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He has been on namenda and aricept for 20 years. A palliative care doc advised me to wean him off of these two. Famimly doc says ok, but his condition will deteriorate a lot faster. He is functioning, but ADLs are slipping. He can’t read, can’t drive, won’t shower, wears dirty clothes, won’t leave the house.


Should he come off these drugs or not? Now it seems like a moral dilemma.

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Would you please explain why they would want him off that med? My dad has dementia. He drank also but has been sober for a lot longer than he drank. I'm not sure if the alcohol affected his dementia. He is going to be 88 this year and considered mid-level Alzheimers now. His doctor recommended that he stop one of his memory pills and did not explain why. My mom and I decided not to do that since we have a wedding for my daughter at the end of May in London. The last thing we want is for him to spiral down. Thanks.
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These drugs will help sharpen his memory and abilities until they do not work anymore. When they do not work anymore, then wean him off. Seems he still needs these medications.
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If I understand correctly, your husband stopped drinking 15 years ago and no longer consumes any alcohol. He began taking both medications while he was still drinking. His alcoholism may have contributed to his developing dementia at age 65, but I don't see how it would be a factor in your current decision on whether or not to discontinue the medications. I would suggest speaking to a neurologist that specializes in dementia to help reconcile the different opinions of the palliative and primary doctor.

Our family chose to continue dementia meds (rivastigmine) even when Mom was on hospice in order to prevent cognitive decline, and in her case we feel it was the right decision.
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Georgebmay: If he continues to consume alcohol, those medications may be of nil value.
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Georgebmay Mar 13, 2025
He has been sober for fifteen years
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I'd follow the advice of the palliative care doctor and wean him off both drugs. If things get much worse immediately, you can talk to the doctor about going back on the drugs.
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cjvp4241 Mar 15, 2025
Why would you support the removal of drugs?
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Unfortunately, there is no cure for Dementia. Some of these medications don't work for everyone. My dad was suicidal on Aricept. You may have to place your husband in a memory care facility. Your husband may become very hostile.
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Brandee again

You could also take him off one of them, see how it goes, then take him off of the other one. That would be the conservative approach.

Perhaps talk to a pharmacist and see which one the pharmacist would discontinue first.
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Geaton777 Mar 9, 2025
Telling someone to stop taking their prescription meds is NOT the job of the pharmacist but of the prescribing doctor ONLY.
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It is my understanding that the studies on those drugs where performed on those with early dementia/alzhemers and it is my understanding that there are not studies on these drugs for mid and late dementia/alzheimers. It is unknown if the drugs do much for mid to late dementia/alzheimers.

Mom was on those drugs for about 16 years. I ended up taking her off of the drugs when she got chronic UTI's. One of the side effects was urinary issues on one of them. The UTI's stopped when taking her off. We saw no change after we took her off of the drugs and she lived another 4 years after that.

You could always try taking him off (I'd do a taper) and evaluate and put him back on the drugs if you think you need to.
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These drugs are for early dementia but there is a point that quality of life still slips away. My MIL came off when she entered LTC. She did have a rapid decline but still lived another 5 years. Your husband has already passed the quality time. You mentioned a palliative doctor is recommending stopping the drug. It is time to think that his dementia is entering final stages.
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It's my understanding that neither of those drugs do anything much to help with dementia, other than perhaps the Aricept which if it helps at all only slows the progression and that is only for about 6 months to a year, so if his doctor wants him weaned off of these useless(at this point)medications I would just follow the recommended weaning off process.
Your husband is dying because of this horrific disease, so why would you want to prolong the inevitable anyway?
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swmckeown76 Mar 11, 2025
Some people wouldn't want to prolong life in this situation, while others wouldn't. It's what *he* wants if he can still articulate his wishes, or what he said when he was more coherent. It's not for anyone else to decide that someone else's life is no longer worth living. Frankly, I'd be appalled if *anyone* considered me of having a life no longer worth living. I'd consider it both ageist and ableist.
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Sadly, I have extreme experience in this situation.

As I read your question and backgrounder, I understood your situation as NOW your husband is 15 years sober. Otherwise, how on palliative care, not driving, diminished ADLs is he getting his alcohol?

(I’m thinking that with the diagnosis news, your husband was completely depressed with his terminal situation and how it would affect you and your relationship and he turned to alcohol to “ease the pain” which then depleted his B12… and all of the rest…)

Thinking that already your husband has undergone a battery of blood and urine tests and that his vitamin deficiencies, such as serious lack of B12 caused by years of alcohol consumption, (which destroys the brain and worsens symptoms of dementia) have been addressed.

Regarding Namenda and Aricept, in my experience, when my husband was taken off of both Namenda and Aricept after 8 years, there was no noticeable difference in his brain function. However, when he was taken off of those meds, he was given a very low dose of Zoloft to ease his depression and continue with B12 (METHYL not Cyanide binders), and D3.

if your husband qualified for palliative care, then listen to them. Trust , but verify. This is what you are doing now. I applaud you.

Your husband would never have wanted this life and you don’t either.

there will be moments where you don’t even think that your husband has dementia, he is spot on and clear. Just like that Nicholas Sparks The Notebook. Because your husband really still is inside.

And then, it all disappears. What???? Why? A true rollercoaster of emotions and reactions.

And yes, make certain all legal and financial areas of life are in order or in process.

I hope that this helps in this heartbreaking journey.
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I'm sure those medications do not mix well with alcohol, thus the reason dh should be weaned off of them. If your husband wants to speed up his demise with booze, that's fine because what's the point in lingering on for another miserable 10 years or whatever, where you'll have to place him and spend the family nest egg to do so. Follow the doctors advice and let dh choose his own way out. If I'm diagnosed with dementia, I'll swallow a bunch of pain pills with a big glass of whiskey and save myself and my family the heartache and expense of the Long Goodbye.

My condolences on your situation.
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ElizabethAR37 Mar 10, 2025
Yup, I'd probably do the same--IF I could get strong pills and enough of them. That can be a real issue these days now that the DEA seems to have taken over medical practice in many states.
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I'm sorry for his worsening symptoms and having to now ponder whether the meds are doing much or anything. I did some researching online and could not really find anything that definitively said those meds work well beyond 5 years. I don't know about the weaning off protocol -- his doc should be consulted for that. Because of his alcoholism, has he ever been checked for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome? Alcohol blocks the absorption of an essential vitamin, creating a deficiency which causes dementia-like symptoms. If caught early, it can be treated but if not caught early it is permanent... Maybe this is what he had all along? It's astonishing that he survived 20 years with ALZ, even being on meds. May you receive peace as you make decisions in his best interests.
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What are the reasons given to withdraw his medication.
That will be helpful.
Really, in general, and in terms of advice, you should consult legal experts (Attorneys), Medical experts (docs) and financial experts (financial concerns) for questions in those fields.
You are new here. You won't find doctors, attorneys and financial experts on this forum, just a bunch of caregivers. So do know that your discussions with your doctors about their reasons to give or withdraw medications will be crucial. Also not easy.
There is really no cure here.
You are looking to hope to stop progression being rapid and you are looking to relieve symptoms.
Again, Welcome to the Forum.
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