My mom has been on Memantine since about May. I finally got a family consensus that she could get off it. We skipped one dose yesterday and she has been dizzy since then. Is dizziness a common side effect of getting off Meantime? Has anyone done it successfully? How does it work? My doctor told me to do it very gradually, to skip one day out of 7 and then 2 days out of 7 and taper down.
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Getting off Memantine
Re: Getting off Meantime
Aringle, I've heard Dr. Bredesen touch upon this at his physician trainings. What is your goal in getting her off? Are you hoping to reverse her cognitive decline or do you feel that she's too far deteriorated to benefit from it?
I recall (hope others chime in with their recollections) that Dr. Bredesen prefers patients not to begin this class of drug as the benefit isn't sustainable, but he's hesitant to take patients off once they've started. As you're probably aware the sooner the protocol is begun, the better the chance of experiencing cognitive improvement. That being said, Dr. Bredesen is now seeing improvement in patients's with low MoCa scores, 10-14 (30 is a perfect score,) experiencing improvement around 6-7 points in their first months. These folks are definitely the exception, not the rule. As you already know, compliance is a huge issue with patients who are moderately into the disease process. I touch upon all of this because I want your expectations to be reasonable.
Withdrawing Memantine in the hopes of reversing cognition is moving into unchartered territory with no definitive instructions. I agree with your Mom's physician that any change should be made VERY slowly. The fact that she's exhibiting symptoms may indicate that this isn't a good idea OR you may want to slow the withdrawal process down even more.
I recall (hope others chime in with their recollections) that Dr. Bredesen prefers patients not to begin this class of drug as the benefit isn't sustainable, but he's hesitant to take patients off once they've started. As you're probably aware the sooner the protocol is begun, the better the chance of experiencing cognitive improvement. That being said, Dr. Bredesen is now seeing improvement in patients's with low MoCa scores, 10-14 (30 is a perfect score,) experiencing improvement around 6-7 points in their first months. These folks are definitely the exception, not the rule. As you already know, compliance is a huge issue with patients who are moderately into the disease process. I touch upon all of this because I want your expectations to be reasonable.
Withdrawing Memantine in the hopes of reversing cognition is moving into unchartered territory with no definitive instructions. I agree with your Mom's physician that any change should be made VERY slowly. The fact that she's exhibiting symptoms may indicate that this isn't a good idea OR you may want to slow the withdrawal process down even more.
Re: Getting off Memantine
My goal is to reverse her Alzheimer's. Her most recent mocha score was a dismal 14 down from 20 several months ago. We have been working at the protocol since July but everything mostly applied since maybe December. I feel like I need more help. The doctor I'm working with is giving me his best but Mom's decline is progressing. I need help troubleshooting but still believe that with God all things are possible and am reading and doing everything that I can. Can you recommend someone who can help me see what I might be missing?
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GOLDTHREAD
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Re: Getting off Memantine
Dear Aringle,
Just want to reach out and say hello my heart goes out to you. [emoji1317]
Where do you live if I may ask? I live in NYC. Bredesen is training doctors in his protocol worldwide.
The stories of hippocampal rejuvenation, improvements in brain as measured by neuroreader... I too believe improvement is possible. How is your mom doing on lifestyle changes?
Til soon,
Kimberly
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Just want to reach out and say hello my heart goes out to you. [emoji1317]
Where do you live if I may ask? I live in NYC. Bredesen is training doctors in his protocol worldwide.
The stories of hippocampal rejuvenation, improvements in brain as measured by neuroreader... I too believe improvement is possible. How is your mom doing on lifestyle changes?
Til soon,
Kimberly
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Getting off Memantine
We are in Louisiana.
Since I am running her life now her lifestyle changes are consistent. We are on the protocol but I must be missing important things since it's not working. We have a trained doctor but he is not a functional medicine doc and we are his first Bredesen patient. He is great but I need more I think.
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Since I am running her life now her lifestyle changes are consistent. We are on the protocol but I must be missing important things since it's not working. We have a trained doctor but he is not a functional medicine doc and we are his first Bredesen patient. He is great but I need more I think.
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