Thanks to all friends here and on CARE who have offered ideas, warm
thoughts, and support re: Peter's recent troubles with abdominal pains,
jaw dyskinesia, etc.
I promised an update after he had been on Aricept for a while, and here it is:
We started Aricept (the Alzheimer's memory med) on June 6th, about a month
ago now. At first I noticed no change of any kind. There is definitely no
help with memory or slowness of thought, as some had reported for their PWPs.
Maybe his cognitive problems are the wrong kind? However, about 2 weeks
ago, he was reporting several problems that were new for him--slight insomnia,
slight nausea, and loss of appetite,with a "full" feeling. We were at the
hospital twice because he had abdominal pains and nausea, and feared he had
another intestinal obstruction, but that was not the case. Today I called
our pharmacist (mail order at Merck-Medco) as I couldn't lay hands on theAricep
t package insert, and thought I recalled that anorexia was one side effect.
I learned that the side effects are,in order, nausea,diarrhea,insomnia,
vomiting,muscle cramps,fatigue,and anorexia ! Called our neuro, who agreed
we should stop the Aricept, as it seemed the likely culprit---we will keep
off it until we see him on 7/21 to reevaluate. P. (who is our designated
worrier) is much relieved. Also, since I cut back on the Sinemet slightly,
the jaw dyskinesia has disappeared. Whew!"Eternal vigilence is the price of
PD caregiving", to paraphrase Ben Franklin (wasn't it he who said that about
Liberty?) Maybe now P. will be able to eat and regain lost weight!
I am sorry to give up on the Aricept, and glad that it has been helpful to
other PWPs on the list, but the fact that it seemed not to help makes it
easier, as the "cure" was apparently worse than the "problem"...for us.
Thanks again to all who shared and helped us---
Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter, 78/7, Oxford,Ohio
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