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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / December 2005Can therapy be discontinued without adverse effects?
My father is 78 years old and since 1998 he is been suffering from Alzheimer desease, that started up in a kind of "mild" way. Between 1998 and 2001 the doctor prescribed to him Aricept (donepezil) that was provided free of charge from the italian state medical assistance. During 2001 the doctor prescribed Exelon (rivastigmina) instead, that as well, was provided free of charge. Since a few months the state medical assistance is saying that my father is not elegible any more to receive free Exelon (MMSE<10). According to the doctor suggestion we are gradually decreasing the subministration of Exelon and we started to use Exibia (memantina) that for the first 6 months was provided free of charge. Starting next week we will not be able to get any more Exibia free of charges either.. because of changes in the states regulations... The doctor suggested to suspend also Exibia and see what happens. Is anybody out there who can tell me something based on real life experience? Any deterioration in the condition of the patient / ill person? Is it possible that my father is still positively affected by the effects of the Exelon? Any known deterioration after the suspention of Exibia (memantina)? I am undecided whether to stop Exibia or continue the cure buying it myself. Thank you Roberto > My father is 78 years old and since 1998 he is been suffering from > Alzheimer desease, that started up in a kind of "mild" way. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Roberto Roberto, none of these drugs are 'cures', all they do is slow down how quickly the person gets worse. In my father's case, removing them did make him get worse quicker, sometimes you can see the change almost straight away, but it depends how bad they are, there does come a point when they really arent doing any good, you'll have to judge for yourself if he has got worse or not since the memantine stopped.  SignatureTumbleweed email replies not necessary but to contact use; tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com > My father is 78 years old and since 1998 he is been suffering from > Alzheimer desease, that started up in a kind of "mild" way. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Roberto Roberto, I can only speak from one experience, that of my mother in law, who passed away last April. When we discontinued her Aricept for a short time, the effect was noticeable and immediate. When we started it up again a week later, the change for the better was also noticeable and immediate. I have heard of situations where the person is so far along in their illness that these drugs are no longer of any use, but then again I have also heard of studies that showed they improved even in late stages when these kinds of drugs were started late. The only thing you can do is try and observe carefully if your father seems more confused or disoriented when the medication is stopped. If that is the case, you know they are still of value to him and it will be worth your while to obtain them yourself. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') Roberto, you don't mention what stage of the illness your father is at. I ask, because there is more to lose if your father is quite functional, as opposed to very impaired. With my mother in law, I know there was a point in her illness where slowing down the progress would not necessarily have been a kindness. However, earlier on, when she was still herself and still had some quality of life, yes, continuing any therapy that might preserve function would have been worth while. M. Roberto, you don't mention what stage of the illness your father is at. I ask, because there is more to lose if your father is quite functional, as opposed to very impaired. With my mother in law, I know there was a point in her illness where slowing down the progress would not necessarily have been a kindness. However, earlier on, when she was still herself and still had some quality of life, yes, continuing any therapy that might preserve function would have been worth while. M. >From my most recent experience of finding out my Mum had been withdrawn from Aricept in July with no information about this given to us as a family, I would have liked to be given the chance of continuing the medication even if I had had to pay for it.I have seen a large decline in my Mums cognitive awareness in the last couple of months and felt it was rather quick.So could it have been from being taken off the Aricept.I will never know now. |
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