Hello, my name is Lila. My husband, Joe has recently and finally been diagnosed with LBD last month and was then taken off the carbidopa levodopa (which he had been taking for 5 years) for what they thought was parkinsons and put on Aricept. His hallucinations have progressed and this last week have been much worse. The new neurologist says I should stay the course and keep him on the Aricept (he starts the 10mg dose tomorrow after 4 weeks on the 5 mg) as he feels they will diminish with the double dosage. I have read mixed reviews of this treatment I work and am the sole provider for income and caregiving which is presenting me with a challenge. I am looking for some feedback on the hallucinations and whether or not Aricept will give us some relief.

Lila,
Welcome to the LBDA forums, you have come to a place of much information from many caregivers living LBD in their lives also.I really am not sure how long it takes to get all the PD drugs out of one's system but the Aricept when up to full dose should help with the hallucinations, time will tell. Good luck!

Lila,

I'd suggest you do a search of past posts on containing the words "Aricept" and "hallucinations." This has certainly come up before.

You might glance through the first couple of pages of posts in the "Symptoms/Diagnosis" subforum. And probably "Treatment Options" is another good place to look. You might consider making your post there as it may get more visibility than in the "Introductions" area.

Be sure to read the Boeve "Continuum" paper yourself, and provide it to the MD. It details a treatment program for those with LBD. You can find it here:
http://www.lbda.org/index.cfm?fuseactio ... nload=1650

In short, there are three dementia meds that are supposed to do something for hallucinations. If Aricept isn't working, I'd suggest you speak w/the MD about trying the Exelon patch. Then/or consider adding Namenda to the mix.

Good luck,
Robin