Generic Name: Memantine for Alzheimer's Disease (memantine)
Memantine for Alzheimer's Disease Reviews
Namenda (memantine) "Mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s and it was severe to where she went into a memory care. Once she started Namenda, within the second week, it was like she was back to her old self. She was able to get up by herself, dressed like she had prior to the Alzheimer's. It was truly unbelievable. This medicine has given us more time with our loved one. She was active, psychotic, delusional, and hallucinating 24/7. Unbelievable. I cannot say enough good things about this medication. She was tired the first week, but that was good, better to rest than to be awake and delusional. I think she is ready for an increase where she is getting her nighttime/early morning bad dreams back again. But it has been 2 years since she started this medication. Please, everyone, give this medication time to work. It is a miracle medicine. Give it at least 2 weeks at the same time daily. I read reviews and it can be a mess just after a few days. The med is fully working, yet please give it another chance and more time. Amazing."
Namenda (memantine) "My mother has been taking Namenda for Alzheimer's for over a year now. She was first prescribed Aricept which made her more anxious/hyperactive & no noticeable positive impact. After 2 weeks of Namenda, there was noticeable improvement in her cognitive abilities. In fact, the light bulb finally went off & she realized she had Alzheimer's. She spent the next several days on the phone breaking the news to family and friends, who had known for over 2 years by that time. My opinion: Namenda keeps her in 2013 - in the present. Her logic, reasoning, problem-solving skills, short-term memory, comprehension, and communication skills are impaired from the disease, but she recognizes this and acknowledges her feelings of confusion."
Namenda (memantine) "It was a wonderful drug for my mother, with dementia, at 77. They first prescribed Aricept, which caused nausea. Asking the doctor 'what other drug may work'? She recommended Namenda. It became a miracle. It did not rectify some of the mental losses, but she no longer experienced hallucinations (in jail; on a boat). It came at the end of the year when insurance wouldn't pay for the drug. So I waited for two weeks without drug to resume insurance at the first of the year. During this time she regressed mentally. As soon as I started it again, she improved-true testament. I was able to have my mom back for two years until a stroke. I swear by Namenda for only my mother. I tell everyone. As with any drug, it may not work for others, but it was truly a godsend for my sweet mother. She and I were lucky."
Namenda (memantine) "We started my Dad on Namenda, and by day 2, he was more confused, lost, and irritable than usual, so my Mom stopped it. The doctor asked her to start again, and the same day, he experienced the same side effects, so she stopped. Last week, she decided to try it one more time to make sure. Dad was VERY confused and not easy to take care of. I guess he is just one of those people that can't take this medication. Too bad. It helps so many people."
Namenda (memantine) "Horrible drug! No help at all, and they wanted my dad to take more! He just passed away from surgery complications, but after being off it, he was NORMAL. The doctor had him on so many meds, this being one along with Zoloft. These mind-altering drugs are BAD! Also avoid Haldol. If you have a loved one, PLEASE get them off these. I don't buy into these did wonders for my mom or dad, probably written by the drug companies' reps. Watch the World News, EVERY OTHER AD is a drug ad. The less you take, the better. I'm sorry we gave these to my dad."
"My wife, who has Vascular Dementia/Alzheimer's Disease. She has tried this drug twice. First time, she started on a low dose of memantine and built up to 20mg. Her condition became worse over a period of time. I was not sure if this was a normal progression of her condition. We stopped the drugs, and within two weeks she had settled down, and things were more manageable. A year later, we have tried the drug again on a low dose of 5mg. The confusion became worse. So we have stopped them again. It is hard to know if there are any benefits from this drug in our experience."
Namenda (memantine) "I have taken it for about 4-5 years. I feel able to cope pretty well considering. I live by myself and manage to do most things. I still have memory issues, but so do most people. I have been fortunate not to have had adverse effects of any consequence."
Namenda (memantine) "My father has significantly improved since taking Namenda and Aricept combined, as well as 24-hour caregiver support at home. We believe that the combination has helped dad's cognitive function not just by medication alone, but because he had companionship 24 hours a day. Dad was confused, always thought he was at work and wanted to go home. He forgot who we were and even made sexual moves towards people he would not have otherwise when he did not have Alzheimer's. The symptoms or behaviors he still has are occasional memory loss but very little. He is still paranoid and thinks people are stealing from him or going on his property when they are not, and he occasionally still sees people or animals that aren't there. But the confusion of who we were, where he was, and the wandering and wanting to 'go home' even when he was home is no longer an issue. My dad is only 73, and he was diagnosed last year with Alzheimer's."
Namenda (memantine) "My mother has been treated with the Exelon (patch) for two years now. Last month she was changed to Namenda. She has become irritable, aggressive/depressed and more confused than before. We are asking the doctor to switch back to Exelon."
Namenda (memantine) "My sister has moderate frontal lobe Alzheimer’s. She was extremely agitated, angry, and weepy. She was withdrawing into herself and had little awareness of her surroundings and had difficulty with dressing and toileting. Literally, after the first day of Namenda 20 mg, it was like someone turned the lights on. It’s been 2 months now, and she is aware and able to go for walks by herself; dress herself and play the piano. Her memory and executive function continue to be poor. Nothing short of a miracle. Not sure how long this will last."
Namenda (memantine) "My mother has taken Namenda twice now. The first time she was so confused after a week, I stopped giving it to her. She has gotten worse over the years and for some reason her doctor had given me a new prescription for the same medicine. I tried it for two days and saw my mother become extremely confused, so I stopped giving it to her. I don't know why he insisted on Namenda after I told him it didn't work the first time."
Namenda (memantine) "My PCP put me on Namenda to supplement my Aricept for Alzheimer's disease. Seems to help my short-term memory. However, my memory lapses happen every 2 weeks or so and only for a short period. When it is working, I can think clearly. I'm 62 and thankful for this medication."
Namenda (memantine) "My mom is 94. We started her on this medication because she was confused to the point of argument, mostly in the late afternoon till bedtime. After 5 days of treatment, she seemed to be worse, starting when she wakes up. Not sure what to do except to call the doctor on Monday to ask what we should do."
Namenda (memantine) "My mom has been on this medication for one year, and her condition (dementia) is getting worse. She's hallucinating, aggressive, and extremely confused. It seems as if this medication is making things worse and speeding up the progress of the dementia. This drug should not be on the market. I will bring her to her psychologist soon, and I will be asking for this drug to be taken off her daily medication intake. Please say no to this drug."
"I haven't experienced this firsthand, but I've been researching this drug thoroughly, and I am conflicted with its efficiency. Of course, it will be a different reaction for everyone; not everyone is the same. And I don't know which is harder: treating for it and getting side effects, or not, and losing your memory. My heart goes out to every person who has to go through that, and their families as well."
Namenda (memantine) "My wife (74) has been taking Namenda since the first diagnosis of Alzheimer's two years ago. She also takes any supplement that promises to help retain or improve memory. Her memory has stayed about the same or gotten a little worse in that time. She has also taken Aricept during the same period."
Namenda (memantine) "My mother has been taking it for one month and her dementia - which was mild - has gotten worse. She is confused and thinks that my brother lives with her. She was taking samples as she cannot afford the medicine."
Namenda XR (memantine) "My wife began the 4-stage process a couple of months ago, and I stopped it halfway through week 2 because she seemed to be getting more confused. We started again a month ago and are into the 2nd full dose, and I am very concerned that her condition is worse instead of better."
"Both of my parents suffered from Alzheimer's. My mother died last summer, eight years after her diagnosis, and never took any medication except for Lorazepam. My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's six months ago. He began taking Aricept in November and Memantine in December. In five months, he has degenerated so rapidly that he is functioning at the same level my mom was at in her last year of the disease. Every time the dose is increased, he gets exponentially worse, it's noticeable almost daily. I am in the process of titrating him off both. I wish I would have researched it better. I thought that was the doctor's job. This is the first online review I have written. Grateful to hear that I'm not imagining these side effects. Thanks."
"Problem. Patient forgets recent events and the doctor told us it was due to insufficient blood supply to the brain, and prescribed Dement (memantine). Immediately (2 days) condition worsens to hallucinations and confusion. Took some two other vitamins from a pharmacist for 3 months. Patient was clearly getting better, in fact, even the recent memory was getting better with the vitamins. Went back to the neurological doctor and explained everything to him. He told us to reuse memantine, and by the third day, the negative side effects were back. As of tomorrow, it will be taken off."
Namenda XR (memantine) "My wife tried to add Namenda as a component of combination therapy, but after continuous bouts of bronchitis, we terminated Namenda and, as a result, she was (in short order) able to get rid of the bronchitis. Since Namenda had seemed promising (initially, before bronchitis), we were very disappointed that it seemed necessary to eliminate that component of her treatment. Although our neurologist had not previously seen a case in which bronchitis was a side effect of Namenda, he suggested we try Namenda XR. We are thrilled that she has been able to take Namenda XR without experiencing such a side effect and that Namenda XR appears to be providing desired benefits."
"My mother at age 82 has been taking the memantine 2 months now. Before she started this she was taking her own medication, within 2 days of taking them she started forgetting to take any medications. She began first 5mg one week, 10mg 2nd week,15mg 3rd week and 20mg there one. My mum has been incredibly tired, feeling dizzy to nearly falling over. She is extremely confused more than ever. A new year today and she seems to not even know the time or day or where she is. She even started seeing things. New year tomorrow, I have decided I am no longer giving her these medications."
"My 82 yr old mother has dementia and ended up on memantine 21mg ER. She was lathargic, dizzy and confused. We assumed it was just the progression of her disease. Her PCP suggested stopping the memantine. My mother improved for several days as the drug left her system (I read it has a half life of 100 hours.) After that she became confused again, lethargic and could barely speak. Adding the 21 mg back improved her condition for a while but she eventually ended up lethargic and confused again. Our conclusion from this was that the dosage was much too high. After a week with a single 5 mg tablet a day she is much more aware, is speaking in complete sentences and has been to getting out of her wheel chair and walking with a walker again. My advice is to monitor the patient taking this medication closely and do not allow doctors to rush to higher dosages."
"Experimental drug, they say it MAY slow progression. For most, it makes symptoms WORSE. Your doctor will not listen to you. Because they need to keep experimenting.... on your loved ones. My mother went from mild symptoms to a complete shutdown, actually unable to function. The doctor's solution was to double the dosage. Also, the drugstore wants to fill the script 5 to 7 days early EVERY month. This makes 14 months' worth a year, so you end up throwing pills away. Doesn't take much insight to see what's going on. Fix this and fix America's health care skyrocketing costs. Doctors have become drug reps and politicians. Pretty arrogant. I couldn't even have a conversation with the doctor about this drug, I knew more than him after 15 minutes of research."
"My mum, who has been diagnosed with vascular dementia and was at the stage of being extremely confused about where she was and who close relatives were, began taking memantine in January 2015. In short, it has given me my mum back. Mum is now relatively alert, has markedly improved memory, and is back in the present. I had never imagined such an improvement was possible. It's really strange to be having conversations with mum about what she was like before taking the drug. Viki."
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