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Share your experience: submit a drug review
Below are Aricept (Donepezil) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 4 ratings/reviews, Aricept has an overall score of 3.50. The effectiveness score is 4.50 and the side effect score is 5. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence. | | Aricept review by care giver of 80 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | |   |
| Effectiveness: | | Ineffective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Alzheimer's disease |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10 mg taken once daily for the period of 6 months |
| Other conditions: | | hernia, teeth problems |
| Other drugs taken: | | Tamasapan | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | We could not identify any benefits at all. The behavior and memory problems remained unchanged or worsened over time. Anxiety continued to increase and the dementia progressed systematically. Disorientation continued to increase and the patient became more and more difficult to manage. It appeared that irritability increased and the patient became more agitated more easily. |
| Side effects: | | There was some indication that there was at least some increase nausa as well as some infrequent but increased bouts of diarrhea. There were a few episodes of vomiting, but it might be attributed to other factors for this one side effect. There was definitely increased insomnia as well as loss of appetite, but it can not be definitively stated that the drug alone contributed to these although it did occur after the drug was begun. |
| Comments: | | The patient was given a daily dose. After transfer to a care facility, the regimentation in taking the dose was firmly set in place. Staff medical personnel on site did not observe any benefits, and as a result, after about 6 months the prescription was terminated. During the time the drug was used, there was a patient review every other week to ascertain whether there seemed to be any improvement in the patient. Memory tests were administered and one-on-one interviews were executed by medical personnel. The results of the memory testing showed no net improvement nor was there any identifiable changes that might be considered positive. Ultimately her psychiatrist in consultation with the family decided that the drug did not seem to provide any net gain. |
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| | Aricept review by 47 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
| Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Memory |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10mg taken 1 dose per day for the period of 4 weeks |
| Other conditions: | | Depression |
| Other drugs taken: | | Zoloft & Wellbutrin SR | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | I believe I noticed some improvement in retaining information from conversations as well as from reading,including,but not limited to, books, magazines, newspapers. I also think I was clearer with regard to remembering events -the event itself, as well as the order in which things occurred in the particular event.
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| Side effects: | | Initially, I noticed no side effects. However, after taking it for approximately three weeks I began with nausea. I assumed I had caught a 'bug' & continued taking the med. Going into the fourth week the nausea became more pronounced & came intermittently throughout the day & evening. Additionally,the nausea was intermittently accompanied by a mild headache. |
| Comments: | | My doctor prescribed Aricept to aid my memory difficulties following a serious car accident in which I sustained multiple injuries, including a head injury. I do not recall events correctly, nor do I recall them in proper sequence. I have great difficulty remembering things;ex: If I have something on the stove I must stay with it; if I walk away I become distracted & completely forget I have something on the stove; I forget where I put things;if I am given instructions on something, they must be written down, as I cannot recall them or recall them correctly. Some past events are forgotten or foggy. |
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| | Aricept review by 50 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Head injury/concussion |
| Dosage & duration: | | 5 mg taken once a day, at bedtime for the period of 5 weeks, and currently continuing |
| Other conditions: | | mild tramatic brain injury, secondary headache, cognitive deficits, sleep disorder, post-concussion |
| Other drugs taken: | | Klonapin, Ambien, Zoloft, Ativan (4 this injury); Metatoprol, Synthroid (previously & currently on)) | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Easy to take (1 pill before bed), noticably helped me think more clearly, speak better, organize thoughts so I could accomplish small projects. Before the Aricept, I couldn't sort things (laundry, paperwork, bills), couldn't remember to eat, brush teeth, shower, etc. |
| Side effects: | | Nausea, gastric problems (diarrhea) and mild headaches.
I take it at night, so the first 3-4 hours of each morning I experience the above side effects. This is uncomfortable during the first 2-3 weeks, then your body gradually gets used to it. |
| Comments: | | Patient: I had suffered a fall from a vasovagal syncope episode (fainted from a standing position, hit back of head on floor). It was approximately 6 or 7 months before I was prescribed the Aricept. The Aricept was prescribed to help the brain repair and re-connect (memory, executive reasoning: strategic planning, options, solutions, implementation, changes and follow-through).
The side effects were worse the first 2-3 weeks on the 5 mg, then the 4th week, my body appeared to adjust and they became less intense. The 5th week, the doctor moved me up to 10 mg, and the side effects increased again. At that point, he took me off the Aricept and tried a competitors "patch" called Exelon. That didn't work well at all and set me back 5-6 weeks cognitively.
Now I'm back on the 5mg of Aricept for the past 2 weeks and the plan is to stay on that dose for 6 months to a year. The side effects were the same at first, and are now getting better each day. I suspect those side effects to subside in the next few weeks. And cognitively - I am improving again each day. |
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| | Aricept review by care giver of 77 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Ineffective |
| Side effects: | | Extremely Severe Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | alzheimer's/dementia |
| Dosage & duration: | | started at 5mg taken everyday for the period of 2 weeks |
| Other conditions: | | asthma, high blood pressure |
| Other drugs taken: | | drugs for the above conditions | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | none!!!! |
| Side effects: | | Within 1 week of taking this drug my Grandmother almost died. She started hearing voices talking to her telling her they were gona kill her & her family she stopped eating/going to the bathroom, she tried running away 2x. etc....She was admitted to the hospital and taken off of the aricept it has been 1 week in the hospital she would just lay there looking like she wasnt even alive still talking to the voices she heard.... & just yesterday she started coming back to reality/her normal self, i would NOT recommend this drug to anyone it almost killed her. |
| Comments: | | stated off with 5mg & gradually increased |
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