 |
 |
On Sun, 30 Mar 1997 20:39:43 -0500 (EST) Ken Becker <[log in to unmask]> writes: >Carol, the Aricept sounds like something that could really help my dad. >If you have any new information, I would really apreciate hearing >about it, and I am sure it might be of interest to many on the list. I hope you get more good results for your mother. >[OO] LOOKING FOR RADIOS! >Ken Becker >[log in to unmask] Ken and others on the PD list. I first heard about Aricept on this list. My brother golfs with his family doctor who is seeing my mother Louise ( 87/w PD and dementia) while we are spending the winter in Florida. One day my brother came home from golfing and said there was a new medicine out for Alzheimers and thought we might like to try it with mother. Aricept? I asked. Yes that was what it was. With the first pill we saw dramatic improvement. Both short term (which was all but gone) and long term memory have improved. She can now tell us what she did yesterday where before aricept she couldn't remember what happened just a few minutes before. She still has days when she is sooo tired that she sleeps a lot and everything is hard to do. But on the days when she is awake, she is much more alert. She used to be startled by the noise of dishes being put away or a door closing. Now she takes these noises in stride. I think before aricept she couldn't relate the noise to its cause and got frightened of the unknown. She is feeding herself and can remove her bridge herself when I brush her teeth. The muscles of her mouth were so tight before that it was hard to brush her front teeth. Now she lifts her lips so I can do a good job. She now enjoys a ride in the country of going down to the lake to see the waterfowl. She has been experiencing incontinence since last fall. Now while she is awake she can tell me she needs to use the bathroom. She still has the problem when she sleeps. This dementia crept up on us slowly. I am so happy with the effect of aricept and I would recomend anyone suspecting the beginnings of dementia to give it a try. One thing I have learned about the administration of aricept it that it is better to give it at bedtime. It carries through the night and she awakes alert in the morning. So, another prayer has been answered. A Blessed Easter Season to all Carol Brow [log in to unmask] Lake Leelanau, MI Winter Haven, FL >On Wed, 19 Mar 1997, Carol L. Brow wrote: > >> Hello >> >> My name is Carol Brow and I take care of my mother, >> Mary Louise Brow, who is 87 years old and has both >> parkinsons and dementia. >> >> She has very little tremor but almost no balance and can >> not coordinate enough to feed herself or do much of >> anything. She takes sinemet which relaxes her muscles >> enough so that with me behind her holding her up, >> she can walk a few feet with tiny steps to get into or out >> of her wheel chair or into the bathroom or assist me in >> dressing her. >> >> On Monday she began taking Aricept, one 5 mg tablet >> per day. Within a half hour she was bright eyed, knew >> where she was and who we were. She carried on a normal >> conversation and when I got her up to walk she stepped >> right out with an almost normal stride. >> >> I still need to have a hold of her to walk but she carries her own >weight >> and doesn't freeze in doorways or other narrow spaces. >> >> She picked up her cup and drank from it without assistance >> where before she might fumble for it and spill it or not be able >> to hold it because it was too heavy even though it was only 1/3 >> full. >> >> This has kept up for three days. She is witty in conversation >> and can almost stand up by herself from a sitting position. >> >> Has anyone had experience with Aricept? >> >> Can it be given more than once a day? Why I ask is that she >> regresses by morning and that if she took one at bedtime it >> should carry her through the morning. >> >> I'm so pleased with the results that I encourage anyone with >> dementia to give Aricept a try. >> >> Carol Brow >> Lake Leelanau, MI and >> Winter Haven, FL >> >