Re: Dr. increased aricept - have others experienced ? results ?

February 20, 2011

Yes, we have had a similar experience with my mom, and increasing

Aricept leading to increased cognition. I am thinking that she is

between stage 2 and stage 3, she has characteristics of each.

--

His,

Sherry

daughter/guardian of , dx 4/09 with LBD, living in a nearby NH

> My husband was diagnosed with LBD 3 yrs ago and started on aricept (first 5mg,

then 10mg). He did very well with it, that is, no problems related to it and

his cognition improved significantly. He is now in at least phase 3, bordering

on phase 4. Just recently the psychitrist added namenda to see if that would

help. He could't take it because it caused a lot more problems with

hallucinations and anxiety. His neurologist recommended that we try increasing

the aricept to see if it would help. She says that some lewy body people really

benefit from the increase, whereas the Alzheimer people don't. We have gone up

to 15mg a day. I'm not sure if it is just my wishful thinking or if he really

is more alert.

>

> I'm wondering if anyone else has increased aricept and what were their

experiences.

February 21, 2011

Could any one tell me the stages/phases of LBD? I haven't been able to find

anything other than with Alzheimers.

Re: Dr. increased aricept - have others experienced ?

results ?

Yes, we have had a similar experience with my mom, and increasing

Aricept leading to increased cognition. I am thinking that she is

between stage 2 and stage 3, she has characteristics of each.

--

His,

Sherry

daughter/guardian of , dx 4/09 with LBD, living in a nearby NH

> My husband was diagnosed with LBD 3 yrs ago and started on aricept (first 5mg,

then 10mg). He did very well with it, that is, no problems related to it and his

cognition improved significantly. He is now in at least phase 3, bordering on

phase 4. Just recently the psychitrist added namenda to see if that would help.

He could't take it because it caused a lot more problems with hallucinations and

anxiety. His neurologist recommended that we try increasing the aricept to see

if it would help. She says that some lewy body people really benefit from the

increase, whereas the Alzheimer people don't. We have gone up to 15mg a day. I'm

not sure if it is just my wishful thinking or if he really is more alert.

>

> I'm wondering if anyone else has increased aricept and what were their

experiences.

February 21, 2011

At this groups yahoogroups site, go to the Files section; there will be

a folder called LBD Phases - as well as TONS and TONS of other excellent

information.

--

His,

Sherry

daughter/guardian of , dx 4/09 with LBD, living in a nearby NH

> Could any one tell me the stages/phases of LBD? I haven't been able to find

anything other than with Alzheimers.

February 22, 2011

My sister started with 5 mg, then 10 mg. Aricept back in 2006 and in early 2007,

they introduced Namenda. In 2008, her research physician titrated up her Aricept

to 25 mgs per day which is split 10/10/5 so that she doesn't have any stomach

upset and better duration throughout the day.

She has been on the combo of 25 mgs Aricept with 20 mgs. of Namenda for nearly

three years and it has made a significant difference in her daily life. The

minute a dosage is missed, we immediately see the difference, so I know it's

working.

We were fortunate that we recognized the symptoms early due to our father's LBD

and I believe aggressive treatment early-on has made a huge difference in my

sister's course.

Helen