<p>About a year ago my 87 y/o mil started spending the bulk of the day resting in bed. She complained of being tired and having sore feet. She is now weak, unable to follow conversations (has some hearing loss) and declining. OTOH, she knows what day it is, who people are and everyday stuff like where her keys can be found. She has hypothyroidism and pulmonary fibrosis and hasn’t been compliant with medications. She has quit doing the things she enjoyed like reading and playing piano because she says she is tired and talks about death frequently. I think she is depressed.</p>
<p>A neurologist did a mini mental status exam, which she passed, but based on MRI feels she would benefit from Aricept. I have only heard of bad stories with this drug and would be interested in hearing your stories. I searched the forums and read a few things. She is now a bit better with taking her levothyroxine and advair but is not in a normal range yet.</p>
<p>You have brought up several issues, busyparent. First, she is noncompliant with meds. Aricept can be helpful in slowing the course of memory/cognitive impairment, but it needs to be taken consistently. Its usually started at a low dose and titrated up after a week or so to minimize side effects (to help the paitent tolerate the med). Typical complaint is GI distress, so if she is prone to stomach or bowel issues, she may not tolerate it well.
Also, you mentioned tyreoid issues. Many of the symptome you describe can be due to hypothyroidism (fatigue, depression, cognitive impairment, pain),. She should also be checked for low B-12 (and other vitamin deficiencies) and if she hsasnt already been checked, for diabetes (which could cause peripheral neuropathy, but the patient might complain of “sore feet”). Does she live with you? Can you get her more compliant with her meds? Will bet some of these sx will improve when she is euthyroid. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks jym.
She doesn’t live with us now but I have made that offer. She has a caregiver who is there at her house for 4 hours in the morning and her kids stop by in the evenings so she is being ‘forced’ to take the meds. She has been checked for diabetes and serum glucose is WNL but I am not sure about the vit B.</p>
<p>One reason I think depression versus dementia–my grandmother used to read the same magazing over and over because she forgot she had read it. My mil just one day decided she didn’t read anymore and stopped. Same with music which she used to enjoy.</p>
<p>She has a very sensitive GI system which concerns me re: Aricept. I think she should hold off on the Aricpt for a couple of months and get to a euthyroid state and reassess.</p>
<p>My stepmother took Aricept for 4 years. One day she started getting uncontrollable diarrhea. After colonoscopy and various other tests, the Aricept was discontinued and the diarrhea stopped immediately. In the subsequent 3 years she’s lost a lot of cognitive function but she’s almost 93 now so it’s hard to know whether the Aricept was helping and is no longer helping, or if it’s just a function of her adancing age.</p>
<p>For those who cant tolerate Aricept, there is a similar medication (exelon) that is available as a daily patch. You have to be careful that they only use one patch at a time, to avoid incorrect dosing.</p>
<p>Both my parents take Aricept. The only issue I know is the GI problems which neither of my parents have. I agree with jym, it should not be used for a sudden onset of symptoms. It is an Alzheimer’s medication and not useful for other kinds of dementia. I personally don’t think it’s useful for most with Alzheimer’s. I doubt it will hurt your mother in law. </p>
<p>My mother (now deceased) was on both aricept and namenda for Alzheimer’s. As others have mentioned, these medications do not reverse the cognitive decline, but only VERY slightly delay the rate of further decline. At the time my mom was on them in the U.S., I read that they were not used in England because they were considered to be of such slight effectiveness when weighed against cost and side effects.
This is a tough situation to deal with, no doubt about it. Your MIL is blessed to have caring family.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. I think the kids have decided to hold off own the Aricept and get her thyroid corrected and reassess. She is indeed lucky because all four of her kids live near her and are involved.</p>