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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Crotale on July 15, 2008, at 12:32:41
Anybody taking Aricept (donepezil) or Namenda (memantine) (or ever taken either of these)? If so, what side effects do/did you get, if any?
I've been considering asking my doc for a script for one of these meds, as they're supposed to prevent cognitive side effects from ECT. (Still haven't gotten any such side effects, but am having trouble cutting back to once-every-2-weeks, and worried about continuing at this frequency.)
-Crotale
Posted by Astounder on July 16, 2008, at 1:47:04
In reply to anti-dementia meds (Aricept, Namenda), posted by Crotale on July 15, 2008, at 12:32:41
Namenda is pretty much side-effect free; I've taken 20 mg/d for over a year now. Namenda is probably prophylactic against ECT-related memory loss and has adjunct antidepressant properties, but you might want to just cut to the chase and ask the anesthesiologist to use ketamine when he puts you under.
I've never taken any, but I know cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept can be depressogenic. Considering its use in dementia compared to Namenda, it'd work as a restorative rather than a prophylactic.
Posted by Crotale on July 20, 2008, at 22:21:22
In reply to Re: anti-dementia meds (Aricept, Namenda), posted by Astounder on July 16, 2008, at 1:47:04
> I've never taken any, but I know cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept can be depressogenic.
This isn't surprising.
> Considering its use in dementia compared to Namenda, it'd work as a restorative rather than a prophylactic.
Can you elaborate?
-Crotale
Posted by Crotale on July 27, 2008, at 7:25:35
In reply to Re: anti-dementia meds (Aricept, Namenda) » Astounder, posted by Crotale on July 20, 2008, at 22:21:22
> > Considering its use in dementia compared to Namenda, it'd work as a restorative rather than a prophylactic.
>
> Can you elaborate?I should've known that cholinergic drugs would be a bad idea. There's been some research on several other types of drugs, including thyroid hormones, calcium channel blockers, NO donors, nootropics (like the *racetams) and oodles of others that I can't think of off the top of my head.
I'm experiencing very mild/subtle cognitive side effects - what I call "word-finding difficulty" -- but I'm down to once-every-two-weeks ECT for maintenance, and the word-finding is getting better now.
This is the end of the thread.
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