Combining Memantine and Aricept question

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tseverson@mn.rr.com - 18 Dec 2004 19:02 GMT

How popular is taking both Menantine and Aricept? My mother had been
taking Aricept and now has replaced the Aricept with Menantine (about 2
months ago). This occurred after a request from our family and not at
the suggestion of her doctor. We were hoping Menantine would prove more
beneficial than Aricept. I am now wondering if we should begin Aricept
again in addition to Menantine?

My 92 year old mother has been taking Aricept for about 4 years and was
getting by for a person 92 years old (my guess is moderate or mid-stage
Alzeimers disease). She still has her own apartment and is living
"mostly" independently in a senior citizen facility. My brother and
his wife live nearby and stop over often during the week to take her
out for lunch. They also take her to church on Sundays. She gets a
daily visit around 7:15 am from a health care person to watch her take
her morning blood test, insulin shot (30 units of NPH) and pills for
the day. Right now she is taking 10 mg of Menantine, one 80 mg baby
aspirin and two vitiman E tablets. I telephone her every day in the
afternoon to take a blood test and administer another 8 units of
Regular insulin.

Is the combination of Menantine and Aricept better than taking
Menantine alone? Thanks for you comments.

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Tumbleweed - 18 Dec 2004 21:03 GMT

> How popular is taking both Menantine and Aricept?

very and now recommended AFAIUI

> My mother had been
> taking Aricept and now has replaced the Aricept with Menantine (about 2
> months ago).

bad idea IME, my father did this 18 months ago, the decline was
catastrophic.

> This occurred after a request from our family and not at
> the suggestion of her doctor. We were hoping Menantine would prove more
> beneficial than Aricept. I am now wondering if we should begin Aricept
> again in addition to Menantine?

If the aricept was working, then most definitely you should do what you
suggest

> My 92 year old mother has been taking Aricept for about 4 years and was
> getting by for a person 92 years old (my guess is moderate or mid-stage
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Is the combination of Menantine and Aricept better than taking
> Menantine alone? Thanks for you comments.

Yes, many people here have reported that (anecdotally) here and I have seen
(but dont have) reports that state that taking the two together is
recommended. They were posted in this group so a google might find them.

BTW, its 'meMantine', not 'meNantine' ...I suppose M and N are close
together on the keyboard.

Good luck.

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Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

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Dennis P. Harris - 18 Dec 2004 21:19 GMT

> Is the combination of Menantine and Aricept better than taking
> Menantine alone? Thanks for you comments.

Yes. That's the usual combination.

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Mary K Farrell - 28 Dec 2004 23:11 GMT

It's a good combination. Still not a cure by any means, but it did slow
the progression on my husband. The usual plan is to take BOTH the Aricept
and the Memantine; not one or the other.

> How popular is taking both Menantine and Aricept? My mother had been
> taking Aricept and now has replaced the Aricept with Menantine (about 2
> months ago). This occurred after a request from our family and not at
> the suggestion of her doctor. We were hoping Menantine would prove more
> beneficial than Aricept. I am now wondering if we should begin Aricept
> again in addition to Menantine?
>
> My 92 year old mother has been taking Aricept for about 4 years and was
> getting by for a person 92 years old (my guess is moderate or mid-stage
> Alzeimers disease). She still has her own apartment and is living
> "mostly" independently in a senior citizen facility. My brother and
> his wife live nearby and stop over often during the week to take her
> out for lunch. They also take her to church on Sundays. She gets a
> daily visit around 7:15 am from a health care person to watch her take
> her morning blood test, insulin shot (30 units of NPH) and pills for
> the day. Right now she is taking 10 mg of Menantine, one 80 mg baby
> aspirin and two vitiman E tablets. I telephone her every day in the
> afternoon to take a blood test and administer another 8 units of
> Regular insulin.
>
> Is the combination of Menantine and Aricept better than taking
> Menantine alone? Thanks for you comments.
>

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tseverson@mn.rr.com - 16 Jan 2005 05:54 GMT

Followup situation and question:

My mother (still 92 years old and still coping OK with Alzheimers) had
been taking Aricept for about 4 years when we decided to try Memantine.
She stopped taking Aricept about 2 months ago and started taking
Memantine. We then decided to put her back on Aricept and have started
her on 5 mg per day. After a month we intend to increase the Aricept to
10 mg per day.

For the past week Mom has been trying to get over a very sore throat
which has been hard on her. She stayed with my brother for a couple of
days until she felt good enough to return to her apartment. She has
been at her apartment (in a senior citizen complex) for 5 days and is
still feeling some effects of the sore throat but is slowly improving.

Our impression is she is getting more confused than usual. She still
wants to live in her apartment and socialize with her friends there. We
seem to be getting more telephone calls lately than we had in the past
(she seems to ask "what do I do now" more than in the past). We do
have health aides visit every morning to see that she has assistance
when she gets up. We also normally have someone (usually my brother or
his wife) take her out for lunch 5 or 6 days a week.

We are wondering if the reintroduction of Aricept has anything to do
with Mom's recent sore throat or recent behavior (or both).

Has anyone heard of problems reintroducing Aricept with Memantine that
may explain what my mother is experiencing? Thanks for your comments.
Terry

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Evelyn Ruut - 16 Jan 2005 11:36 GMT

> Followup situation and question:
>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> may explain what my mother is experiencing? Thanks for your comments.
> Terry

As far as I know the Aricept has been associated with some stomach upsets,
but you would have to call your pharmacist and ask about the possibility of
sore throat being associated with it. It wasn't our experience with the
drug, but then everybody is different, and my mother in law's experience may
not be the same as yours. We offset the stomach stuff by giving her the
pill after dinner every evening.

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Regards,
Evelyn

(to reply to me personally, remove 'sox")

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