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 Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). 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 | Memory problems | Mom was taking this drug for 3 months. This was described by a psychiatrist/md. She got sick and had to take other antibiotics to get to feel well, but dr wanted the AL to cut off aricept till other meds were taken. I noticed that my mom was a little better. Then after antibiotics were finished, they started the aricept back up I came to AL to check on her, found her sitting on toilet with extreme diarrhea and totally dislusonal and confused on how to clean herself up. Needless to say I called dr to have this crap not to be given to her again. | Stay away | F | 89 | 3 months 5 mg | 4/11/2017 | 1 | Dementia | Extreme nausea, dizziness, seizure like feelings, almost ready to pass out, stomach pains. | This is a dreadful medication just speaking from my personal experience. The very first day I took it I was so sick with nausea, stomach pains, dizziness, feeling of ready to pass out and feeling like I was going to have a seizure all day long. I couldn't even think, I was in so much destress. I stopped taking it and it took me three days to get this out of my system. My stomach hurt so badly I thought I had been poisoned. And my kidneys hurt. Please read the side effects before considering taking this drug. | F | 71 | 2 days 5mg 1X day | 4/23/2017 | 1 | DX AD but was just senile dementia | my mom went from having memory problems but still living alone/driving/self care, to becoming withdrawn, out of it, nonverbal, soon after this medication was started. | mom was living alone at home, driving, etc, and because of gradually worsening memory, had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and prescribed Aricept. she soon began losing her cognitive abilities.I didn't think the medication caused it because i thought that this was her illness, rapidly progressive. But it was odd, how much she changed. i prepared to institutionalize her, she was helpless. We went to assisted living places to interview. The owner of one was an RN. She was talking in general about dementia. in passing she said "sometimes the medications they give for dementia can cause the symptoms they are supposed to treat." I thought, "Bingo." if not for the complete fluke of this woman saying this in passing, i would have institutionalized my mom at 85. i called her doctor & said i was stopping the medication. Within 2 or 3 days of stopping the medication, she was becoming her old self again, her functioning returned to previous level. After that, for the next 4 years, she had part time in home help, she enjoyed her normal home life, going out with friends, watching TV, reading the paper, going to church, beauty shop, microwaving dinners at night, no weight loss, until 4 years later at age 89, she began going downhill fast and went into skilled nursing dementia unit for the next 9 years, dying at 98 of old age. she did not die of AD. toxic meds would have shortened her life and ruined the quality. | F | 85 | 3 weeks 1X day | 5/15/2017 | 1 | Alzheimers | This was prescribed to my Mother a week ago. Within 24 hours she began horrible delusions, thinking she was 18 or 19 years old. Insisted on calling her Mom who died 15 years ago. No longer knew who I was or where she was. Tonight will be her last dosage. | My Mom is entering the final stages of Alzheimer's. At this point I feel quality of life is more important. | F | 79 | 7 days 10 mg | 12/8/2016 | 1 | Alzheimer’s | I would recommend Saffron in place of this with GDP-choline. Also look into Dr. Dale Bresdehan’s work. | F | 80 | 2 days | 6/28/2019 | 1 | Mom took it for severe dementia | Extreme nausea dizziness vomiting loss of appetite loopy leg cramping disorientation puffy face | It should be recommended that people take half dose as this drug is strong. After 12 hours she still feels out of it. | F | 78 | 1 days 1X day | 9/6/2020 | 1 | Memory problems...no diagnosis | I stopped talking this drug.after a few weeks. | More problems with this drug than benefits. | F | 74 | 1 months 1 tab 1X day | 11/16/2023 | 1 | Grandma took it | Died | Died | F | 80 | 30 days 5 1X day | 8/11/2012 | 1 | loss of memory | F | 87 | 20 days 10 1X day | 10/2/2012 | 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 | 1 | dimential | My wife, 75 years of age, no heart problem history, her mother lived to 99, passed away of a silent heart attack. Doctor said it was also a clot. I suspect Aricept | F | 75 | 6 weeks | 4/5/2006 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 1 | Memory | SEVERE, explosive diarrhea. Stomach problems. Loss of appetite. | Make CERTAIN you CAN take this drug!My doctor prescribed and didn't bother to cross reference OTHER DRUG INTERACTIONS...with two other meds that cause problems when prescribed together with Aricept!!!NOTE: ALWAYS have a list of current meds with you AND ask your doctor IF ANY MEDS INTERFERE WITH OTHERS. (Contra-indications).THIS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE!If your doctor | F | 80 | 60 days | 7/21/2004 | 1 | memory loss | cranky and very hard to live with | Have tried it twice. There was the same result. | F | 89 | 30 days | 7/2/2004 | 1 | Alzheimers | My mum aged 94 was diagnosed with alzheimers in 2007 and was given aricept even though both she and I were not happy about the drug as we had watched a tv programme about its negative effects on patients she took it for approximately five weeks and her personality changed for the worse she became aggressive and afraid to leave the house and got very upset at the day centre which was completely out of character for her. | Mum stopped taking the aricept after 5 weeks and returned to the way she was before taking it.I am very concerned about the side effects of this drug but some of my relations want Mum to go back to taking it so I am immensely grateful to the contributers of this site for highlighting so many of the negative effects of aricept. Mum is now 97 and seems no worse than when she was first diagnosed back in 2007 and I feel sure is alive and well today thanks to stopping taking aricept before it did lasting damage. She has been taking a homeopathic remedy (lycopodium)for the past two years which seems to have stopped her condition from getting any worse. | F | 97 | 35 days 5mg 1X day | 8/13/2010 |