Aricept - helping memory?
Dad’s been on aricept since he went in the nursing home. Last month, Dr Epplin put him on 10MG. Dr. Epplin is a wonderful doctor that specializes in geriatrics. I just don’t know about this aricept stuff. It’s not a cure. It’s suppose to keep his memory from getting worse slower. How in the world do you measure something like that? How can you prove it’s slowed anything down? In addition it’s about $9.00 a pill! The warnings in the pamphlet that comes with it is quite daunting, telling you not to STOP the pills because you can never recover what you lose while you aren’t taking them. So we take the pill every morning. Whether it’s a panacea or a placebo I guess it doesn’t matter. We won’t take a chance.
Here is some information about Aricept from their website:
How Aricept Can Help
Researchers have tested Aricept on people with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s. They also tested it on those with severe Alzheimer’s. The studies showed that Aricept helps cognition and function, which includes effects on memory and performing everyday tasks. Here are findings from 3 of the studies on which the FDA based its approval of Aricept:
15-week study
A 15-week study looked at Aricept in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. The study compared 2 groups. One of the groups took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Each group took tests that measured their thinking, memory, and how they functioned in daily life, including effects on behavior. The researchers found that:
- Compared with the placebo group, the typical patient who took Aricept showed improvement on the ADAS-cog test, which measures how well they think, remember, communicate, and figure things out
- Patients who took the placebo did worse on the ADAS-cog test during the same period of time
- Compared with the placebo group, about twice as many patients taking Aricept showed clinical improvement in the CIBIC-plus test, an interview that measures a person’s ability to function
Quick Reference-tests used in Aricept 15- and 30-week studies included measurements such as:
| What it is | What it measures | |||
| ADAS-cog | Primary Test: Alzheimer’s Disease Assesmemt Scale- Cognitive Subscale |
A test that measures thinking, remembering, communication, and the ability to figure things out | ||
| CIBIC-plus | Primary Test: Clinician’s Interview- Based Impression of Change |
An interview that gauges general change, as well as changes in behavior, thinking, and the ability to perform daily activities | ||
| SIB | Primary Test: Severe Impairment Battery |
A questionaire that measure memory, language, awareness of time and place, attention, movement, hand-eye coordination, recognition of name, construction and social interaction | ||
| ADCS-ADL | Primary Test: Modified Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Activities for Daily Living inventory for Severe Alzheimer’s |
A scale that measures the ability to perform normal day-to-day tasks like dressing, eating, bathing, and turning on lights or water faucets |
30-week study
A 30-week study also looked at Aricept in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. In this study, one group took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Both groups took tests to measure thinking, memory, and the ability to function in daily life, including effects on behavior. Researchers compared the results to see if Aricept improved or maintained these functions. The researchers learned that:
- Compared with the placebo group, patients taking Aricept scored better on the ADAS-cog test over a 6-month period
- Compared with the placebo group, about twice as many patients taking Aricept showed clinical improvement in the CIBIC-plus test, an interview that measures a person’s ability to function
6-month study
A 6-month study looked at patients with severe Alzheimer’s. All of these patients lived in nursing homes. The study compared 2 groups of patients. One of the groups took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Each group took tests that measured their thinking, memory, and how they functioned in daily life. The researchers found that:
- Overall, patients in the Aricept group improved on the SIB test; those in the placebo group declined
- As a whole, patients taking Aricept declined significantly less on the ADCS-ADL-severe test than patients in the placebo group
Aricept may not work the same for each person. Some studies have shown that symptoms may improve. If symptoms stay the same—or worsen more slowly than expected over time—this may also mean Aricept is working.
How Aricept Is Thought to Work
When someone has Alzheimer’s disease, nerve cells and vital chemicals in the brain are lost over time. This occurs in parts of the brain that are key to memory and other mental processes. One such chemical is called acetylcholine. This chemical helps carry messages from nerve cell to nerve cell in the brain. Alzheimer’s may impair thinking and memory by disrupting these messages between cells.
It is thought that Aricept may help reduce the breakdown of this chemical.
Safety Information
Aricept is well tolerated but may not be for everyone. People at risk for stomach ulcers or who take certain other medicines should tell their doctors because serious stomach problems, such as bleeding, may get worse. Some people who take Aricept may experience fainting.
Some people may:
- Have nausea
- Vomit
- Experience diarrhea
- Experience bruising
- Not sleep well
- Have muscle cramps
- Lose their appetite
- Feel tired
In studies, these side effects were usually mild and temporary.
If you are concerned about side effects, talk with your doctor.
Filed under Memory, Daily Life | Comment (0)*I* remember
Not long after Dad came to live with me, I passed by his room and he was just sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. I asked him, “What’s wrong Dad?”
He said “I don’t know - everything.” He had tears in his eyes. I sat down beside him and talked a bunch of ‘it’ll be ok’ and ‘i love you’ and ‘I’ll take care of you’ to him.
He held my hand and looked me straight in the eye and said “You’re a good woman.” I will have that forever. I don’t even know if he knew who *I* was at that time, but it’s something that i am going to keep in my heart forever. It’s something I can go back to when I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed or down.
Filed under Family | Comment (0)YAWN….
Had I mentioned Dad’s sleeping habits ? I sleep on the couch (by the front door) so if he gets confused and tried to go outside it will wake me (my dog’s potty bell is on the door knob). Dad goes to bed between 6 and 7 PM. The only time he stays up later is if my mother is here and I have gone out to eat with a friend, or am otherwise gone in the evening, then he’ll wait up until I get home. I admit that I enjoy the alone time in the evening, but the result is that he will get up anytime between midnight and 3 am. He actually got up at 9:30 the other night and scared the bejesus out of me. He comes into the living room and sits in his recliner and watches me sleep I guess. He’s always fully dressed and has his hair combed. The television is always on and I am usually careful about what channel I leave it on so that it’s not infomercials all night long. I’ll wake up and there he is. Sometime he’s went back to sleep. Other times he’ll look at his watch every 2 minutes or so (by the light of the tv).
If I’m not up myself at 5:30 - 6 am - I feel guilty because he’s sitting there - just waiting for me to make the coffee and then his breakfast.
I wanted to sleep in so badly this morning ……
Filed under Pity Party, Daily Life | Comment (0)Good Days - Bad Days
We have good days, where he remembers things and seems to be really on the ball. Today is not one of those days. Of course it was bath day, so that probably didn’t help. All his hankies were in the wash and he couldn’t find his white comb. He forgot to comb his hair, and the wash cloth and soap weren’t even wet in the shower. SIGH!! I guess he got rinsed off though, and he has clean clothes on and finally got his hair combed (with the pink comb).
Is this Sunday? No dad, it’s Friday. 10 minutes later - What day is it? It’s Friday Dad - 15 minutes later. Is it Sunday? No dad, it’s Friday.
Lunch time - what is this white stuff? Dad that’s pudding, it’s your dessert.
Do I need to feed those cats? No Dad, you fed the cats after breakfast like you do every day.
Is this Sunday?
Filed under Memory, Pity Party, Daily Life | Comment (0)Still the Man / doing chores
When Dad goes to bed (any time between 6 PM and 8 PM) - he always wants to know if I want him to shut the curtains, shut the windows, or lock the door. Some habits are deeply ingrained I guess. I always tell him that *I* am not going to bed yet and he always acts surprised that I am staying up.
Dad has a few chores he does around the place. He would do more if I could think of more that he could physically do. Every morning after breakfast he takes the pitcher of catfood out for the cats. Somehow we ended up with a BUNCH of cats. Only 2 will let you pet them, but we don’t have any mice! The cats go with him on his walk each morning too.
His other chore is taking out the trash. He would take out a bag 3 times a day if I had one. He always makes his bed when he gets up. He always offers to carry in bags when I’ve been grocery shopping. I wish I could think of more things for him to do, but he’s just so off-balance, and just not as strong as he used to be. There can only be, at most, 2 steps to any chore or he would get confused. He never complains about doing anything that I ask (hold this - hand me that) - and when I’m doing some of my chores that are a little beyond me (changing oil in the lawn mower) he can come up with both really GOOD suggestions, and some that are indecipherable as well.
On with this day - time for breakfast and the cats!
Filed under Daily Life | Comment (0)Is it Monday?
Dad can’t keep track of what day it is. It really doesn’t matter I guess. If it’s Sunday, it’s church day. We don’t have much of a busy calendar.
When he was in the nursing home, I bought one of those cheap wipe off message boards. Each day I would write the DAY, the DATE, and when he could expect either Mom or I to come and visit, and leave it magnetted to the mini fridge in his room. I usually drew a little picture too, just because i like to draw and I’m a bit of a show off.
Something else that helps a LOT with someone with dementia is a notebook. We would write in it each day, what he ate, if he had rehab, if he took a walk, if he had visitors, when we got there - when we left. It was good for us as well as him. The staff found it a valuable resource as well. Some days I would have DAD do the writing in it (Like, “write down what you had for lunch Dad”.
Another memory trigger device I made for him was something that I used for my son when he was a baby, so he could learn the names of family members. I made a collage of family pictures (including his picture) - put them on one sheet and we would play “Who is This”. Same game for Dad as I played with Rock when he was a baby.
Filed under Memory, Daily Life | Comment (0)I’ve lost my ….
This hasn’t happened for about 2 months, but for a while, it was an everyday occurance even while Dad was in the nursing home. He would lose something. Not really, but he thought he did. Sometimes it was his glasses, sometimes it was his keys. He would search high and low, walk all around outside, over and over and over. I would show him his glasses (in his pocket) and he’s say “That’s not them.” I would show him where I hung his keys, “That’s not them.” When questioned, he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for, he just knew he had lost ’something’. Since he gets his words mixed up, at first we never knew if he’d really lost something or not, and would be searching all over for whatever it was. It was so frustrating. I would let him look for 10 minutes or so and then I would finally just show him his keys - show him his glasses - and then just let him look for it until he gave up. I’d kid him and say “Yeah Dad you lost something , your marbles! I sure hope we find them.” He’d laugh and sometimes he’d realize that he maybe lost something years ago that he was looking for now. Then it was sad. He would sit in his chair and hold his head like he was trying to squeeze it to make it work right.
BUT - this hasn’t happened for a while now. I’m not sure why. Mom and I very carefully avoid saying “I lost ……” or “I can’t find ….” because that seemed to trigger him at times.
Filed under Daily Life | Comment (0)Doctor Visit
Dad’s yearly doctor visit was due, and with his recent fall, we went a little early. He’s healing up nicely but we needed to make sure there was no infection in the many scrapes and cuts he had. Doctor examined him and wanted to find a reason that he fell - so took some blood to rule out dehydration, or a mineral or vitamin deficiency. The office hasn’t called so I’m guessing that everything was normal. Dad has been so very healthy for his first 86 years … ! Doctor did increase his Aricept to 10 MG instead of 5. I started giving daddy fish oil capsules about a month ago, after reading about the success and improvements some people have seen after taking it. I swear I have seen some improvement. When Dad fell, he told the nurse that “I didn’t lose consciousness” - consciousness being a word I would have never expected him to say. 2 weeks after his fall, he’s back to taking his same walk again. He doesn’t remember falling at all.
Mom has been here since Friday Morning and I’ve got to enjoy some time out of the house alone. I took them to WalMart yesterday, and then out to lunch at Dennys (Mom bought). Dad stayed in the car while we went in WalMart. He isn’t up to that walking on top of his regular exercise. He was very impatient at the restaurant. He hates to wait, and doesn’t think he should have to. I don’t know if that is something new or if he’s always been that way!
My brother David called and said he’d be here in October to visit.
After the fall.
Filed under Daily Life | Comment (0)