Namenda-Aricept

My father has been on Namenda for the past 4 years. When is was recommended by his doctor he told us this drug might slow the progression of his disease. After a month I would say that I did notice a stabilization of his behavior and orientation. Take note I said a stabilization.

Dr. George T. Grossberg professor and director of Geriatric Psychiatry at The St.Louis University School of Medicine states that: “Stability is akin to improvement in any progressive disease over time.” He is on Namenda’s website basically endorsing this medication.

While I would agree with Dr. Grossberg, no one provides information on how long someone should stay on Namenda. At what point does someone come off Namenda?
Because in my father’s case the disease has gone past the stabilization point and on again to progression.

After about 1 year of taking Namenda my father’s alzheimers has progressed nicely. I believe there has not been enough study on the long term effect of this medication in treating the disease of Alzheimers. But the drug companies continue to provide hope. Families and caregivers need to re-evaluate this drug after a period of time and decide if is this is working or not. In my father’s case it is not.

The Baby

Today’s Reflection

I am writing this blog to express my fears, frustrations, triumphs, and faith. My father is 86 years old he lives in a nursing home and he has Alzheimers. I have seen my father’s health go slowly down hill for the past 6 years after a head injury he received at home while walking into the attic door.

Since that time his memory started to fade, he asked repetitive questions, he got lost while driving and he told me on several occasions “I’m losing my mind.” I have seen him go from a big man of 6′2″ and 200 pounds down to 148 pounds.

Today he is in a new nursing home and has been there for a month.The care he is receiving from the staff is great. I thank them regularly for taking such good care of my father. After several years of home care and short stays at other nursing homes he is in what I believe to be “The Waiting Room.”

At first glance he looks like most other’s in the home. He resides most of the time in his wheel chair because his legs are too weak to stand for any length of time. His speech for the most part is useless. The dementia has done a great job with that.

Yesterday, I picked him up to go see an Orthopedic surgeon regarding his shoulder. It looks like a baseball on top of his shoulder. The doctor told me that is his shoulder. Because of the torn rotator cuff and his muscles being so weak it makes his shoulder sit high. And because of his a age and condition he is not a good candidate for surgery. Dad doe’s not complain about the pain, he endures it like everything else.

I don’t know what I would have done without my faith in God. I pray for my both my father and mother everyday, sometimes several times of day, and no matter what happens my heavenly father always brings me through it.

From,
The Baby