June, trust your gut feeling!
Gwen

I haven't posted for awhile.  Things have been pretty much status quo for
quite awhile.   Then I went on vacation.   While I was in Scotland Mom
developed a urinary tract infection.   My brother was called and he called
me on my cell.   It seems Mom had all the symptoms and definitely was in
need of shower.  The nurse at the assisted living facility where Mom lives
is really helpful.   Since Mom is in independent assisted living we are
responsible for getting her to the doctor.   Maria, the nurse, told my
brother to get her to the doctor for evaluation.  Which he did.   She also
told Mom to take a shower which she did.   I was amazed that she could so
easily get Mom to bathe!
Anyway the doctor prescribed this Exelon patch as well as antibiotics.   I
think if I had been here she would not  have been prescribed the patch.   My
understanding is that it's for Alzheimer's dementia and not vascular
dementia which is what I believe Mom has.   The 15th anniversary of Mom's
diagnosis of dementia will be next month.
I would be interested in feedback on this Exelon patch.   I did request that
it be stopped because of the side effects and Mom still seems to have the
urinary tract  infection.  Maria also believes that the patch is not in
Mom's best interest and we sent in another urine sample to tested for a
specific infection.
Maria told me that another long time resident came back with this patch
after a visit to the same clinic.  Hmmmmm ........June

June, if your mom seems better, more cognizant without the patch, then by
all means don't use it.   I believe that we need to be good observers of our
loved ones, and think for them as an advocate.    You are the closest one to
observe your mom on an everyday basis.   The doctor only sees her for a few
minutes.   You are probably the best one to decide.

Update....Mom has such an adverse reaction to the patch.   The assisted
living nurse called last night and said that Mom should go to the emergency
room so I took her.   After several tests everything seemed to be fine but
she can hardly stand up or walk without a great deal of assistance and she
has had a lot of nausea.   I got her up this morning and got her dressed but
she only wanted to lay down.   If she doesn't get better in the next few
days we may have to put her in the NH part of the facility.  She has to be
able to walk down to the dining room for meals to be able to stay in
independent assisted living.  Last Saturday she was fine, playing cards and
generally being herself then Sunday she really started getting weaker and
weaker.   Mentally she seems the same.   I thought maybe a stroke but
there's no sign of one.   The emergency room doc surmised it was the Exelon
Patch.
Has anyone heard of this reaction?   It seems so drastic for just a few days
of the patch but there doesn't seem to be any other explanation......June

Dad has had many UTIs that have sometimes been so bad as to make me think he
had a stroke; i.e., VERY, VERY confused. Dad was also on the Exelon patch
and Namenda (Dad's psychiatrist said Exelon and Namenda are almost always
used together). Both drugs are very expensive even under Medicare part D,
and I didn't see that Dad was getting much benefit from either. Eventually
Dad's primary physician felt he was taking too many medications, some
without noticeable benefit, and so took him off the Exelon and Namenda.

As to your mother, I agree with what some others have said: go with your gut
feeling. If she is sick due to the Exelon then her quality of life is likely
diminished regardless of any positive effect. As Dad's primary doctor tells
me, with every drug there is a trade off between positive and negative
effects. The good must outweigh the bad for the drug to be the right choice.

David