Ok, dh was having trouble with loose and frequent bm's with the full 5 mg dose of Aricept. However, the Aricept keeps his dislposition very lpleasant and that makes my tension level much better. At the advice of doc, I cut the dose in half and, sure enough, the bm issue disappeared; however, the mood swings returned. I was ready to go on anti-depressants myself but decided to return him to full dose of Aricept instead. His good disposition has returned but so has the bowel problem. The doc has now added Namenda to the cocktail and I'm worried. Any suggestions, friends?
My DH also has diarrhea but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He just tells me that he “cleaned his butt up”. I know I’m fortunate that he is still able & willing to do that because I really don’t want to take him off of the Aricept & Namenda
you can try immodium to help with the diahrrhea. but i would clear it with his doc if you give it daily to see how much. we used it for a long time due to this very reason. some of the AD meds upset the stomach. divvi
We will be seeing a new doc sometime t his month as dh's neurologist went on to greener pastures in administration; I'm hoping that he will be on top of the med situation and experienced with AD patients. If not, we'll have to find another doc. His current PMC doc told us to use Pepto Bismol tablets to control the diarrhea but I don't think dh had done that yet. I find multiple llpairs of hand-washed undies around and when I ask him, he tells me that all is well.
Our youngest daughter (Dana, 45) is caring for him this weekend as I am down taking care of young grandkids so that the older daughter and her husband could go off on a much-needed weekend alone. All day I've missed the husband I used to have and been grieving all over again all his losses. Then about 9:00 pm I got a call from Dana (our youngest) who is all freeked (sp) out because her dad keeps talking about the same old stuff (her older sister refuses to quit working and he thinks she should be home with her children and it's the rotten son-in-laws fault, yada-yada-yada) and has failed to mention what a marvelous woman Dana is, etc. and how stressed out she is watching and being with her dad for multiple days in a row. She's walking a mile in my shoes and has found it very stressful. Anyway, just what I needed, I'm already stressed out over my guy and I'm trying to have a fun time with t he grandkids. Boy, I'm not sure if I'll be able to have her do this again, I'm not sure she will. Did I mention that she is a high-functioning alcoholic? We have 2 more days of this, I hope she makes it. And, I did tell her not to melt down on her dad because even though he might forget the incident, he will remain anxious for hours. Can I run away from home now??
Thank you all for listening, I don't know how I'd get along without you all.
mothert, for just that reason I won’t ask either of my daughters to stay with their father overnight. It’s not that he hasn’t stayed with them for a few hours, but I don’t think they could handle an overnight stay with him. My younger daughter actually said that we should get together & talk about how we would handle the situation is something happened to me. We haven’t done it yet, but just the idea that she is thinking about it makes me realize that she knows he would meed to be placed somewhere. BTW, when you decide to run away, let me know & I will come with you!
Well I just received a pleasant surprise, but I’m worried it might be a mistake. I went online to reorder DH’s Aricept & I normally pay $70 for a 3 month supply; well I was only charged $10. With the price of everything going up it’s hard for me to believe that the price for this actually went down. I guess we’ll see when they deduct it from my checking account.
Yes, this episode has me re-thinking Continuing Care Communities. I'm asking the Lord for guidance on this as leaving my beloved c ommunity would not make me very happy. But, in the long run it would probably relieve me of much stress as dh's disease progresses.
I called dh last night in response to Dana's call and he was soooooo happy to hear from me. We had a very nice conversation and he called me again 2 hours later after he (somehow) intercepted the phone message I left on Dana's phone to try to encourage her. He didn't even remember our previous conversation. I thought I was all over grieving, but, guess not.
Aricept is now generic but not all plans are covering it at the price of a generic. My husband's Part D still charges it as a tier 2 drug so I have to pay $42 a month for it. Hopefully after May 25 when more manufacturers will be allowed to make it, the price will drop further.
My husband's problem is different--he swings back and forth between constipation and diarrhea. But what helped him is taking a low dose of Miralax every day. It relieves the constipation without causing diarrhea.
I tried the small dose of Imodium and caused constipation. The dr. recommended Metamusil but it is too gritty for him to swallow. I know that too much makes constipation. But am getting weary of have bm's every couple of hrs. and what a sore butt. He can't chew tablets either. Anyone tried any other high fiber? I give him the high fiber oatmeal in the mornings.
Have you tried metamucil clear and natural? They say it's not gritty and it has no flavor so you can add it to anything. It does have a different fiber in it than the regular metamucil--it's called natural inulin fiber.
You all are paying much less than I am for Aricept. It seems to me that when I took a look at the Part D schedules from the insurance man last fall, that they couldn't beat what I pay from Canadian pharmacy. I can't remember exactly ... is there a monthly premium to pay in addition to the cost of the drugs? At any rate, I'll be starting dh on Namenda as soon as the grandchildren go home, which is Thursday, as we have postponed our vacation yet again. It seems that spring break is still going on in Utah until the end of the month, which is where we were going; we'll head off at the end of the month. Hmmm, that is only a couple weeks away, maybe I'll still wait until we return to try the Namenda.
Btw, those of you who are talking about Metamucil and fibre, those things increase bowel movements not decrease them. Am I missing something here?
Also, I did take a look at one CCRC south of us. It was very nice, but reminds me of high-rise apartments - not for me. But, I am keeping an open mind. I like the sound of what Joan and Sid have, but moving to Florida, not for me either. I wish I didn't have to make so many decisions. I really miss my controlling husband!
My mom is taking 2 tablets of 5 mg Donepezil daily and I'm becoming convinced that this causes a loose stool situation, usually in the evening after dinner and occasionally during the night. We had her on an impressive array of supplements and at the suggestion of her doctor, we stopped everything exept the Donepezil. As a baseline, went for 5 days with the supplements with the loose stool happening with at almost the exact time each evening after dinner. Also, somewhat hard to take all the supplement pills with probably not enough water and was sometimes making her sick to her stomach
Then stopped the supplements completely. 5 days no BM at all then now seem to be back to regular evening loose BM - this will be the 7th day stopping the supplements. Mental acuity not as good as with the supplements.
Having it to do over, the Donepezil would be the last thing that we tried, but we are where we are and don't dare take off, especially without any of the other supplement defenses. My question is how can we minimize the loose stool?
Does it matter when we take the Donepezil? Time of day, with or without food - what food? Gather can cause sleep problems.
My current thinking is to ease back onto the supplements supervising more liquid and increase fiber. My mom will not eat food that has much of any texture.
Others have any success minimizing the loose stools?
My husband has that problem but had long before he went on galantamine. He takes anti-diarrhea pills twice a day to help with it. He usually has to sit on the pot within a half hour after eating. donepezil and galantamine are known to cause diarrhea and excess acid problems. He also takes an antacid daily to help with that. If you can get her to eat some cheese or banana try adding them. Both are known to cause constipation in some people so would help firm up the stool if they work.
Also so supplements - the filler they use in them can add to the problem. Fish oil is one of them depending on the brand. Magnesium and Vit C can cause diarrhea too.
When DH started aricept he was on 5mg a day. Then They went to 10 and then 20. He did fine got put on it gradually. But then they changed him to the 23 mg. it messed his stomach up really bad. We cut back to 10 in morning 10 at night. What helped him deal with the stomach issues, eating potatoes. He ate hasbrowns in the morning and mashed potatoes in the evening or baked potatoes. I guess it was the starch that helped. We have now stopped the aricept. He has been on it 8 years and stopped doing anything if it did at all.
Now in the 'after', I often wonder why we give these meds which have so many side effects and to 'slow down the progression'. If they do slow it down, it makes for longer years for the caregivers which ruins our health, mentally and physically and financially. If I had a do-over, I would not give them. My opinion - now that it's over.
For loose stools, we are currently chasing more fiber. Some barley cooking as I type, may have to put in the blender because my mom won't eat anything that has much texture - says gets under her dentures. We've been using the 4 oz organic baby food, one has sweet potatoes and chicken. Hadn't thought about mashed potatoes in the evening.
I wonder what it is about the donepezil that causes the loose stool? Is it a chemical makeup of the body or is there something about the pill that irritates the digestive system. If it is an irritation, there may be food to mitigate. I'm currently thinking best to take with food.
Yesterday, part of a banana (only likes the green ones), applesauce, sheep's milk yogurt with nude food supplement. Vegetable baby food tube.
Interesting thought about the fish oil might be adding to the issue. We recently switched to krill oil, no difference in the loose stool, but different types might effect differently.
My understanding was that it slowed down the process for x no.of years, but then the process accelerated so that the end result was as if Aricept had never been given. My husband was put on 5 mgm. in Jan. of 2008. I asked the doctor to stop the Aricept in the last 6 months (Sept. 2010) because of my husband's lack of appetite and weight loss to see if it would help. It didn't. He died in Feb. 2011, 3 years after the diagnosis and start of Aricept. The first year I noticed an improvement. Second year, moderate decline, but many medical problems (he was 90), including weight loss. Last 6 months, swift failure and death. Looking back, would it have been better to stop the Aricept in the second year? I don't think the doctor would have agreed. I didn't push for it, because I simply didn't know what was the best thing to do. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably do the same thing. I hope Charlotte will be along to comment. She has a good understanding of Aricept and its usefulness.
I am assuming it is the increase in stomach acid that may be causing the diarrhea or contributing to it. You might want to try the aricept patch (if still available) or Exelon patch. Because they do not go into the stomach, digestive side effects could be less. My SIL could not do oral aricept so was on the patch which she tolerated.
I would keep messing around with her food and see if any changes makes a difference. I wonder if green bananas might add to the problem? I know I like them just on the firm ripe side. Do not like the taste when they are ripe.