ARICEPT Reviews (DONEPEZIL HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 1.7 (210 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ARICEPT with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Age from youngest to oldest (reviews with no age reported listed first). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on ARICEPT: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ARICEPT | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 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 | 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 | 1 | short term memory loss | lack of appetite,dizzy,loss of energy,appetite | 2 weeks 5 1X day | 6/20/2015 | 1 | The person who made comment number 4 must have close ties to the pharmaceutical companies or is just too out of it to be taking care of anyone. Did you not read that the patients' condition worsened extremely while on the drug and then improved when off the drug? How's that "worth a try"? You know what works for many? Coconut oil Two tablespoons per day and has many other health benefits including maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. You can easily research it and that's worth a try. I know folks who took Aracept and it was a nightmare. | 1 days | 3/13/2016 | 1 | Cognitive | My father is taking this thing of horrid pill and he's much worse, I could see a decline within the first few days he went from being able to have a conversation which was more switched on to bring confused & vacant! So it made him much worse but when we complained about it at the memory clinic they were still persistent that he stay on it, now he's having blood pressure probs which can be a fatal syndrome side affect to this drug.. it does not suit everyone so now he's very unwell at the moment feeling fainty so I'm insisting he comes off it as a trial run to see if he's much better within 5 days - hate this drug it turns them into a zombie duscusting what tge medical world are doing to older ppl definately seen a decline in my father nothing positive to say about donopezil and the worse thing about it NO ONE LISTENS !!!!! | Duscusting! | M | 1 days 5 mg | 3/11/2017 | 4 | Tardive Dyskinesia | Bad dizziness, nausea, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, slight loss of taste, moderate tiredness, depression | It has begun to take away the TD, and I have not been on it for very long, so I'm hoping these side effects go away with time. | F | 18 | 1 weeks 10mg | 7/31/2016 | 3 | Memory loss from mild TBI with PCS | Apathy, depression, and severe post-op anxiety following surgery with general anesthesia while on aricept. | Aricept helped with some head injury symptoms such as light sensitivity. It helped me stay on task and not 'zone out' as much, and improved my ability to remember conversations. Aricept was helpful in some ways, but due to how horrible the post-op anxiety was, I decided to discontinue it because if I ever needed emergency surgery again, I would not chance being on aricept at the same time. | F | 24 | 2 years 5 1X day | 8/3/2010 | 3 | cognitive decline | I am a counselor and work with elderly adults who take Aricept on a weekly basis. I work with one gentleman who was having some behavioral difficulties while taking it. He also had behavioral difficulties before taking it. His physician held his Aricept for 7 days and behavior improved. It was therefore discontinued. | It's important to consider that this man also began eating more (adequate amounts) during this time, per his wife's report. This may have been a confounding factor. Furthermore, I've talked to family members who are dissatisfied that Aricept does not improve memory/cognitive status. Current research however, indicates Aricept does NOT normally improve memory performance. Aricept DOES, however, delay the advancement of cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer's Dementia and some other forms of dementia. I have been told overwhelmingly that while family members don't notice Aricept IMPROVING cognitive performance, they DO notice that their loved ones decline much quicker once they discontinue use of Aricept. This makes sense, because it is very consistent with current research findings. It's also important to know that physicians don't always tell patients about behavioral side effects of Aricept because they are pretty unusual. In most cases I've seen, benefits outweigh the side effects experienced from Aricept use. It's also important to note that people who are offering things like Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and/or Ativan for depressed mood are offering the wrong medicine for the wrong symptom. Xanax and the others are called benzodiazapines and are primarily intended for treatment of anxiety (nervousness), not depression. They can also make people groggy and elderly people are more sensitive to medications in general. If your loved one is taking a benzodiazapine and | M | 29 | 10 mg 1X day | 3/24/2011 | 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 | 3 | Mixed Dementia | Mum (71, dx 2 years ago) was taking 5mg for a month and we had a few excellent days, bit like how she used to be, but putting her up to 10mg - nightmare. She's become verbally abusive, agressive and a real bully to me, so I've asked the consultant if we can go back to 5mg because I'm actually scared of her at the moment. | F | 39 | 7 days 5mg-10mg 1X day | 2/22/2011 | 1 | Progressive Dementia | confusion, disorientation, appetite loss, weight loss, daytime somnolence, vestibular dysfunction (loss of hearing and balance), daily nightmares, general malaise/sense of not feeling well, could not recognize family members, spikes in blood pressure | Starting my father on this drug was nearly catastrophic. His primary care physician started him on it on 8/3/16 with the intent to slow the progression of dementia. Prior to starting this medication, my dad could carry on conversations in person and by phone, was able to walk unassisted and had a sufficient appetite. Within 3-4 weeks of taking this medication, his life began to completely unravel. He was unable to communicate verbally, he had nightmares every day, he began to sleep all day and not care about life at all. He started to have difficulty walking with balance and was at risk of falling down flights of stairs in his home (which never happened before). He experienced significant weight loss. His Primary Care Doctor who started him on this medication had NO FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT or LAB EVALUATION planned or scheduled. I am a Pediatrician, and took control of my father's care. I informed his PCP of the side effects, informed him that he did not appropriately follow my dad after starting this medication, and that I was discontinuing it. He saw his new doctor 2 days later who immediately admitted him to our local hospital. Their evaluation showed that he had a blood pressure of 200/90 despite being on several blood pressure medications and that he was completely confused, and disoriented. He has been off Aricept completely now for 5 days and we are starting to see an improvement. This drug has an unusually long half life and requires 70 hours to start being | M | 39 | 2 months 10mg 1X day | 10/3/2016 | 1 | dementia | Mother is 88 has been taking for 2 months. seeing cats in her room while sleeping, people who arent there, knocked over dressers(not), staring at the wall, stopping it tonight so we will see tomorrow. today she was in a total blur all day. called me names I never knew was in her christian language. | F | 43 | 2 months 5 1X day | 11/30/2012 | 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 | 5 | dementia | During the early stages of taking Aricept, diarrhea and some fecal incontinence were noticeable side effects. | Aricept has given my 76 year-old mother "herself" back and I'm extremely grateful to the doctor who prescribed Aricept for her. She's her "old" self - and, so very happy and grateful - as are her family and friends. | F | 48 | 60 days | 8/27/2006 | 1 | my mom alzheimer | agresiveness, sleepleness, suicidal, loss of apetite and bleeding through her nose. | my mom walks like a zombie, agressive for 5 months she hits me I am who takes care of her. tries to open the door to leave . | F | 50 | 5 months 10mg 1X day | 2/13/2011 | 1 | mild cognitive impairment | Serious Fatigue, weakness, dizziness,hand tremors, lack of sleep, night terrors. | Is not safe.... terrible drug... | F | 50 | 4 months 10 | 9/13/2015 | 2 | brother was diagnosed with dementia | My 53 year old brother was misdiagnosed with dementia and was taking aricept, what would this do to him since he was misdiagnosed????? Please sometime help me I can be reached at [email protected] | M | 53 | 1 years 50 | 4/14/2014 | 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 | 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 | 3 | Early Onset Dementia | My dreams are very vivid. I noticed that I became more anxious and somewhat depressed. | I did notice a change in my memory but I don't like the other side effects. Instead of taking it everyday as precribed I take every other day, and if I miss taking it, I won't sweat it. | F | 57 | 2 years 5 1X day | 8/14/2016 |
ARICEPT (DONEPEZIL HYDROCHLORIDE): Donepezil is used to treat confusion (dementia) related to Alzheimer's disease. It does not cure Alzheimer's disease, but it may improve memory, awareness, and the ability to function. This medication is an enzyme blocker that works by restoring the balance of natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. FDA Approval Date: 1996-11-25 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)