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 Date added. 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 |
| 2 | Brain atrophy and dementia | Panic attacks, delusions, confusion, anger and being irrational | My 76 year old mother was on 5 mg Aricept for a few years and at first seemed ok but I didn't notice that it helped her memory much. Dr. recommended upping it to 10mg. After 8 months or so my sweet docile mother began to become angry and irrational. She was always mean and hateful to me (her only daughter and caregiver). Everyone around us noticed the change. Some were very concerned since she would become very hostile. I took her off of it after reading some of these side affects. She became her sweet self again but I worried about her memory loss so I spoke w/her Dr who said maybe 10 mg was too much and go back to 5 mg again. Well after 3 months on 5 mg she is becoming worse than before. She threatens to hit me and yells at me constantly. Accuses me of lying to her and scheming but can never explain why - just says you know what you did. There is no talking to her when she is in this state. She has spells where she thinks I am her sister and she is living at the home where she was a young adult. I cannot convince her otherwise and trying to tell her different makes her very upset. the spells only last a short time then she remembers me again. Dr. still insists Aricept shouldn't do that but has agreed to try something else if I want. I took her off the Aricept yesterday and we will see if the behavior improves again. I hope the Aricept hasn't done any permanent damage. Afraid to try any of the other memory drugs for fear of more side effects. I will check this site t | F | 76 | 3 years 5mg 1X day | 1/31/2012 | 5 | alzheimers | improved behaviour. slowed memory loss,but after awhile don't notic as no memory,but you do notice need for drug in terms of behaviour and feeling safe, secure , no anxious and happy. taken off it because of fainting spells but quickly decided better to be on it. | F | 78 | 4 years 10 1X day | 11/20/2011 | 2 | Memory loss | High blood pressure, Saying nasty comments to faily members, Complaints about cramps / pains in legs, Extremely tired and sleeping alot, Would rather sit in an empty room on his own when family/friends are all gathered together in another room. Anti social - not wanting to leave the house or if he does cannot wait to get home (mainly to go to bed) Anxious and panicky, Depressed | I am writing this on behalf of my dad who is 73 years old. His short term memory started to deteriorate. 4 months ago our GP prescribed 5MG Aricept. Dad started sleeping alot more, like to be on his own, very withdrawn, personality changed and shuffles around very slowly, happy to sit in a different room to everyone else either sleeping or just staring at the wall. His concentration is very bad and if he is part of a conversation he hears completely different things to what is being said. He's had a sudden drop in weight loss (although good appetite). He went to a memory clinic 4 weeks ago, Aricept was increased to 10MG. I really think this caused further disastrous side effects. My dad is now sleeping so much it is unhealthy. He's had arguments with my mum calling her names (totally not like him) and giving her an ultimatum to leave him alone or she can leave the house. My mum feels scared of him for the first time ever. I searched for side effects from Aricept am so shocked to see the stories from others on the website and I could relate so many of these side effects to my dad. I am going to make sure that my dad goes back to 5MG Aricept and then stop it completely. I feel like we are losing our dad very quickly (more so since the increase). I hope that once he stops the Aricept we will get our dad back. | M | 73 | 4 months 10 MG 1X day | 11/8/2011 | 1 | Parkinson's dementia | My 92-year-old mom had Parkinson's dementia and we started her on 5 mg of Aricept, which helped a bit (she talked a lot more, anyway). After a month we increased her to 10 mg and she immediately began having GRAND MAL SEIZURES (8 in 12 hours) and had to go to the hospital to get them under control (because IV anti-seizure drugs would work much more quickly than oral drugs). Long story short, she died 2 weeks later. | DO NOT overlook the less common side-effects of this drug. MY MOM DIED because it caused seizures. She had never had a seizure in her life. | F | 92 | 6 weeks 5 and 10 m 1X day | 10/24/2011 | 1 | Dementia/Alzheimer's | My mother-in-law was prescribed this medicine for dementia/alzheimer's disease. She ended up with out-of-control, chronic diarrhea. This resulted in dehydration and severe, rapid weightloss. Because she was also unable to deal with her bathroom issues herself, the diarrhea caused numerous serious infections and also resulted in the breakdown of skin tissue on her bottom which caused an ongoing burning sensation. All of this resulted in multiple hospital trips. | This medicine in no way improved her memory. In fact, when we knew that the end was growing nearer, we stopped giving her the medicine and she was then able to recall everyone's name, most of her personal information, etc. She was not able to do this while taking this medicine. | F | 75 | 4 months 1X day | 10/3/2011 | 5 | Alzheimer's Disease | No side effects. Also taking 10mg of Namenda twice daily. | My mother who was diagnosed in 2006, has been on Aricept and Namenda and it is not the medication it is the disease which causes the aggressiveness. My mother had no side effects until 2011 and I was told it was the disease progressing. The medication has "bought" my mother and our family several years of valuable time together. We are just now beginning to see this mean disease begin to progress. When we saw the aggressive behavior begin, we placed Mom on Abilify. I know, it has side effects and a black box warning that it can cause death in the elderly. My doctor explained that there are two age groups of studies done on this medication. One is that of young people approximately 25 to 35 and an other one done on older adults, thus causing more side effects due to heart and health issues. My mother has done very well on this med and the aggressive behavior is completely gone. She takes it with nightly medications. I guess I am wondering if the aricapt and namenda will keep her in this "limbo" stage for years or should we expect it to progress soon? It sounds like every individual who has been diagnosed with AD progresses at different rates even if they take these meds which slow down the disease. | F | 78 | 5 years 10mg 1X day | 7/31/2011 | 5 | memory loss & concentration | I am 76 years old. I began the30 day sample of this medicine about two weeks ago. I didn't think this med could work so fast until I read comments in this site. Within a week I found my memory retention was inproving and I had no ill side effects. I figured that if the bad side effects could be evident within 1 day that my week of good effects could certainly be possible. I have always had a gift for remembering numbers. About a year or two ago I felt angry at the loss of this skill. Hooray! It's back! I hope now to regain conversational skills so I don't lose my way or get off track with the slightest sidetrack. | It appears to be better for early memory loss than for fully diagnosed Alz. I worked with Alzheimers residents for years and have seen the cost to the family. I have known about Aricept for years. I never believed that I would be taking it! | F | 76 | 11 days 5 MG 1X day | 5/19/2011 | 1 | Frontal Temporal Lobe Dementia | Still trying to figure out what exactly this medication is helping with. My mom is 60 started taking this poison about 3 years ago, immediately noticed an increase in hallucinations and agressive behaviors, anorexia, tremors, etc. Mom has been in a nursing home the last 6 months and her disease has made her decline rapidly. These medications are A HUGE EXPENSE, my family would like her off of them but each time it is brought up we are guilted into continuing them, "you don't know what they are preventing" It has not been my experience that this medication has helped with anything. | F | 60 | 3 years 30 2X day | 4/18/2011 | 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 | 1 | dementia | started my mother on aricept at six oclock this morning, my daughter just went to the house to take her to lunch and feed the ducks, mom did not want her to touch her, said she did not know who she was, crying and very upset, said she did not know anyone, did not even recognize her caregiver, did not want to bathe, told my daughter to get as much food in her as possible to lessen the effects of the drug, will not be giving it to her again. Her usual is to lay in bed almost all day, seems depressed, give her xanax for that she also take parkinsons meds, namenda, reflux meds, celexa, crestor and trazadone for sleep. will probably bunk with her tonight to keep an eye on her, she is really frightened and combative. | This is really scary that a medicine could have this bad of side effects in just a few hours, feel very sorry for people who are taking this and are alone, very frightening. I really feel badly about giving it to my mom, was hoping for some help with memory, would rather she be forgetful than frightened and combative | F | 83 | 1 days 5mg 1X day | 3/22/2011 | 1 | memory loss | Aricept was prescribed for my Mum (84) we were warned about gastric upset which didnt occur. My MUm became agitated,frightened, confused, very anxious and often unable to function she couldnt even get out of bed. She slept so deeply it was difficult to wake her. These awful episodes were interspersed with short periods of calm which lasted a few hours. | no one warned us about these side effects. So far the drug has produced no improvment in Mums memory | F | 63 | 4 weeks 1X day | 2/23/2011 | 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 | Lewy Body Dementia | After just 2 doses of 10mg, we are stopping the Aricept. My father has become confused, angry and combative. Very depressed. None of which my father were before starting Aricept. | M | 79 | 2 days 10 1X day | 2/17/2011 | 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 dementia | This is an update to the 81-year old female entry on 1/3, added on 1/4. My Mom has died from side effects it seems experienced by this drug aricept. She went into hospital on 1/4 and died on 1/11/2011. Before taking this drug she was normal and okay as found by physical exam and complete blood test taken on 12/29/2010. | F | 81 | 1 days 10 mg 1X day | 1/16/2011 | 1 | alzheimers/dementia | unable to sleep at night,anxious,violent outbursts,confusion,unable to reason with, | Despite the perscription from the Dr,I will be weening her off this medication.Side affects are worse than her condition.... | F | 87 | 3 weeks 10 mg 2X day | 1/12/2011 | 1 | dementia | Difficulty in breathing aggresive behaviour | trying to get nursing home to stop using | F | 94 | 3 years 5mg 1X day | 1/4/2011 | 1 | mild dementia | My 81 year old mother, who I really love, is always up at 8 a.m. to eat her cereal and watch TV, every morning, and she goes on walks up the street several times per day. She was prescribed Aricept 10 mg. and took her first dose at 7:45 p.m. on 1/1/2011. Since Sunday morning she has been having very severe side effects. Labored breathing, loose bowels--not stool, profuse sweating, and she has been so tired she cannot open her eyes for more than a couple of seconds. She had the pill at 7:45 pm on Saturday January 1 before bed and now she is still sleeping and sweating profusely and cannot walk. I can tell she is dreaming as she is talking in her sleep and reaching for something. Other side effects slurred speech, disoriented as to where she is, and what she should do next. | This drug is VERY VERY strong and I would recommend to never give an 81 year old 10 mg dose initially. Wish my mom luck to wake up soon please. | F | 81 | 1 days 10 mg 1X day | 1/4/2011 | 1 | mid to latent alzheimer's | Gradual increase in rate, intensity and frequency of the following: irritability, irrational throughts, violent outbursts, argumentative, chronic EXPLOSIVE diarrhea, insomnia, fatigue, nightmares (he reports never remembering a dream in his life prior to taking medication), loss of appetite, childish mood swings, apathy, no understanding of hygiene (was meticulous about hygiene prior to taking) | I am writing this for my dad who is 75 years old. He was diagnosed with alzheimer's 3.5 years ago. His functional abilities were limited, at best. He suffered from five mini strokes within the same time frame. My dad has always been irrational and explosive, never cared to know the date or time of day, and when asked about who is president, has answered incorrectly his entire life. His physician diagnosed and prescribed based on questions like this. 5mg aricept for two weeks, then to 10mg--he has taken now for 3.5 years. He was also prescribed Namenda, Zoloft, and plavix. I thought this combination of meds was miraculous until the past six months. Prior to diagnosis, his behavior was severely explosive, hallucinating, "sundowners", and essentially could not dress himself or get out of his chair. Immediately upon taking the meds, he appeared to regain 70% of his functionality, began to be involved in life again. For the past six months (and more likely, gradually upon taking med), mood swings are more frequent, irrational-bordering violent-extremely irritable/argumentative, complains about everything (frequent complaints were characteristic of him, but this is unbearable),basically hates life and everything about it, AND has chronic,EXPLOSIVE episodes of diarrhea-usually not making it to the bathroom.As his primary caregiver, and after reading these comments, we are DCing the aricept tonight.I will re-post the results of this trial within one week.I deperately hope | M | 75 | 3.5 years 5-10mg 1X day | 12/4/2010 | 2 | Alzheimers | Hallucinations | My mother is 96 and has late stage. Her behavior is usually terrible. About a month ago her perscription ran out. Since her doctor was moving and I'd heard it really doesn't help late stage patients, I skipped it for a couple months. She's been back on it 4 days now and is having very strong hallucinations again and has been doing this for around 8 hours now. I just realized this wasn't nearly as bad during the period when she was off the drug. I am wondering if the last 4 years of her life have been made even more miserable because of it and also why I was never warned about side effects. Does it somehow counter-act the Namenda she takes to calm her down? | M | 60 | 4 years 5 1X day | 11/25/2010 |