dosage with the memantine for late-stage patients. The meds tend to mask the decline for a longer period of time. My mom's decline is more like steps or stairs down than a constant slide. The key is to find the proper dosage, too little is ineffective and too much puts her to sleep. We haven't seen any downside to keeping her on the meds. I often find nursing home professionals eager to take patients off the meds other than psycho-active ones. Food for thought. I hope this info helps.