Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Memantine as follows:
- Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose and frequency on this medication without consulting your doctor. Take the medication dose for the duration prescribed without fail.
- Take the medication dose at the same time, every day, to avoid forgetting the intake of medication.
- Memantine can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Memantine intake can induce some seizures, dizziness and results in sleep. Do not take or administer Memantine with alcohol or opioid pain medications, such as, hydrocodone and codeine, as these products can add to the confusion caused by Memantine. A number of OTC cough medications, antihistamines, and antianxiety medications, can potentiate the confusion caused by Memantine and so, must be avoided taking along with Memantine.
- Take the regular tablet as a whole. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole tablet, you may cut the regular tablet and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. You may also crush the regular tablet and sprinkle the powder on a spoonful of soft jelly or applesauce and swallow the jelly or sauce along with the medication.
- If you are prescribed Memantine extended-release tablet or capsule, swallow the pill as a whole and do not cut, open, or crush the pill. Opening, cutting or crushing the extended-release tablet or capsule can result in rapid absorption of the drug into the blood stream, thus resulting in toxicity and compromised therapeutic effects.
- When taking Memantine as an oral liquid/suspension, use the syringe or other measuring device that comes with the medication to measure your dose. Avoid using regular household devices to measure the correct dose being taken, in order to avoid risk for over/under dosing. Do not forgot to shake the suspension well before you use it.
- Memantine can take some time to fairly adjust to your body, before any improvement with memory loss, cognition, awareness, and behavior are noted. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Memantine only helps with managing or improving the presenting symptoms of Alzheimer’s, prevent further deterioration of memory, improve the ability to think, and restore functionality and awareness, by affecting the fine balance of chemicals neurotransmitters in the brain and is not a permanent cure. So, continue taking Memantine, even if the symptoms improve and you start feeling better. Discontinuing the medication abruptly can result in disruption of this chemical balance in the brain, resulting in further progression of Alzheimer’s and worsening of memory and cognitive skills. Discontinuation on Memantine use must only be on your physician’s recommendation.
- As the chemical balance in the brain has to be finely regulated to help prevent worsening of memory, avoid having unpleasant side-effects and toxicity with Memantine, and experience feelings of well-being, the dose of Memantine needs to be finely regulated, in order to accomplish this goal.
- Notify your doctor of any episodes of seizures, enhanced dizziness and worsening drowsiness, deteriorating symptoms of mood disorders with exacerbation of anxiety, trouble sleeping, and agitation, deteriorating bladder control and incontinence, progressively diminishing cognitive skills and memory despite compliance with the medication intake, or any other continuing unpleasant side-effects, so that, your dosage on the medication could be revised or alternative plan of care considered.
- Your physician could change the dose of Memantine, based on the response and side-effects developed. Maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to update on the improvement with symptoms. Be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose, as it can lead to overdose and toxicity. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.
