This is my first post. My mother is 74 years old. She is a diabetic and had her heart valve replaced a couple of years ago. She has been on Zoloft for the past 4 years. She lives alone in a ground floor condo. I live in the same development in the next building over. I am her primary caregiver.
Over the past several years (6-10) we've noticed her becoming more forgetful. It mainly revolves around timing, (day, month, date, etc.) Two years ago we took her to a geriatric pychiatrist. He performed a congnitive evaluation which she scored 27 out of 30. He perscribed Aricept. She took Aricept for a year and we went back for another evaluation. She scored 28 out of 30 (with a little help...) He thought she should take Namenda and Aricept. She has been on both drugs for the past year. Since starting Namenda, she has been much more emotional. She also is having very vivid dreams or imagines things that don't happen. It is very hard to convince her that she imagined these things. (Things like people kissing her, or being upset with her.)
Although my mom has memory issues, she is still able to do many things like make coffee, use the microwave, use the remote control, shower and dress herself, do laundry, use the phone, etc. She is just forgetful. I think she has gotten much worse since starting Namenda. I know that I may just be hoping that it is the drug and not her, but I can time most of these things back to her starting on it.
Has anyone else's loved ones experienced these types of sypmtoms on Namenda? I have talked to her doctor but he says Namenda typically has little to no side effects. I am at the end of my rope and would love to hear from others in my position.
Please help!
Rob