Posted by utopizen on December 17, 2009, at 22:26:28
In reply to OMG Aricept!!, posted by Michael Bell on December 17, 2009, at 21:20:48
Aricept is an incredibly powerful drug. It can cause serious GI side effects, and the ones you mentioned are the luckier kind (common, too).
First, your doc is an idiot. This is not Dexedrine. If he actually prescribed you 10mg to start, he has no respect for just how powerful this medicine is, and how hard it is to tolerate it even when it's prescribed properly.
I took at least 4 or 6 weeks before going beyond 5mg. I was taking a stimulant for ADD, this was adjusted slowly down over time before the Aricept ever ramped up or was started.
I added Prilosec, for the GI problems. I think the GI symptom you cite goes away after a few weeks; a simple Pepto Bismo regimen suffices.
Better yet, avoid it. No one knows much about how this drug reacts long-term, because it's new for off-label treatments, and it's mostly a geriatric drug.
Which means it could shorten your lifespan, cause odd neurological side effects, or give you God knows what, with long-term use over years. We don't know, because by the time folks begin taking this, they're often so old they will die and no one will blame the drug. And, they're on 7 other drugs, so it's a mystery novel no one will bother with.
You want to take this medicine seriously. I used to take it. It induced mania, but I thought it was cool to think so fast (as if I was mentally challenged?? It wasn't worth it!)
poster:utopizen
thread:929777
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091217/msgs/929787.html