There are 114 ratings for the drug: ARICEPT in the Askapatient database.

Key to ratings for aricept: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

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Rating	Reason	Side Effects	Comments	Sex	Age	Time Taken		Date Added
				F  M
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1	mild forgetfulness ?	Really MADE me feel crazy and my head felt big--	Would want a situation where I did not know I was taking it to repeat this experience! Terrible feeling.	F	69	12 days		2/5/2010
2	some memory loss	insomnia and nightmares,	I do have parkinson and hypertion	M	65			2/3/2010
1				F	79	3 years		1/22/2010
3	Memory Loss due to Head Injuries	-Very- vivid dreams. No nausea or vomiting.	Greetings. I'm a 33 yr old man, in great shape, but have suffered a number of head injuries in the past due to my occupation, military background and sports. I am suffering from memory loss, which seems to get progressively worse every year. My neurologist gave me some Aricept, and I took my first dose last night. I did not suffer any nausea or vomiting, although I did have -very- vivid dreams. This was not mentioned in the side effects; they were not nightmares, and I was aware that I was dreaming, but they were usually vivid, and seemed to last the entire night. Hope that this helps. Regards, - J	M	33	1 days		12/30/2009
5	Vascular Dementia	nausea,bloating,confusion,heartburns. all of which subsides after 2 weeks on the drug.	Aricept is a wonder drug! a true life saver for my grandmother. My grandmother was a complete wreck and started to deteriorate rapidly after having 5 strokes. her doctor diagnosed her with vascular dementia and prescribe aricept + namenda along with her daily drug regimen (aspirin,plavix,benicar,tekturna,crestor,zetia,lexapro,lamictal,soriatane). now she's absolutely couldn't be better,she's functions well with us and remember every little detail. I would recommend aricept and namenda to anyone who suffers from vascular dementia!	F	75	1 years		12/19/2009
1	Dementia	This medication was prescribed to my 81 year old mother who had, had 2 previous strokes. She has slight dementia and when she went to a follow up appointment with a neurologist/phyc. he prescribed her Aricept after talking to for a few minutes. After 3 weeks of taking this medication, I found her on the floor lying like a snow angel and she did not even seem to care.	I think that this is a dangerous medication. My mother like a lot of others mentioned above has incontenence, dhiarea, cannot walk on her own and is very hypersensative, sleeps alot during the day, tries to get up during the night to use the toilet and does not and soils herself. When we try to get her up to walk everything aches. This drug may help some people but from the responses that I have read here most of them have been negative. This has been a nightmare for my mother and whole family. Our family doctor told us 2 weeks ago to get our mother off of this drug. She has shown a little improvement but still is not the mother I knew before taking this drug. I feel that this drug is very dangerous especially to the elderly and should be taken off the market. We are praying everyday that my mother gets back to the life she once had.	F	81	3 years		12/8/2009
1	My 81 year old father	For early Alzheimers.Only on it for 2 weeks, became extremely depressed and lethargic and then doctor doubled dose and it was even worse. Affected his speech, thinking, sleeping.	I don't think this medicine helped my father at all. If anything, it made him worse. His speech became slurred and he wasn't even able to make words. His blood pressure skyrocketed and he had never had a issue with high blood pressure. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone living alone because he wasn't even able to tell us how he was feeling. Luckily a family member checks on him several times a day and he was treated at the hospital but the side effects have left him feeling ill and severely depressed. I understand that his alzheimers will progress but this medicine turned his life into a nightmare after only taking it for a week. I think the physicians need more education on what to watch for in their patients. The warnings with the prescription don't tell enough.	M	81	3 weeks		12/7/2009 Email
4	Alzheimers	Am writing on behalf of my father who was diagnosed with Alzheimers in January 2005. He had been having memory loss problems for a while before being diagnosed and we suspected he may have it for a while before being diagnosed, but he put it down to stopping work as he had been self-employed and used to being busy. He started withdrawing from life as he knew it, refusing to go out, not wanting to converse or socialize with anyone, including his own family. He seemed to be in a depression and had no real interest in life any longer.	He was started on Aricept 5mg increased to 10mg after a year. We saw an immediate change FOR THE BETTER in him. He regained all his prior interests in life, was far more chatty and happy in himself than he'd been for a very long while. It was as if he'd been lifted out of himself and we were extremely pleased with the good result of this drug. He's just been to the memory clinic for his 6-monthly check up and he didn't score very well, so they now want to withdraw it as they say it isn't doing any good, but we don't want it to be stopped. He went into permanent residential care last month. We lost my mum last year and I was his carer until then. We decided to put him into care because he's no longer safe in his own home (for a variety of reasons, all linked to his Alz). At the care home he helps do simple chores and at my house he still peels vegetables and can make a drink for himself, with step-by-step instructions. We're really afraid that if he comes off Aricept he'll lose what precious little skills he has left, so we're fighting to keep him on it. We live in the UK and it's paid for by our National Health Service and is therefore free to him but I know it is an expensive drug. He isn't on any other medication as he has excellent health in every other way. We believe that everything my father can still do is thanks to Aricept and personally I would advise anybody to try it. I know it isn't for everyone, but it has definitely worked for him.	M	79	4 years		11/30/2009
1	My father is for slight memory loss	My father is having loose stools, he's acting childish, nightmares at night, sleeping during the day, begging to be taken off this drug.	My father was just experiencing some memory loss and repeating a lot of stories. Doctor put him on Aricept about two months ago..5mg, now 10mg. I had not seen him in a month, just had Mom telling me what was going on. I saw him today.....not my normal Dad. Something crazy has happened. He's acting like a child, etc. I just read things posted here....and I'm very upset. My mother-in-law was put on this and she went crazy. I made the doctor take her off, because I couldn't handle her. Now, I see what my dad is like in just this short of a time. I called Mom and told her what I've read....it fits what he's acting like. We have to take him off it and hope it hasn't done damage. I am very upset tonight. We were trying to find out if this stuff can be quit "cold turkey" or not.	M	80	2 months		11/13/2009 Email
2	Memory loss	My mother, who is on a bunch of other thyroid and blood pressure drugs, tends to develop total anxiety breakdowns within 4-5 hours of each daily dosage. Many of similar symptoms reported for other patients here. Drop in blood pressure, shaky hands, total loss of situational awareness, distortion of reality, loss of rational thinking, repeated past fears, confusion of past and present, self destructive behavior, etc...When a dosage is skipped, a normal thinking and behavioral pattern is restored. Cant' say if the drug is ineffective or if it interacts with other prescriptions. I am surprised that doctors were so quick to prescribed to someone who has what appears to be "normal" memory loss for her age (84). There does not appear to be any improvement in memory recall. A definite no-no.		F	84	60 days		11/12/2009 Email
3	vascular dementia	Writing for my mother. She was diagnosed with vasccular demential. Been on 10 mg aricept for about a year. Saw some improvement in memory in the beginning after we got past the initial "break in period".	In recents months she's had horrible diariah, terrible weight loss. My sister said Mom looks like she's starving to death. She eats well when we go out however so maybe it's that she doesn't like to cook any more. Mom does however confuse my sister with her own Mom who died over 20 years ago, and constantly refers to her mother as though she's had recent conversation with her. That started with the Aricept. Her disposition has not gotten violent like some comments on here, but in general she's more negative than before and it's hard to get her motivated to do anything. She sleeps more than she used to, in the middle of the day even. But all the comments I see the severe side effects started right away. Her's are all coming on slowly. I can't tell if it is just the general aging process continuing to progress or if the drug is just taking longer to do it's bad things. Her memory, once improved on the drug seems no better and no worse than it was when we started. But of course, there's always the fear to taking her off the drug and finding out it really was helping... If anyone has experience with symptoms 'creeping up' rather than so immediate, can you please respond to my email address?	F	84	1 years		11/2/2009 Email
1	memory loss (old age)	Delusions,Confusion,Fatigue,Panic Attacks	My mother started to image shadows of a male head w/ eyeglasses watching her and hearing "clicks" as if someone was photographing her. Needless to say what she is seeing are floaters and flashing lights; an effect to the YAG laser eye surgery she had about the same time she starting taking the Aricept. This is an alarming "head trip" drug. This is her 1st day off Aricept. Does anyone have any experience with the delusions stopping after the discontinuation of Aricept?	F	73	18 days		10/26/2009 Email
1	Short Term Memory Loss	Delusional dreams, anxiety, tiredness	Took a low dosage for only four days	F	88	4 days		10/23/2009
1	Alzheimers	horrible diarhhea, difficulty verbalizing, interupted sleep and loss of appetite, memory seems far worse	my brother is 60 yrs old. He was dx at age 56 and placed on Namenda. dosage was slowly increased until he reached 10mg bid and has done quite well. Since starting the Airicept he has shown a rapid decline. The stomach upsets have been horrible for him. He is not his smiling self and is happiest when isolated in his room. I have stopped this killer med and will never give him another dose of it. I do not understand why this drug is still on the market.	M	60	10 days		10/15/2009
1	my father did; 88 years old	He was prescribed aricept to manage Alzeimer's. He died by gasping for air (he could not breath; he died in my hands taking a breath every 10 seconds until he stopped breathing).	My father was not in great shape but we had no reason to expect him to die. When he started taking aricept, he also started sleeping more. After one week we rushed him to the hospital because he could not breath. There he recovered soon (now I imagine because Aricept was stopped). We brought him back and he started aricept again following the doctor's orders. He died after a week. My father always had low blood pressure, and I would imagine bradycardia as well. I am afraid that aricept stopped his heart from beating (possibly by increasing the levels of acetylcholine). If only I had checked earlier the side effects of this drug on the internet.	F	88	2 weeks		10/15/2009
1	BY AGE WITHOUT A REASON	Difficulty breathing, moving and talking, tightness in the chest, confusion, unusual tiredness and sluggishness, irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, lost of appetite and weight, swelling of the hands.	My mother was recovering from a hip surgery at Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brooklyn, NY. Her observing doctor at the center had prescribed this drug without any reason or concern. My mother has never suffered from Dementia or any stage of Alzheimer disease. We were completely unaware of the fact she was taking Aricept until all physical and mental changes had appeared and I had researched it on-line. This drug is VERY DANGEROUS and families should be advised on all possible issues. It is 1 week now she is off the medication but we still can't see the improvement in her.	F	91	4 weeks		10/13/2009 Email
1	Dementia	My mother has Dementia and the side effects were scary. I asked the her doctor what would be good for her loss of memory and how she was acting up. Doctor gave Aricept and after three days I saw she was acting worse. She was going around in circles with her wheelchair and complaining more about everything. Nighttime was the worst. I was unhappy with this drug and I took her off. On the day she did not receive the dose, she is clear headed and can talk, walk and more like herself. I threw them in the trash. She won't be taking it again ever.	I heard this medication would help the effects of Dementia. On TV, it is advertised as something great. They show that the patient regains their momentum in life again. These drugs are a lie and the poor old people are guinea pigs for the doctors. It is all about profit for Pharmaceutical companies and government. Beware and protect your elderly parents or relatives.	F	82	3 days		10/10/2009
1	My dad was taking for memory loss.	He had horrible nightmares the first two nights and stopped taking it. His doctor told him to continue taking it,so he tried taking again, this time in the day. He still had the scary nightmares when he took his nap. He says his stools are black. I don't feel it is safe for someone 88 to take this drug. I am surprised his Doctor told him to stay on it.	Thanks for all the comments that helped me realize that we are not crazy for questioning the use of this drug.	M	88	4 days		10/3/2009
1	Vascular Dementia	Stopped talking, walking, always mumbling...panicky, doesn't recognise family, herself. Can't walk, can't sleep in bed...almost all day and night in wheel chair.	This is about my mother. My mom who has Vascular Dementia had major stroke last week. Immediately after the EVENT, she talks, walks...but confused due to inability to see, sudden vision loss/blurring. The first 3 days in hospital, she was put on sedatives, and done CT brain, MRI/MRV/MRA, etc. She began to regain herself/mind. A friend of mine told me about his dad's use of Aricept for AD. I asked our doc to give it to mum, and ever since, now like 4 days, she stopped talking, droopy feeling and looking all times. We have to carry her to toilet...every half hour. Force meds into her mouth..and perhaps most distressing is that she doesn't NOT recognise any of us, her kids, or herself!!	F	79	4 days		10/2/2009 Email
1	my mother in law age 80 alzheimers	Very unplesant experience for us her care givers. She was hyperactive,demanding to go to ER though when questioned she gave no symptoms (eg pain, shortness of breath, headche, or anything] that would warrant a 4 or 5 hr wait to be seen there .	the aricept gave her an edge & attitude that made her terribly unpleasant to be around causing family members to just absent themselves. She didnt converse rationally, no recollection of her past, just a bitter unpleasant side emerged. Who needed this i stopped giving her the stuff rather have her wacky & pleasant then fighting a war with me!	F	80	365 days		9/17/2009
1	My mother taking for dementia	After just 2 doses my Mom became very anxious, unable to walk in a straight line, had no appetite. Took her off of the drug after 1 week and she seemed to return to her "normal" state which was much better than the Aricept induced state.	I have nothing good to say about this drug. It made my Mom worse and it was very scary to see the side effects. She also has osteoporosis, so the stumbling around really concerned me. I woul not recommend this drug to anyone.	F	78	7 days		9/8/2009 Email
1	short term memory loss (age related	Loss of balance, vomitting, diarrhea, abdominal upset, hallucinations, worsening of memory, weakened muscles, dehydration requiring 4 days in an intensive care unit and 2 more days in a step-down unit. She must now have 24 hour/day care and she was independently living before taking aricept!!!	This can be a very dangerous medication. The side effects almost caused my mother's death. She is 86 years old. We're lucky she's alive; however, she hasn't fully recovered her balance, memory, or quality of life she had 2 weeks ago.	F	86	8 days		8/22/2009
1	severe dementia/possible alzheimers	worsened memory, severe depression, anxiety, paranoia, extreme mood swings, anger, violent outbursts, slapping/shoving, incontinence, threatening to "run away", accusing family of stealing, says she wants to die.	My 88 year old mother has suffered from dementia for many years. She was recently put on Aricept. Within a couple days she went from confused and suffering mild depression to having outbursts of anger, threatening to leave, thinking everyone hated her, hitting family members ... making everyone absolutely miserable. She didn't draw a happy breath. Everything was doom and gloom and she voiced serious suicidal thoughts. Cried continuously and made outrageous accusations. Would walk into a room (sometimes waking a family member up from a sound sleep)and say, "Why do you hate me?" Ran out of medication due to pharmacy mix up. Within days she was better. Refilled medication 5 days ago and put her back on it. All symptoms have returned - even worse now. After reading these other comments - she has taken her last pill!	F	88	2 months		8/19/2009 Email
4	my mother for Alzheimers	some diarrhea	My Mom is 87 and was diagnosed with "early Alzheimers" in 1995. They told us the average lifespan was 7 years. This is 2009 and altho she has declined, she still plays the piano and has a happy personality. I credit Aricept for this, as she's been on it 12 years.	F	87	12 years		8/7/2009
2	Mild Alzheimer's w/ memory loss.	My 67-year-old husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's on PET/CT scan. He was prescribed 5 mg. Aricept. After only 4 days, he developed depression, agitation, nervousness, diarrhea, nightmares w/ talking in sleep and loss of appetite. He had been doing well without these symptoms and only very mild short-term memory loss. His primary-care doctor said that if the side effects of Aricept were making him so upset and unable to eat normally that he should discontinue it immediately. We have just discontinued it and are praying that he returns to his "old self" with just the mild memory loss.	Our physician said Aricept is NOT for everyone and all you can do is try it and see if it works for you. His opinion was that if didn't work for you or you didn't like and couldn't tolerate the side effects that you should stop it immediately and dispose of it. We have. This Aricept prescription and resultant side effects occurred in July 2009.	M	67	4 days		8/1/2009
1	Mild Alzheimers	Totally out of my mind, Kept looking for my deceased Mother and Father, confusion, Thought I was going crazy, couldn't think clearly, anxiety, hallucinaltions, personality change.	I am writing this for my 85yr old mother. She had just taken it for 2 days and it totally changed her personality...it's like she was in a fog and we were so scared. She kept looking for her mother and father. Her memory is not great but after taking this for just 2 days her memory was gone...at this rate I am sure she would not be with us for much longer. She is no longer taking this drug. It should be taken off of the market. Stay away from this drug.	F	85	2 days		7/25/2009 Email
1	memory loss - mild confusion	Loss of affect, personality disorders, deep drepressive spells. Loss of ability to turn on the TV and use most appliances. Loss of sense of smell. Incontenence. Diarrhea. Major loss of appetite. Lost Weight from 130 to 105, in three months lost all desire to eat now frail and unstable, & need a walker. Loss of joy and ability to have hope for the future. After taking Aricept I felt impending doom. I was just waiting to die. Felt horrible. It worsened my memory. Took away my ability to take care of myself. It is the worst drug ever taken in 81 years. Thank God I got off it after three months despite objections from Doctor that "You can't go back on it". I NEVER want to go back on it. My kids say I have improved significantly in the 2+ weeks since I stopped after 3 months on. It was the worst three months of my life. I can't explain how subtley it creeps up on your mind and steals your higher ability to think of feel. I was a walking dead. My kids will attest. I	Additional studies need to be done on the severe side effects I experienced. It was nearly fatal. I wanted to die. Thank God my daughter took it away. She read all the warnings. My doctor recommended keeping me on it, but thank God my daughter has a stron spirit. She saved me and I have to write this in response to getting my life back. Even if I only have one day. I now have hope in the morning when I pray. On Aricept, I couldn't remember to pray. I got so confused and angry that I prayed evey day that an angel of mercy would come and take me away from my confusion and frustration. I wouldn't have lived more than a few more weeks on Aricept. I know that. I am strong and I can face this memory loss by writing things down and using a calendar. On Aricept I couldn't remember what to write. I was as good as a walking dead person. I give thanks we got off that evil drug. Be warned. It can be a wicked drug.	F	82	100 days		7/24/2009
2	My father	Delusions: he imagines masses of people walking aound. Then he realizes that it is not real.	Possibly muscle pain and weakness, unstable walk. He did not have these symptoms before Aricept.	M	93	2 years		7/19/2009
1	Short Term memory imparement	No problem with the 5mg sample but my first prescription was for 10mg. I suffered extreme stomach burning which felt somewhat like "acid stomach" but much more painful. I stopped after taking 2 pills.		F	79	32 days		7/7/2009
1	mild dementia	5 mg Aricept was prescribed for one month, and 93-year-old nursing home resident's decline began, but initially not too dramatically. But when dosage was raised to 10 mg, things went downhill fast. Within three weeks was no longer talking, almost entirely stopped eating, lost weight fast, weak, refusing medicines, couldn't recognize family or say names, fell down (luckily no fractures) was in a wheelchair and recommended for hospice care. After witnessing such a sudden death spiral and the only difference in medications being Aricept, family asked doctor to stop Aricept entirely. 10 mg Aricept was stopped after 22 days use (dosage was cut back to 5 mg for four days additional days before complete elimination). Within a week of being off Aricept, thankfully, patient has begun recuperating appetitie, recognizing family members again, asking questions, talking and regaining strength and personality.	Instead of making things better, Aricept made condition much worse and was part and parcel of scary death spiral which hopefully is being reversed in time. Be vary wary of this drug, to say the least. Do not recommend. Stay away from it, if at all possible.	F	93	45 days		6/19/2009
1	Dr. prescribed	I have awful nausea and want to sleep all the time.	I am in a research study and have slipped somewhat in recent testing. They referred me to my Dr. and he has prescribed 5 mg. of Aricept. Taking it for 2 weeks and have awful nausea and want to sleep all the time. I live alone and still active and drive. I want to continue with my life as it is. I will discontinue taking Aricept. If my family or myself find adverse problems with me living alone, then we will have to deal with it. I can't stand the nausea.	F	82	2 weeks		6/16/2009
1	Alzheimer's Disease	fainting, starvation, bedridden, incontinance, confusion, depression, aggitation,	Diagnosed with Alzheimers, my aunt began Aricept 5mg. After two weeks on this drug she fainted and was eating less. Once admitted to hospital they found her sodium to be low. She was there one week and became completely bedridden, incontinent, extrememly confused, and very depressed. Sent to rehab to get her strength back we realized our neighbor who was taking Aricept 10mg had lost 85 pounds very quickly and was declining in health also. We demanded she be taken off Aricept immediately which for some reason didn't happen for another week or so. By then the damage was done. She lost 15 pounds, refused to eat more than one bite of food at each meal, refused to get out of bed, repeated things over and over, was rude to all who tried to help, became incontinant, had bizarre behavior like peeing in her denture cup or in dixie cups left on her bedside table. She had zero strength. Near death we began to gather family and get things in order. Slowly slowly she began to improve. Learning to walk has been a huge struggle, she is eating great now, seems to be back to her old self other than still depressed alot at night. Most of which is sundowners. I have no doubt this drug is DANGEROUS AND I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER give it to anyone!!!!	F	90	2 weeks		6/2/2009 Email
1	Mom took 5 mg aricpet	Nausea, dizzyness, walking off balance, extremely tired,could not eat good substantial meals,then ate next to nothing for a week. Doc kept saying the side effects would go away but did not. Mom just slept and kept asking what is happenning to my memory,am I nuts. She also had horrible nightmares and would not go the the Senior Day Care as she had been doing for 3 days a week for at least 9 months.	My Mom diagnosed with Dementia has been on Namenda for about 2 yrs which has been helpful. Doc decided to add 5 MG of Aricept and after 16 days turned out to be disaster. I planned to have live-in care giver but because of her decline from the aricept we placed her in assisted living for her to recoop. I hope the aricept did not trigger permanent decline. I am soooo sad to see the change. I am praying she at least gets nback to the way she was when she was just on the Namenda.	F	85	16 days		5/30/2009
1	my mother for alzheimers	Filling this out for my deceased mother, She died of starvation.	It wasnt until after she died that I found out about this side effect. Aricept lists it as "possible loss of appetite". In actual fact patients starve themselves to death while taking it. I know of two other people this happened to. There is research showing increasing rates of suicide among the elderly, preferred method of suicide according to this research is starving themselves to death. I would like to know how many of these "suicides" were on aricept. It is a very dangerous drug and should not be given to anyone.	F	89	90 days		5/26/2009
1	Vascular dementia	My mother suffered a series of vivid dreams, hallucinations and confusion after just 3 days at 5mg.	Perhaps the delusions would have lessened with time and some benefit been derived. But the initial experience was so upsetting that her doctor and I agreed to stop this meds immediately and permanently.	F	85	3 days		5/25/2009
1	dementia	in 2 weeks started having insomnia and panic attacks. Had 1 faiting spell.	Monitor side effects very closely	M	86	2 weeks		5/3/2009
1	dimentia	My 93 year old mother is in a nursing home and was prescribed Aricept because she was having severe memory loss. After only a few days we started to see a change in her. Before the medication she was happy, peaceful and pleasant with everyone. She loved all her caregivers at the home. She has been taking the medication for about 3 weeks and she is very anxious and this has escalated to being beligerent, angry, confused...she insisted the lady in the room with her was a man. Calls my sister and yells at her. Hates all her caregivers and gives them a hard time. Says she wants to die. The doctors say it is not the medication and that she is very depressed. After reading all your comments I am convinced we were right. This medication is making her crazy!		F	93	3 weeks		4/28/2009
1	My mom for early Alzheimers	After 2 doses - she began to become very confused. I took her to the emergency room at the advice of her doctor. My brother and I watched as over a 4 hour period she basically traveled into full blown dimentia - she didn't know my children's names - who she lives with - eventially getting to a point where she didn't know where she lived (with me for 8 months), what year it was, or what size she was ( she said "8", which would have been right 2 years prior, but now she is a size 2) Nothing that was said to me as the medicine was prescibed would ever have indicated this kind of reaction. The emergency room staff ran every test imaginable. There was nothing that could account for the sudden and serious memory loss except the introduction of aricept. 24 hours later - having skipped this morning's dose, I am slowly getting my mother back - this was very frightening and I think it should be listed as a posslible - though perhaps rare - side effect.		F	78	2 days		4/25/2009
4	Mother has Alzheimer's Disease	Occasional dizziness and 'thick head'in the first few weeks of taking it.	We've had a very difficult few months since Mum stopped being able to cope living alone. Short-term memory gone; various cognitive and perceptual confusions; very insecure and anxious, with panic attacks etc. Alzheimer's eventually diagnosed and Aricept prescribed. I had a lot of misgivings and concerns about her starting it after reading other people's reports and side effects on this and other sites. However so far, after 2 months, the improvement has been fantastic! I noticed an almost immediate improvement starting in some memory function after 2-3 days on the 5mgs dose, and now after the first month on the 10mgs dose, further improvement again, beyond my best hopes; Mum is managing at home again, with carer visits; remembering much more information and events etc, more reliable congitive functioning in all ways, and best of all, her anxiety state has gone, and she is confidently Spring cleaning after being able to do/initiate very little just a month or so ago! Possibly current energy and activity is a bit 'over the top' relative to Mum's 'normal', and of course we don't know for sure what the coming weeks and moths will bring. But for now, I'm delighted with Aricept. I clearly doesn't help everyone, but it certainly helps some, so don't rule it out prematurely. Good luck!	F	83	9 weeks		4/20/2009
1	Alzheimer's	My mother was diagnosed with Alheimer's soon after a poor recovery from knee replacement surgery. The diagnosis was early stage and mild and immediately put on Aricept. In my opinion, that's when the decline began rapidly. My mother died last August after a two week severe decline. Sleeping most of 24 hrs of a day. Believing that dehydration was making her so sick in the last week, she was taken to the ER. She had developed ulcers of the esophagus and seriously in the stomach. She had never had any ulcer or stomach problems in her life. She developed sepsis and died. I strongly believe that the side effect of ulcers was not monitered closely. Beware. If you are on this drug or if you are family of a patient please, please have side effect checked.		F				4/20/2009 Email
2	Mother has dementia	Symptoms of memory loss improved at first (maybe) but noticeably worsened after 10 mos of daily use	Accidentally ran out and now seems much better Will see how long this lasts	F	84	12 months		4/13/2009
1	dimentia	lethargic, loss of appetite, depression,	My mom was diagnosed with dimentia in December 2008. Dr. put her on Aricept. In February, she couldn't seem to get out of bed or stay awake for very long. Went to hospital twice to find out what was wrong, everything was fine, although they were quite concerned and kept running tests. By March, she was sleeping most of the day, when awake she would just lay on couch hoping to die. Had a deathly gray pallor and we were not sure she was going to make it very long. Found this site and decided it wouldn't hurt to take her off and see how she did. Within 3 days she was on the road to recovery, alert, awake and rearing to go.	F	74	3 months		4/5/2009 Email
1	Father taking it for dementia	Father is 94 After 3 week confusion, imagining things, seeing people, trying to move thigs, leaning to the left side, legs being week. Not resting at all. This drug is bad. This drug is more harm than good.	took him off for 2 days, back to himself.	M	94	3 weeks		3/27/2009
5		Slowly dreaming less and less and came to the point that I could not remember if I had any dreams at all. I did not notice any extensive memory loss although my wife was always making remarks about my memory.	My family has had several cases of Alzheimer, including my father (d. age 80) 2 first cousins (d. age 80, d. age 63) 2 first cousins suffering with Alzheimer (age 79 and age 83). I mentioned my symptoms to my doctor and asked about Aricept. He said he did not believe it would harm me to try Aricept, that has been 4 years now. No side effects. Dreams returned and are very vivid and very detailed. I do retain memories of the dreams. I am very active mentally. I maintain 3 Internet Web Sites and do extensive Genealogy research. Have not noticed any more extensive losses of memory, no more than any other acquaintances of my age.	M	73	4 years		3/24/2009 Email
1	dementia	lethargy, disoriented, dehydration,mental confusion worsen,depression,always complaining of not feeling good, legs hurt, stomach problems, difficulty walking, a loss of balance, leaning to side or backwards, difficulty swallowing	My mother is 79 years old and since she has been on this medication she sleeps all the time, she is more confused,depressed. Her legs hurt she has problems walking and leans to one side or backwards. She falls a lot. She recently had back surgey and is in a nursing home for rehab. She was getting worse instead of better. I decided to go online and check out side effects of aricept when I found this page. I could not believe how many people were having the same side effects as my mother. She is being whinned off this awful drug. This should be taken off the market. This is an awful drug. Don't let your love ones take this medication.	F	79	1 years		3/24/2009 Email
5	For short term memory	None	My Doctor precribed Aricept when I mentioned short term memory problems. It is wonderful, my memory is much better and I really feel like my old self. My anxiety is much lower, balance is better, can recall many memories that I thought were lost. Am enjoying life again.	F	72	4 months		2/21/2009 Email
1	Dementia	Frequent diarrhea,lethargy,disorientation,dehydration, and hypopthermia	Hi,Am writing for my elderly/frail mother,who's experienced a declining prognosis for dementia since April-2008. Her fam. GP immed. prescribed Aricept,w/o considering her age/frailness.The latter also due to chronic diarrhea and IBS. Soon after starting Aricept,she lost more weight,no desire to eat/drink,and difficulty swallowing. Wife/I have been home-caring my mother and closely documenting all changes since June-2008. Eventually,she had to be fed, couldn't walk (even w. assist),incontinence reaching unbearable levels. Mom was hosp. after Xmas-2008 for hypothermia (body temp. only 91 F),irreg. heartbeat, low BP, etc. She got a pacemaker and then rallied a short time,entering rehab. for 3 wks. On Feb-1-2009, same sequence again commenced. Mother seemed to be at death's door, the hosp,arranging Hospice Care upon arr. home. A staff doctor at the hosp. stopped adm. Aricept after noting the hypothermia. Two weeks later, my mother is chatting normally,full appetite returned,cognizant again	F	87	9 months		2/19/2009 Email
1	dementia	hallucinations, confusion, frantic/anxious, "my brain is all messed up!", doesn't recognize/remember daughter(s)or their name(s)	Replying for our mother. Claims to speak w/deceased siblings & mother. Sees strange things (eg, people in the tree of the house next door; claims "people" move/take her things,'took the TV from her room' (she's never had one in her room). Thinks things happen but when explained to her they did not she still refuses to believe these things did not happen (this only occured only after 4 doses). She will not be receiving any further doses!	F	90	4 days		2/12/2009
1	dementia	Hallucinations, intense confusion, frantic anxiety, "my brain isn't working"	I'm writing this for my mother who experienced these symptoms after 2 weeks on 5mg and 3 weeks on 10mg. The neurologist who had prescribed aricept(after a 15 minute visit with my mom) initially couldn't be bothered with discussing the possibility of my mother's strange behavior being related to the med.His nurse relayed my concerns and his subsequent message back was, "I don't treat those symptoms, take her to a psychiatrist." When I mentioned the problem to a pharmacist, she immediately recognized my mother's aberrant behavior as a possible side effect of aricept and printed up 3 pages of a monograph listing these symptoms. We took my mother off this medicine and she has, in several days, calmed down considerably.	F	89	35 days		1/26/2009
3	vascular dementia	nausea, vomiting	writing for my father. can't tell if it's helped at all, but it may have made him manic - it's like he's unfiltered, he talks about people inappropriately within earshot, he propositions waitresses for sex, hard to tell - he's always been a jerk and overt. We thought it would HELP, but he won't bathe, insists he can drive, his brand new van has dents in every panel. very frustrated that the need for aricept (and now Haldol, since dad says he's going to load up and take a trip up north with record snow storms everywhere) spark with the physicians to PULL his drivers license. People with other issues - seizures can't drive - so why can people on aricept and haldol???	F	45	100 days		1/16/2009
1	memory loss	I'm writing for my Mom who died 3 weeks ago. At age 89 she suddenly developed memory loss and dementia. At first the doctor's assumed she'd had multiple infarcts because she had fallen. She was given language therapy. Two months before her death, she fell again and was rushed to the hospital. She showed no signs of acute stroke and was physically healthy in every way. They sent her home with Aricept for her "confusion." And resperidone for her delirium. She turned into a vegetable in 2 weeks - sleeping 20 hours a day, unable to get out of bed or walk, unable to talk except in very few words. Constant diarrhea. We had just decided to take her off her medications when this happened.	I don't think anyone in their 80s should be given this drug. I would have rather had my Mom confused and alive.	F	89	40 days		1/15/2009
1	Dementia	My Mother has been on this med for 3 months now, and she has turned into a zombie !!! we thought it was the dementia pulling her down, but there were too many things happening to her too fast to simply blame it on the dementia. Couldn't walk without holding onto someone,,muscle aches, sleeping all of the time even at the dinner table,headaches,weak,depression, paranoid, incontinence and is now wearing depends, Too Much Too Fast. Everyone is concerned.	We took my mother off of this Aricept 2 days ago, and we are just hoping that we get part of her back...	F	80	3 months		1/9/2009 Email
1	dementia	I am writting this about my Dad..He has been on ARICEPT for approx. 3-4 months..He has become like a vegetable..total incontinence..cannot walk at all (now in wheelchair)no conversation, muscle aches..lays in bed all day..an exertion..can't catch his breathe..i have instucted his aide to STOP..this has been 5 days ago..i am praying my Dad gets better..to see him like this is so heartbreaking!	I do not think this drug is for older people..maybe somebody in their 50's ..60's......i think the drug is BAD..and should be taken off the market!!!!	M	86	3 months		12/23/2008 Email
1	dementia	This is referring to my 89 year old aunt in a nursing home. She was put on aricept to help her memory. IT IS A HORRIBLE DRUG!!!! Shortly after she began taking it, she started having nightmares, hallucinations, difficulty walking and thought she was losing her mind. She was anxious, parnoid, depressed and nasty!	We had to INSIST the aricept be discontinued. Why can't we just accept that old people forget things? Modern medicine tries to make people young again and many times the cure is worse than the ailment. After fighting with the staff, my aunt stopped taking aricept and returned to being a pleasant, secure, old lady.	F	89	30 days		12/19/2008
1	Dementia	nightmares, daytime hallucinations	My Mom has been on this drug for 5 monthes. Since that time, she began to see strange people in her home doing all kinds of things to her house, hears noises and believes truly people are wallpapering her room, painting and just doing odd things around her house. She sees scary people and is almost immobilzed with fear at times because of what she believes she sees and hears.	F	89	5 months		12/18/2008 Email
1	slight memory loss	Hallucinations, fainting, extreme headaches	My grandmother was given this by her doctor to help with memory loss. She began to have strange hallucinations while awake. She would see trees and a man walking around that she did not know. Also she started having strange vivid dreams. She had a fainting spell and severe headaches. She only took it about five days but stopped because the discomfort was too much.	F	80	5 days		11/19/2008
3	Memory Loss - Chiropractic Stoke	My mom (83)is trying Aricept and I noticed a slight improvement in her alertness and memory in about 3 weeks. She has bad macular degeneration and she started talking about "seeing" strange things like lots of people with bulby noses all dressed alike (she knew they weren't there but couldn't get it out of her head.) She also has been tossing and turning and talking in her sleep. No diarrhea but maybe a little loss of appetite. Always so sweet but gets a little agitated at times lately. I am halfway wanting her to try to keep using it for awhile but after reading all this not so sure. She does seem better but also is having mild side affects I think. She is very concerned (anxious) for lack of a better word what I started calling hallucinations. She isn't confused or out of her mind as she knows it isn't real but afraid she is going to see it again. She is quite frightened. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The doctor wants to add another prescription as a combina		F	64	3 weeks		11/1/2008 Email
1	Memory loss	Doctor prescribed 10 mg and take 1/2 pill at dinner time.Wife is a happy person who never had stomach troubles. After first day of medicine she looked angry and depressed.After the second day of medicine,she looked awful and informed me she had nauseas, vomiting and bad problems with stomach functioning.	I had pleaded her doctor for a medicine to help slow down her memory loss. Dr. prescribed Aricept 10 mg pills The result was BAD..BAD BAD This medicine should not be on the market as it is dangerous and harmful. I stopped it, and prefer to deal with wife weak memory, but healthy of spirit and happy. Medicine is very expensive and it really hurt my pocket. I had to throw away 98% of medicine. I don't blame her doctor but the Food and Drug Admin. As a scientific person I believe it should be a process to develop a medicine for memory loss which should be mild with minimum side effects on humans health and well being.	F	85	2 days		9/20/2008 Email
1	Vascular dementia caused by TIA's	I am submitting this for my mother. My mom is 95 and in a nursing home. She suffers from TIA's or Transient Istemic Attacks which have been described to us as mini strokes. Eventually, she has had so many that she has lost many brain cells and suffers from what is called Vascular Dementia. The first time she was given Aricept, we noticed that she could no longer use the walker, and then after about 30 days became manic so they gave her Haldol (sp). We asked them to take her off both of these and she returned to being able to do the walker and even negotiate stairs and the toilet. The doctor put her back on it without our consent or knowledge and she again became weak and got to the point she could not even lift a fork. I went on-line and discovered that Aricept has even caused death in people with vascular dementia. If you or your elderly parent suffer from TIA's DO NOT allow a doctor to prescribe this.		F	95	30 days		9/8/2008 Email
5	Gradual memory impairment	No side effects, except after about three days a litte insomnia, but that passed after three more days and now sleep is pretty normal, and even more productive for organizing experiences from the previous day.	It's a miracle product. The process of regaining my memory of childhood details is miraculous. Aricept has doubled my reading speed, increased my ability to use vocabulary, and enabled me to organize my thoughts much more quickly. It has practically tripled my reflexes. I can catch falling items in mid-air instantly and reflexively. Every day, my memory gets better and I've only been taking it a little over a week. I can jump from image to image from 40 years ago as if the events occurred yesterday, and these are thoughts and images I hadn't seen or remembered in over 40 years--all back for the first time since then as a result of aricept. Makes me feel like a superhero now!	M	55	9 days		9/3/2008 Email
1	dementia	My mother took this drug and acted out of her mind.Discontinued and tried drug reccomended by nurse,Namenda this is a wonderfull drug for Dementia.It brought my mother back to her old self and no side affects.Ask for starter kit as it starts in low doses and works up to the 10 mg twice a day.She has been taking this six months and she is so glad to have found something that works.		F	85	6 months		9/2/2008
1	memory loss	nausea, vomiting, confusion, unstable on feet, can't complete a sentence sensibly, muscle pain, excess saliva, insomnia,	My mother has been taking aricept for 9 days, after about 2 days in she started with vomiting, nausea and she has become completely unable to keep anything down that she has eaten, she honestly looks like death warmed over. We now have taken her off of Aricept and hopefully she will be on the road to recovery. I would not recommend taking this drug at all considering the possible side effectS. Her memory was failing before Aricept, but she was at least alert and able to function normally. With Aricept her memory was even worse and she is completely unable to function or even walk without almost falling. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TAKING THIS DRUG OR LETTING A LOVED ONE TAKE THIS DRUG.	F	75	9 days		8/25/2008
1	Alzheimer's	Gradual increase in the following: Difficulty walking, unsteadiness, nighttime sleeplessness, vision problems, very limited ability to speak intelligibly, disturbing dreams leading to distress or anger, talking jibberish, hallucinated conversation between self and imagined other--often to self in mirror-- leading to episodes of rage and violent behavior.	I am writing in behalf of my wife. I am her sole caregiver.She has been taking one 5 mg Aricept before bedtime for a minimum of 5 years, perhaps longer. She takes no other prescription drugs but does take DR. Sears' Omega RX fish oil, which I find to be helpful. The listed symptoms did not appear at once but gradually increased over a long period of time. It is difficult to identify SOME, but not all, of these symptoms as being exclusively side effects of Aricept, as distinguished from later stage effects of Alzheimer's itself. However, I have no no doubt about the most troubling ones, especially the episodes of extreme anxiety, anger , and violence that became certain to appear shortly after bedtime and often lasted for many hours. These are definitely the result of her taking the Aricept. Why? Because I saw an immediate reduction in these symptoms within 24 hours, a complete cessation after 2-3 days, and after six days of my discontinuing Aricept, those synmptoms of high anxiety	F	63	5 years		8/18/2008 Email
1	For Mild Altziemer's	Stopped initiating any conversation. Bladder problems - urinary incontience as well as inability to empty bladder. Did not initiate any activities. Stopped moving around, his body seemed stiff. Had no facial expression or life in his eyes.	We stopped the Aricept 2 weeks ago and the results have been amazing! It is like my father has come back from the dead! He talks, gets up on his own and initiates activity. I can only compare it to a coma that he has been in for 2 years and has finally woken from. He looks and acts alert. Some of the family came to visit and were delighted that he carried on a conversation with them because last time they saw him he sat in a chair with no expression and no verbal communication. I never realized the stupor he was in was due to the Aricept. Ironically, his memory is better since he stopped this drug! I will never put my dad back on Aricept.	M	82	2 years		7/26/2008
1	Dementia	Total personality change. Suicidal thoughts. Extreme confusion.	This drug is BAD BAD BAD!!! My grandmother was in an assisted living facility and the facility's doctor prescribed her this drug...and then doubled the dosage two weeks later, all without our knowledge or permission. We knew nothing about her taking it until I got the bill a month later. In the meantime, my grandmother went insane!!! She was always a sweet loving lady who played the organ in her church. With Aricept, she changed into a screaming lunatic!!! She screamed at her room-mate. She dragged all of her belongings down to the lobby and told the staff that her family was picking her up - we knew nothing about it until the staff called us. She talked about going down to the river and throwing herself in. She was a total NUTCASE!!! Everyone in the building saw the change. We were considering putting her in to the Alzheimer wing because she was acting so crazy. Then I get the bill, read up on the drug, had her old doctor cancel the prescription and, within a few days, she was back t	F	97	35 days		7/9/2008
1	Mild Memory Loss	Exteme Diarrhea, Sleepiness, Unable to Function, confusion	My Dad, age 85, showed immediate side effects after just a few days. He deterriorated rapidly, so we have taken him off this drug. I am totally convinced that for many patients, at least my Dad, the horrendous side effects were far worse than any benefit. While the side effects might have lessened and/or disappeared over time, he was in no condition to continue the drug. He was even falling asleep while sitting on the toilet, at the dinner table, etc!!!! While Aricept might be beneficial to some, clearly it is NOT for everyone!	M	85	8 days		7/6/2008
1	Dimentia	Terrible vomiting, dehydration, sodium and potassium out of balance.	Doctors think elderly people should immediately be placed on this dementia medicine. Would rather be forgetful than throwing up constantly. Sure this would have killed me had I continued taking it.	F	88	7 days		6/7/2008
1	Memory loss	My mother started taking this medication to help her memory. She started experiencing EXTREME loss of balance, difficulty standing upright, slurred speech, and anxiety to the point of shaking!	The side-effects I described did not seem to become apparent until about 4-5 weeks into taking the medication. I am taking my mother off of it starting tonight! I am not a medical professional, but after reading all the postings on this Web site, I am surprised that it is still on the market! PLEASE if you have a loved one on this medication, watch them carefully! I feel like such an idiot because I didn't realize that her symptoms were related to Aricept. Please be careful!	F	84	6 weeks		5/3/2008
1	My Mother	This drug almost killed my almost 89 yr old Mom. Within 3 hrs of taking 1st dose she was totally nauseated, vomiting and weak. She took it for 3 days until I figured out that introducing Aricet was the problem. I don't know what would have happened to her if I hadn't been with her. She also became totally disoriented, confused, and made little sense verbally. She didnt' know how she'd gotten to her own home, and said so many random things that made no sense whatsoever. It broke my heart to see her so sick. The NAUSEA was the worst if I had to pick just one. I took her off Aricept after just 3 days, and she is slowly trying to recover. Just the worst experience one could have. FLUSH THIS DRUG, and tell the Dr to stick it.	FYI the Dr said the only "side effect"' might be loose stool. WRONG. Our seniors have sensitive systems, and adding this to exsisting meds ie Blood Pressure, Cumadin etc its a toxic mix. I am speaking from my experience w/my precious Mother.	F		3 days		4/22/2008
1	alzheimer's	bleeding,diareia,bedridden,incoherint,no longer able to walk.	i encourage anyone who is on this drug to discontinue it's more of a killer than the disease its self's filling this out for my Father told us he could not respond to us while taking this drug but now that he is off of it he can talk to us again!	M	80	3 years		4/4/2008 Email
1	Possible Alzheimer's Disease	MIL - Frequent urination, urinary incontinence, unsteady on feet, virtually disabled, aches in legs, fuzzy head. Died from cerebral haemmorrhage after 15 months on Aricept. Short spell of 3 weeks off Aricept, urinary problems stopped. Memory worse than before ever taking the Aricept.	DO NOT TAKE IT. IF YOU TRY IT, STOP IMMEDIATELY YOU HAVE ANY SIDE EFFECTS.	F	73	1 years		3/24/2008
1	mild memory loss to avoid ALZ	AWFUL!!!! My mother became a totally different person in 3 weeks on this drug. She did strange things like hide her own stuff then accuse me of taking it. She NEVER did anything like that before this drug. She was just forgetting simple things, but nothing violent or cooky, like now. I hope that taking her off will return her to normal. They should take this terrible drug off the market for even ONE experience like hers. Memory loss is bad enough without putting hope in a drug like Aricept only to have it backfire big time. DO NOT USE -= DO NOT USE!	PLEASE TAKE THIS OFF THE MARKET. PLEASE TAKE THIS OFF THE .MARKET. PLEASE TAKE THIS OFF THE MARKET.	F	80	20 days		2/28/2008 Email
4	onset of Alzheimers disease	At first, some dizzyness, mild nausea, some insomnia. Once on the medicine for about 1 month, these side effects disappeared. Some slight dizzyness experienced at odd times.	Brought me back to "Normal "	F	73	3 days		2/27/2008
1	Parkinson's related demensia	My 87 year old father was hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer. Upon his discharge, the doctor who saw him in the hospital put him on aricept & namenda. He was sent to a rehab facility where they then put him on neurontin. When he came home diarrhea got so bad he could barely get off the toilet. We pulled him off all three and it disappeared. Rather have him confused than back in the hospital due to dehydration. Be very careful with all three of these meds, especially if they are prescribed by a doctor who will not be following the case.		F	55	10 days		2/11/2008
1	mixed dimentia	Frequent urination, fecal incontinence, excessive runny nose, fatique, more confusion, spike in blood pressure, muscle weakness.	My mother is 90 and I am guessing we have mixed dimentia ..alzheimers and some recent small stroke activity prior to november.Extreme changes in her behavior lead us to believe there was a stroke at that time which left her with excessive confusion.I have been caregiving 24 hrs a day since november and able to watch her every move. Came off aricept 2 weeks ago and has improved tremendously in regard to side effects,,,still has fecal incontinence but not as frequent..hoping this symptom will subside. Her blood pressure on aricept was 188/103. Has returned to normal after 1 week off of aricept. Be very attentive to side effects on this drug.May be good for some but not mom. So watch it carefully...be aware of what is going on..	F	90	4 days		1/30/2008 Email
1	Slight dementia	Babbling, severe memory loss, couldn't string two sentences together whereas she was coherent the day before.	This medication was given to my 90 year old mother in the hospital for memory loss, which, in a five minute interview the neurologist diagnosed as dementia. Within 24 hours she was babbling like a baby and could not string 2 sentences together. I ordered her off of it immediately.	F	90	1 days		1/26/2008
1	My 85 year old dad	My dad had every negative side-effect from this killer pill! it is best to see every senior with patience and love.We are all foregetfull people at any age of life.My dad recently passed away in his sleep,and forget the paramedic report of heart failure,he had went to the hospital 2 days before for a complete check-up and his heart was extremely strong! The only thing they found him to be bery dihydrated(a side-effect)after my sister told the hospital doctors that if they were sure of taking him home.My dad was a very optimistic person,we need to find out if we really love our seniors as to what the so call doctors are giving them.The sad thing about it is that it all comes to profit and incentive bonuses that these killer companies are doing!	ACCEPT THAT PEOPLE GET OLD AND THAT THERES NO BETTER MEDICINE THAN LOVE AND PATIENCE.WE ALL FORGET THINGS NOBODY IS PERFECT!THIS MEDICINE(ARICEPT)IS WORSE THAN ANY STREET DRUG OUT THERE!IT MAKES IT WORSE FOR LOVE ONES.YOU NEED TO REALLY TRUST DOCTORS WHEN THEY PRESCRIBE MEDICINE LIKE THIS ONE.REMEMBER INSURANCE COMPANIES AND DOCTORS GO TOGETHER(MAKE RESEARCH BEFORE GIVVING ARICEPT TO LOVE ONES,THEN SEE WHAT YOUR DOCTOR HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT!	M	85	5 months		12/3/2007
1	my father's dementia	My 84 yr old father has been on Aricept for 6 weeks and has become increasingly delusional, irritable, and insomnic. My mother decided to stop giving it to him and he appears to be getting better.		M	84	6 weeks		11/24/2007 Email
1	slight memory loss	I am writing on behalf of my mother. She was prescribed Aricept by her doctor/neurologist and within 2 days became extremely ill. SEVERE nausea and stomach ache, severe hot and cold sweats, extreme tiredness. She lives in a senior's residence and was able to get help very quickly. She was given gravol and monitored for a couple of days. She is fine now. My mom does take other drugs and perhaps Aricept did not mix well with those drugs. Either way, this drug seems to get into the system extremely quickly and has harsh side effects. She will no longer be taking Aricept.	Severe side effects. Beware of this drug and all the SEVERE side effects that are associated with it. GET INFORMED and listen to your family member. In a way, I am glad the side effects surfaced so quickly within 2 days. It showed how harsh the drug can be within only few days of taking it. She will never take it again.	F	77	2 days		11/15/2007
1	dimentia	Twice lost consciousness. Was completely out of it. Both times 911 were called & admitted to the hospital for tests. Also nauseated. After the 2nd time, the doctor insisted my mother get off it.	Dangerous drug	F	81	60 days		11/12/2007
1	memory loss	extreme agitation. throwing shoes. talking gibberish.	My wife was put on this drug and within a week was so agitated we thought she had lost her mind. stayed awake half the night. someone had to be with her all the time. I asked the Doctor if I should stop her taking it but he said no. After my daughter researched it we took her off it and she is now about back to where she was before starting it. This is a dangerous drug.	F	75	30 days		10/3/2007 Email
1	alzheimer's	chronic explosive diarreah, irritability, confusion	side effects are terrible, don't think the drug helps at all. had mother on it and when taken off she didn't want to crawl out of her skin anymore and all side effects were gone. Don't use this out of desperation to help someone with alzheimer's.	F	79	2 years		9/4/2007
2	dementia, acute episode of confusio	EXTREME fatigue, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain	My mother's doctor put her on this drug while she was in the hospital recovering from a urinary infection. She was somewhat confused but lucid more than not and as time went on she became less awake, had a few episodes of vomiting and alot of nausea. We couldn't figure out why the rapid decline until she was place d in a nursing facility for post hospital care. This was a person who just weeks before was living on her own, now she had became totally gorked out. Thats when during a review of her meds they told me she was on Aricept. BTW, This Dr that prescribed it, dropped her as a patient when we refused the nursing home he wanted to place her in and put her in a better one we knew of. Now after 1 week after being off Aricept she is now walking and eating and behaving like her old self. I would not recommend this med unless you really understand the side effects that can come along with it. For some it is a miracle, but for others it can take away what independence they have.	F	77	1 weeks		8/31/2007 Email
1	memory loss	I am writing this for my mother; she experienced an acute memory loss; at first she was diagnosed as having a TIA; no tests were done; her dr. put her on aricept without telling her what it was for; within a few days, my mother lost all energy; when I called her on the phone she sounded like she was dying; it did not help her memory and she suffered from delusions not being able to determine what was real; I told her to quit taking the drug and within days she improved; she still has memory impairment, but no tests have conclusively shown anything; I still believe she had a TIA, but her dr. is convinced she is suffering from Alzheimers	I thought my mother was going to die while taking this drug; her condition deteriorated dramatically while on it; there were no benefits for her	F	85	30 days		8/4/2007 Email
2	MS Memory and Confusion	Urinary frequency, disturbed sleep, headaches, anorexia, vivid dreams, fatigue.	I don't see how something that makes you feel this much out of sorts could be good for you.	F	60	2 weeks		7/16/2007 Email
1	confusion, memory loss	Very Bad explosive diarrhea, extreme thirst. Afraid to go anywhere because the fear of diarrhea!	I never had diarrhea before and daughter took me off because she realized it started the same time I started the Aricept. I have been to the doctor several times complaining of this crippling diarrhea and he said nothing. I think my daughter is right. We shall see in hopefully a short time after discontinuation if my diarrhea goes away! Wish me Luck!!!	F	80	90 days		7/13/2007 Email
2	Dementia	Diarrhea, delusions	My mother began taking Aricept 6 months ago and the delusions began within days. We decided that, if Aricept helped the dementia, we could live with the delusions. However, she also began to experience intermittent diarrhea. Within this past month, she started to horde and/or refuse all medications because she was sure something was causing the diarrhea. It was at that point that the doctor said that Aricept could be the culprit. She has been off it now for nearly two weeks and the diarrhea has stopped. Her mood does seem better. Does anyone have any experience with the delusions stopping after the discontinuation of Aricept?	F	86	6 months		6/4/2007 Email
2	Mother for dementia	extreme fatigue and diarrhea.	My mom was diagnosed with Vascular and Alzheimers type dementia. I don't think the risks of this medicine outway the "possible" benefits.	F	79	7 days		5/27/2007
2	Dementia	This is being written about my father. After a few days on Aricept, he started sounding much more authoritative rather than confused. However, he became delusional and his behavior changed substantially. After taking him off it, he returned to "normal"	Probably works for some. Watch reaction carefully.	M	84	10 days		5/15/2007
1	Alzheimers	My mother (84)started taking to "help her meomory" and within 3 weeks she was very agitated and at a new, higher level of anxiety that led to a trip to the hospital for "chest pains". She was off of it for @ 2 weeks and seemed to level out and then (per Dr.'s receommendation) started again and now, three weeks later, her agitation and anxiety in increasing...again. We are taking her off of it again.		F	84	4 months		4/20/2007
1	DEMENTIA	MY MOM TOOK ARICEPT FOR 12 DAYS, STARTED W/ SEVERE LOSS OF APPEITIE, THEN LOSS OF BALANCE, COULD NOT WALK STRAIGHT, FELL & WAS HURT, EXTREME EXHAUSTION, SLURRED SPEECH, INCREASED SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS, SOME DILUSION.	I WOULD NOT USE THIS DRUG. THE DAMAGE IT CAUSES FAR OUTWEIGHS ANY TEMPERORAY IMPROVEMENT THAT MAY HAPPEN IN A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS.	F	80	12 days		4/11/2007 Email
1	Memory loss	Mom took Aricept for 4 weeks. She complained of leg pains and became anorexic, then came the delusions. She made exaggerated statements that we did not pay attention to, at first. Later, she began to make completely unfounded claims and would not listen to reason. That's when knew we had a problem. She was convinced that food was "poison" to her. Now, it is difficult to hold a simple conversation with her before she goes off on another delusion. This did not happen before she took Aricept, and from some of the other (similar) experiences I've read on this page, I felt compelled to offer my own experience so you will understand the harm that this drug can cause. She has been off the drug for over a month. She is eating better now, but still suffers from delusions which have not subsided at all.	Do NOT take this drug!	F	73	4 weeks		3/31/2007 Email
1	Memory loss	Mom took Aricept for 4 weeks. She complained of leg pains and became anorexic, then came the delusions. She made exaggerated statements that we did not pay attention to, at first. Later, she began to make completely unfounded claims and would not listen to reason. That's when knew we had a problem. She was convinced that food was "poison" to her. Now, it is difficult to hold a simple conversation with her before she goes off on another delusion, again. This did not happen before she took Aricept, and from reading some of the other (similar) experiences I've read on this page, I felt compelled to offer my own experience so you will understand the harm that this drug can cause. She has been off the drug for over a month. She is eating better now, but still suffers from delusions which have not subsided at all.	Do NOT take this drug!	F	73	4 weeks		3/31/2007 Email
2	Dementia	A relative is writing this. muscle pain, increase memory loss, and very unstable can not use the cane very well and forgets where its at, some slur speech. These increase effects started right after start using the drug this past week ,	Pay attention to your relative There is no known cure for dementia or related like disease. I suspect the drug has different effects on the older patient.	M	93	6 days		3/18/2007
1	Dad took drug for vascular dementia	Neurologist prescribed Aricept for my dad. After taking for less than one week, dad slipped into a manic phase. We were told this could be a rare side effect of the drug. Perhaps not the drug of choice for vascular-related dementia. Psychiatrist yanked dad off drug and he is back to "normal."		M	86	4 days		3/17/2007
5	part of a program for adult ADD	none noticed	After about a 2 week build up period suggested by my doctor, it seems to have helped me to focus and stay with my work. Am definitely getting a lot more done and feel much better about my contribution. Of course, not that it is part of a larger medical and habit adjustment program. Still,it was the only significant recent change that proceeded this result.	M	58	4 months		3/7/2007
3	Alzheimer's	My dad has been taking Aricept for about five weeks now. At first he was quite nauseated and still has a severe lack of appetite. Recently his legs are itching severely...any thoughts on this?	Took Dad to a neurologist who told us that Aricept is no more than candy...that he doesn't see the value in taking it.	M	78	5 weeks		2/25/2007 Email
1	failing memory	I am 81 years old. I took aricept two days. The third day, I forgot to take it, but suffered a "cardiac incident", called 911, was transported to hospital, where a team of cardiologists diagnosed an "AVBlock". Searching databases they discovered this is a side effect (rare) of Aricept. I have discontinued taking Aricept.		M	81	2 days		1/12/2007
1	Alzhimer	1 month ago my mom was driving, had perfect handwriting, talking walking etc. After 13 days of taking this med along with Lumesta, she no longer can talk, write, walk, and she is in diapers. She does not reconize any one. The Dr is not sure if it is because of the meds but she has had an MRI and tons of lab work done and all is normal. She has been off the meds 5 days and it still seems as if she is going downhill. Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? and if so and if they quite taking the meds did they come back around?		F	85	13 days		1/8/2007 Email
2	Alzheimer's	My Mom experienced restless sleep, punctuated by vivid, disturbing dreams - lots of talking in her sleep. No significant improvement in her Alzheimer's symptoms.	After taking Aricept for ~2 years, my Mom went off it and I noticed a definite improvement in her overall level of alertness. It was recently prescribed again after a sudden mental slip in my Mom's overall mental state, and I don't think I'm going to put her back on it.	F	93	2 years		11/23/2006

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Key to ratings: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

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