Many Alzheimer’s patients take several drugs to deal with disease symptoms. Some caregivers report that their loved one takes nine or even 10 pills per day. Given that most of these drugs have side effects, it is worth asking – is it worth taking so many drugs for Alzheimer’s disease?
It is hard to generalize, and it is the responsibility of your loved one’s personal physician to determine which medications to give. Some of the considerations the doctor must think about include your loved one’s age, health, disease stage, symptom severity, and side effects.
What we do know is that current Alzheimer’s drugs can stabilize symptoms in some people, but they cannot cure the disease or reverse damage. According to Heather M. Snyder, Ph.D., of the Alzheimer’s Association, there is no way for any current drug to stop or slow Alzheimer’s.
So, the drugs that FDA has approved to treat the disease can improve symptoms, but there is no cure. You will note in the ads for these drugs that the claims are carefully worded, such as ‘may help to slow down symptoms.’
According to the Mayo Clinic site on Alzheimer treatments, there are various comments from doctors about medicine effectiveness. Some of the comments state that some drugs can keep symptoms at bay for a period of time, and, less than half of those who take the drugs will see improvement.
Other doctors say that people who take Alzheimer’s drugs may do better for a year or so at best.
Still, the general consensus is that the current regimen of Alzheimer’s drugs do help to reduce symptoms for some patients, so are likely worth taking. Which ones and how many are up to your loved one’s doctor.
If you would like to learn more about how to deal with Alzheimer’s disease in your loved one, please consider our DVD collection The Family Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease:
