Donepezil User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

• KMP
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 2, 2022

Aricept (donepezil) for Alzheimer's Disease "My dad was diagnosed with dementia and was prescribed Aricept. His demeanour changed to extremely agitated and almost violent. I had to stop giving it to him. It did nothing to help with his memory. I saw only negative impact on him from taking this drug."

• Oneto...
• September 15, 2015

For Lewy Body Dementia "My husband was recently diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, and the worst part was the hallucinations he was having of people coming in the house, threatening him, stealing things, hiding things and pretending to be me or one of his daughters. There was no dealing with these imaginary people. Our Neurologist suggested trying Donepezil (Aricept) and we started with 5 mg. and moved to 10 mgs since he had no side affects. It was amazing: his hallucinations stopped completely by the third day! They have never come back."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2012

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "My spouse has been taking donepezil for about about three months. I notice some stability on her memory. The medicine does prevent her from sleeping normally. I notice she is restless for about two to three hours after taking it. She will be taking Aricept 10mg starting today 17 Aug 2012. I'm hoping that the medicine will continue to help her."

• berta
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 26, 2019

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "I am 71. No functional impairment, but with a family history of, not dementia, but short term memory loss. Went to a "memory clinic" to see if there was anything I could/should do to guard against my mother's fate. They prescribed donepezil 10MG for "mild dementia" and notified the DMV. Driving history: no moving violations and no collisions, not even a bump -- but hey. When I inquired why? the MD said they notify the DMV of EVERY prescription of donepezil. Maybe this is the law, but be forewarned. PS: am I getting any benefit? Hard to know, since I didn't have any issues, was looking for **preventive** measures available. OTOH no neg effects, either."

• Daisy...
• October 22, 2016

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "At 53 this has help me so much to stop me from losing any more of my memory. Due to Strokes, Brain aneurysms, and many surgeries from blocked arteries. I am a 24 year Disabled Medical Adminastrator. Been very hard. I also take Namenda. These Meds have been a Blessing to me."

• Marram
• August 31, 2016

For Alzheimer's Disease "My mother in law was on this drug for 2 months. While her short term memory continued to fail she also seemed more confused. We took her off and she has started to seem less confused-this is week 3 without. She has also experienced diarrhea and had lost weight. I am not sure there is a reliable study that can tell how well this drug might work for some because everyone's disease is different. We can't go back and see how they would have done without the drug. We will not be putting her back on."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 12, 2012

For Alzheimer's Disease "Our Mother has been on this medicine for sometime now and not sure if it's helping or not. She gets angry all the time and see's things and people. Whats to go home even when she is home and doesn't understand why she can't see her family. She seems to be stuck at this stage and isn't moving forward (not getting better not getting worse). She is losing weight and not sleeping and falling a lot. Don't know what to do, take her off or leave her on it. "

• crwri...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 13, 2018

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "I am lucky to have survived this medication. The prescribing doctor did not bother to research drug reactions and left me on Trazadone for insomnia. I realized there was a problem, but only lowered Trazadone from 300 mg to 100 mg because of intense insomnia. I was in the nuthouse 3 times on this drug, and no one questioned Aricept as the cause. I was taken off Aricept in May of 2017 for muscle spasms and have been fine ever since."

• eyeon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 23, 2014

For Lewy Body Dementia "Within a week of starting on 1/2 5 mg pill, Aricept generic, my spouse's verbalization improved to the point where others noticed and volunteered a positive comment. Now on the full 5 mg pill per day, there are no side effects. And the psychoses have become fewer, shorter lasting, and less bizarre. The long and short term memory, though, has neither improved nor worsened. And my spouse has virtually no spatial or temporal awareness, which is no better or worse than before the meds."

• Geeg
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2018

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "My husband has been on Aricept 5 mg nightly for about 6 weeks for memory loss related to anesthesia during past surgery. He has not felt well since he started. He has cramps in his feet at night, profuse sweating, fatigue and weakness. Lightheaded when he stands and passed out and had a siezure 2 days ago. His memory loss and anxiety actually got worse on the med. I took him off the med today and contacted the doctor who agrees with my decision. We will wait now and see if he improves. It’s very frightening what these meds can do to your physical and mental well being"

• John
• February 28, 2021

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "Awful pills my dad took them for 4 days after which we knew he couldn't continue with them. He was so out of it stumbling around without his glasses on and he is nowhere near as bad normally. He forget things now and again but this made him much worse."

• Deser...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 19, 2024

For Alzheimer's Disease "I am writing this for my husband. He was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. During our visit with his neurologist last week, I asked if we couldn't consider some kind of therapeutic treatment. The doctor offered Donepezil. I had never heard of it. He started him on 1/2 pill per night for 30 days, then will increase to 1 full 10mg tablet after that. I have to say - I am so extremely impressed so far with how much this medication has helped him. I started noticing a huge difference by the 2nd day, and by the 3rd day, he was smiling again and even making jokes. He hasn't done this for over a year. He is more 'present' and more aware of and interacting with his surroundings. He is talking in complete sentences. He isn't getting angry with the dogs and cats. He is actually engaging in discussions with me again. He was even able to read some simple instructions to put together an item I bought him for Christmas. He hasn't been able to use tools for over a year. I'm so grateful."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2017

For Alzheimer's Disease "I took my father off this medicine. Really awful side effects, he had a hard time controlling his bowel and it wrecked havoc on his extremities. The drug caused all his hands and fingers to lock up and he also experienced really painful cramps on his legs and feet."

• Bert
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 15, 2018

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "A friend was commenced on this drug and almost immediately experienced a rapid decline in cognitive impairment. Her short term memory, her orientation to place and time both seemed to worsen and she was notably more anxious."

• NCdau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2017

For Alzheimer's Disease "My dad has been on it for about five months, and he has mild dementia. Normally slow to anger and hates confrontation. He is in his nineties, and after taking the medicine says he needs to be 'locked up' because he is afraid he will do something terrible. Bad nightmares, irritability and some muscle pain. Told him to throw the stuff out and we will see if there is improvement."

• study...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 20, 2024

Aricept (donepezil) for Alzheimer's Disease "Drug has made a significant impact on me. Cleared up most of my confusion, loss of focus, and overall insecurity feelings. I have experienced many of the minor side effects listed in articles, but none that could not be worked through."

• Lynda...
• July 15, 2017

For Alzheimer's Disease "My mum has been on Donepezil for 2 years. Over the past 6 months her appetite had deteriorated, she's losing weight, getting aggressive and she was falling a lot. I have recently discovered she wasn't taking her pills and hiding them in her gums and pretending to swallow, then when I moved away she was taking them out of her mouth and putting them in the bin. She's 82. I have changed the routine of night time meds to morning as this seems easier. Without this pill, 10mg a day, she deteriorates badly. There is a massive difference in her vocabulary and attitude more than anything else. For those bad comments talking about the drug when it hasn't been taken for at least 12 weeks, please ignore. This needs to be given time to work."

• Lizzy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 23, 2020

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "I have bipolar disorder and am 50 years old. I noticed I had zero recall, disorientation, and difficult with words. My family doc sent me to a Neuro where I got extensive testing. I was diagnosed with ADHD and CMI so I started with 5mg dose of donepezi and noticed a huge difference within 2-3 weeks. I had some mild leg cramping and diarrhea. After 2 months and a Neuro visit we increased to 10mg. I have been on it for one month. I do not notice any difference except now I am having dreams, I haven’t had a dream in over a year, and they may not be pleasant. I talk to Neuro in another month but so far this medicine is great."

• jkano
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 23, 2018

For Alzheimer's Disease "My husband was put on donepezil about 5 years ago, he was started on 10 mgs but he started to be unsteady and fell a few times, he was then put on to 5 mgs and has been on this nearly the whole time, however, he was diagnosed with Asthma and then COPD, he was extremely unwell for over a year and I thought he was going to die. I consulted with his doctor and we agreed we could try stopping the Donepezil, that was nearly a year ago, although he still takes medication once a day for the COPD it has never come back, his memory is poor but he is still active and thankfully no recurrence of the breathing problems."

• Nino
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 8, 2023

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "Prescribed for short term memory loss after a stroke focused in right occipital lobe with trauma to temporal and thalamus. Was very forgetful, even forgetting the beginning of a sentence before I finished it. Neurologist was very careful about prescribing, had me take it at night. My memory improved and my cognitive abilities seemed to revert to normal, allowing me to return to work at the high level I was previously performing. I would fade intellectually in the afternoon so switched to taking it in the morning and work normally all day. I am a 70 year old Southern European descent male taking 5 mg. No side effects so I am luckier than some others."

• Nanett...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 11, 2017

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "I have a Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and donepezil helps to be in control of my memories. This medication is working so far. I don't have to write everything down. It has helped and was prescribed by my Neurologist. Thank you."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 23, 2019

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "I had TBI (traumatic brain injury) and have had worse and worse time getting along in doing daily things, this medication does help some. It is much better than nothing at all. I know that depending on what other medications and conditions that serious side effects can happen. I have asthma and COPD, but know how to treat that with various medications. Rescue inhaler is not enough, but have other medications that are quite effective including Combivent. There are many interactions, and I have been told by others that even genetics can cause adverse reactions with this medication. So far the worst thing has been headaches, and with this it is important to pay attention to the drug interactions to avoid problems. The other thing that I like about this medication is the cost, as unlike some of the other medications this is very inexpensive."

• Benbo
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 28, 2017

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "Awful experience ! Nightmare Dreaming++ fell out of bed & hit my head causing bleeding. Had to see GP. Not to take it. Now off the drug completely & feeling much better. Thought to have dementia a year ago but diagnosis is now suspect."

• Watch...
• January 14, 2018

For Mild Cognitive Impairment "85 year male was given this drug in hospital by dr. Two pills and he turned into an absolute zombie. Slurred speech and hallucinations. We stopped it immediately. 104 hour half life. Worst week of our lives."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 21, 2015

For Alzheimer's Disease "My wife has taken Donepezil (first 5mg then after a year 10mg) for some three years. Initially her Folstein MMS score was 28/30 and is now 17/30. She has no apparent side effects. I cannot tell what my wife would be like without it - now her forgetfulness is almost instantaneous and she is now incapable of independent living."