DH, age 91, has lost his appetite as of June. Lately has developed loose stools. I had broached the subject with his FP to discontinue the Aricept in Sept. as DH had been on Aricept for more than 3 years, and I'd been told it would not be effective after that time. From your experience, do you think that stopping the Aricept would help the diarrhea and loss of appetite?
mary75 a side effect of aricept can be loose stools. but also you need to look at any other meds he may be on that could also cause it. i took DH off all AD meds due to these unwanted side effects after MANY years on them. they can develop intolerance to any of them over time. at 91yr i think if it were me i would try and see if taking him off would help. some have taken them off seen declines and readded it again. i would ask the dr how best to take him off if you do it. some say wean them off gradually and some just stop giving it. also i would recommend asking the dr about more fiber and foods that give him more 'roughage'.. (ie stop him up some) til the bowels are normal again. some foods they may be giving him are natural laxatives on their own. maybe check his diet with a nutricionist and see where changes can be made for a while to see if there is a positive sign.
I think it was Sunshyne who said that the reason they say that Aricept is effective for two years is that the study was only two years in length. So, technically, they have not proven that it is effective for a longer time.
My husband has been on Aricept for ten years. Does it do any good? We have no clue. I have discussed discontinuing it with his doctor and he wants me to continue it--so we do--but it is so expensive.
About a year ago we discontinued my wife's Exelon Patch and Namenda. I did not see any difference. This is further supported by the fact that medicare took her off hospice because she wasn't getting any worse by their definition.
I took DH to his FP today who has d/c Aricept for 3 months as a trial. We are to watch for any behavioral changes. DH has lost 10 lbs. in the last 2 months because of his poor appetite and has developed a pressure sore. We're getting a ROHO mattress for that - we already have a cushion on his chair. It was not an easy trip to the Dr.s office; DH was getting short of breath for the first time.
Update: The Aricept was discontinued , but my husband's appetite did not improve. The diarrhea was due to the evening nurses continuing to give laxatives after they had been discontinued. An unexpected result was that Eric became much brighter, more of himself, and the last 3 months of his life were like a gift. To have the old Eric back was wonderful.
I remember taking my husband of Aricept and Namenda. They didn't seem to do anything and my husband was declining fast. The neurologist told me that sometimes you can see a steep decline when they are taken off the drugs. I didn't see how that could happen. Sure enough, even though I thought he was having a steep decline, it got worse. Two months later I had to place him. Another month later he finally stabilized.
I too was afraid to take dh off aricept and namenda, but dr's recommended it because they thought he was allergic to it and it was causing the severe body rash. we took him off, the body ash was still there and he did not decline. BTW the body rash was due to scabies he got while in the psych hospital for med adjustment. Brought the critters home so we could all suffer for months.