Side Effects of Alzheimer's and Dementia Drugs

This study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine caught my attention. In the case of my mother, her heart rate did slow after she was put on the combination of Aricept and Namenda. When I first noticed this (her heart rate came up when I was taking her blood pressure) it disturbed me, and I decided to discuss the issue with her personal care physician. He told me to continue to monitor her heart rate, and let him know if it dropped below 55. My mother was not fainting. However, she did tell me repeatedly each day that she felt like she was going to faint, or she said, I'm dizzy. This is probably the side effect of one or more of her medications. There was a little blue sticker on the side of the Amlodipine medication bottle warning me that dizziness was a potential side effect. This was helpful. Helpful when they remember to put the sticker on the bottle, they don't always do it. In order to understand how medications work, you should read the disclosure statement that comes with the medication. This way you will learn the side effects and risks. I know many Alzheimer's caregivers that experience problems with fainting, and as a result, they live in a state of angst and worry. Fainting leads to frequent 9-1-1 calls, and also brings risk such as the dreaded broken hip. Fainting is certainly a cause for concern. Does your loved one living with dementia mention dizziness? Most of us would probably conclude that fainting is caused by Alzheimer's, and not...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Dementia Authors: Source Type: blogs