Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride) Side Effects, Uses Dosages
Side Effects for Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride)
No longer taking this medication. He died last August
Memory problems...no diagnosis
I stopped talking this drug.after a few weeks.
More problems with this drug than benefits.
My husband - mid stage dementia
Became non verbal, dramatically deceased appetite, diarrhea, incontinence, serious overall decline resulting in hospice care
After the drug was discontinued, and it cleared his system, the symptoms resolved as dramatically as they appeared. Seems to me our cultural fear of dying is causing folks to seek false hope. I wouldn't recommend donezipil to anyone.
Mom took it for severe dementia
Extreme nausea dizziness vomiting loss of appetite loopy leg cramping disorientation puffy face
It should be recommended that people take half dose as this drug is strong. After 12 hours she still feels out of it.
My mother was having hallucinations non stop- after only 4 days on aricept they have already diminished to at least half of what she was having. I am so thankful for this drug.
I would recommend Saffron in place of this with GDP-choline. Also look into Dr. Dale Bresdehan’s work.
High production value, intensely extravagant colorful dreams/nightmares --
wake up reliving powerful experiences -- daytime artifacts such as animated figures, semi haucinations -- weakness, loss of ambition, general malaise. Scary drug! Generic Donepezll
No side effects for a few days and saw improvement in memory,then memory decreased over the next week.Started at 5mg until problems started then cut pill in half,After 2 days of new dosage could tell memory functions were back up.Mom is 88 and didn't need 5mg.She is back to knowing people and remembering events.
Just because you receive the lowest dosage available,some people don't need a full dose.
DX AD but was just senile dementia
my mom went from having memory problems but still living alone/driving/self care, to becoming withdrawn, out of it, nonverbal, soon after this medication was started.
mom was living alone at home, driving, etc, and because of gradually worsening memory, had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and prescribed Aricept. she soon began losing her cognitive abilities.I didn't think the medication caused it because i thought that this was her illness, rapidly progressive. But it was odd, how much she changed. i prepared to institutionalize her, she was helpless. We went to assisted living places to interview. The owner of one was an RN. She was talking in general about dementia. in passing she said "sometimes the medications they give for dementia can cause the symptoms they are supposed to treat." I thought, "Bingo." if not for the complete fluke of this woman saying this in passing, i would have institutionalized my mom at 85. i called her doctor & said i was stopping the medication. Within 2 or 3 days of stopping the medication, she was becoming her old self again, her functioning returned to previous level. After that, for the next 4 years, she had part time in home help, she enjoyed her normal home life, going out with friends, watching TV, reading the paper, going to church, beauty shop, microwaving dinners at night, no weight loss, until 4 years later at age 89, she began going downhill fast and went into skilled nursing dementia unit for the next 9 years, dying at 98 of old age. she did not die of AD. toxic meds would have shortened her life and ruined the quality.
Extreme nausea, dizziness, seizure like feelings, almost ready to pass out, stomach pains.
This is a dreadful medication just speaking from my personal experience. The very first day I took it I was so sick with nausea, stomach pains, dizziness, feeling of ready to pass out and feeling like I was going to have a seizure all day long. I couldn't even think, I was in so much destress. I stopped taking it and it took me three days to get this out of my system. My stomach hurt so badly I thought I had been poisoned. And my kidneys hurt. Please read the side effects before considering taking this drug.
My mother has been taking Aricept since shortly after it became available, she was changed to the generic version when it first became available. She is now 88 years old a few months ago she started complaining about upset stomach. We decided to remove the meds to see if that would help nausea it didn't, but she started obsessing over things. Example counting the small amount of money she keeps in her wallet,checking her pill box, asking the day of the week. After staring back on donpezil she is doing as good as she was before stopping. We think the nausea is caused by her hyetal hernia. It appears this med works for some not for others her dementia has progressed slowly maybe donpezil helped.
Mom was taking this drug for 3 months. This was described by a psychiatrist/md. She got sick and had to take other antibiotics to get to feel well, but dr wanted the AL to cut off aricept till other meds were taken. I noticed that my mom was a little better. Then after antibiotics were finished, they started the aricept back up I came to AL to check on her, found her sitting on toilet with extreme diarrhea and totally dislusonal and confused on how to clean herself up. Needless to say I called dr to have this crap not to be given to her again.
She took it 1 week and it got her more confused and told me her head made her disoriented and did not feel right..she says never again..she is on another one that is going well for her.
Extremely disoriented, dizzy, nuaseated, stomach and leg cramps.
My father is taking this thing of horrid pill and he's much worse, I could see a decline within the first few days he went from being able to have a conversation which was more switched on to bring confused & vacant! So it made him much worse but when we complained about it at the memory clinic they were still persistent that he stay on it, now he's having blood pressure probs which can be a fatal syndrome side affect to this drug.. it does not suit everyone so now he's very unwell at the moment feeling fainty so I'm insisting he comes off it as a trial run to see if he's much better within 5 days - hate this drug it turns them into a zombie duscusting what tge medical world are doing to older ppl definately seen a decline in my father nothing positive to say about donopezil and the worse thing about it NO ONE LISTENS !!!!!
Started early in mild memory loss-
Length 19 days estimate- from a functional adult to nonfunctional as if a switch was flipped to psychotic, vacant personality, loss of bladder control, speech and movements slowed, not knowing where he was, agitation, fixating on numbers and colors, and that batteries would start fire in house, electrical problems in house, was handling bank account
Unable to change length of time, also aggressive behavior scattered in. Definitely a puzzle Week of onset he repeated " I don't understand what is happening to mybrain." Would like to hear from others with similar experience
MCI/to Early Onset Alzheimer's 3
It helps me stay calmer and with accepting my recent diagnoses of early onset Alheimers! Dad got it around the same age and didn't go Home to Heaven till he was 83! Life is different for sure but.... ALIVE!👌🙏😘
This was prescribed to my Mother a week ago. Within 24 hours she began horrible delusions, thinking she was 18 or 19 years old. Insisted on calling her Mom who died 15 years ago. No longer knew who I was or where she was. Tonight will be her last dosage.
My Mom is entering the final stages of Alzheimer's. At this point I feel quality of life is more important.
confusion, disorientation, appetite loss, weight loss, daytime somnolence, vestibular dysfunction (loss of hearing and balance), daily nightmares, general malaise/sense of not feeling well, could not recognize family members, spikes in blood pressure
Starting my father on this drug was nearly catastrophic. His primary care physician started him on it on 8/3/16 with the intent to slow the progression of dementia. Prior to starting this medication, my dad could carry on conversations in person and by phone, was able to walk unassisted and had a sufficient appetite. Within 3-4 weeks of taking this medication, his life began to completely unravel. He was unable to communicate verbally, he had nightmares every day, he began to sleep all day and not care about life at all. He started to have difficulty walking with balance and was at risk of falling down flights of stairs in his home (which never happened before). He experienced significant weight loss. His Primary Care Doctor who started him on this medication had NO FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT or LAB EVALUATION planned or scheduled. I am a Pediatrician, and took control of my father's care. I informed his PCP of the side effects, informed him that he did not appropriately follow my dad after starting this medication, and that I was discontinuing it. He saw his new doctor 2 days later who immediately admitted him to our local hospital. Their evaluation showed that he had a blood pressure of 200/90 despite being on several blood pressure medications and that he was completely confused, and disoriented. He has been off Aricept completely now for 5 days and we are starting to see an improvement. This drug has an unusually long half life and requires 70 hours to start being
Extreme sweating, heart palpitations, cramping of legs fingers and toes, episodes of complete incontinence. There were no changes in memory, personality or mood. Talked to the doctor and discontinued use. I would rather not even know who I am than take this drug.
ARICEPT (DONEPEZIL HYDROCHLORIDE): Donepezil is used to treat confusion (dementia) related to Alzheimer's disease. It does not cure Alzheimer's disease, but it may improve memory, awareness, and the ability to function. This medication is an enzyme blocker that works by restoring the balance of natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)
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