My mother took Namenda 5 mg and seemed to do well, however, she became mean and uncooperative.. The only thing that had changed was the dosage of Namenda had been increased from 5 mg to 10 mg. When we decreased the Namenda back to 5 mg, my father said it was like night and day. She was cooperative again. Now the psych doctor insists on increasing her Namenda dosage and she is mean and mostly uncooperative. The psych doc said it is probably because her dementia is progressing. Anyone have any similar experience with a loved one and Namenda?
Since your son does not have dementia, his doctor apparently thought it might be worth trying for whatever similar symptoms your son has. This is an off-label use. So in this case it is being used in a way that the FDA has never evaluated it for. That happens and it is not necessarily a bad thing. Every single drug to treat the symptoms my husband had with LBD was used off-label. And we were grateful for each and every one.
But when a drug is used off-label, the FDA approval does not apply.
Even when Namenda is prescribed as intended for an Alzheimer patient, the patient should be watched closely for side-effects. Some of these occur at known rates within the target population, and other are known to occur but the rates have not been determined yet. The problem is, even if it is known that X% of patients will experience a side effect, there is no way to determine WHICH X% that will be. So it is trial-and-watch-and-and-make-adjustments.
This is the nature of drugs in general and drugs for the mind in particular. Even though they may be terrible for some people, their value for others outweighs that in the decision about whether they can be marketed. (The side effects are not permanent and will go away when the drug is out of the system.)
Since your son is one of the X% who reacts with "hostility" he certainly should be taken off the drug by his doctor. There are known possible side-effects and a responsible doctor watches for those when prescribing the drug, especially off-label.
I'm sorry for your experience, and I hope the doctors find a more suitable treatment for your son.
Their is no black and white answer, if it is working for your loved one, let it work, if it stops then consider stopping it. My understanding is it slows down the progression, it doesn't stop it.
I came to this site because i have noticed the change in some people I care for, I don't want to recomend taking them off or decreasing the dosage on a whim, I am not a dr, and i don't prescribe, but i do talk with families that are asking what can i do to make it nicer for my loved one, i only can oly make a suggestion, they need to follow up with their doctor.