How long does it take for the Exelon patches to work and the nausea to go away?

Question

Hello pharmacists, this is a person who just started exelon 4.6mg patches 2 months ago for the beginning of memory loss. Of course, she had the side effects of nausea - vomiting, the time that her body is used to after 1 month. She is now on step 2, i.e. 9.5 mg patches. She is now experiencing new symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Should she still wait for her body to get used to it and how long should she give herself? 2 weeks to 1 month? After how many months can we see an improvement in her memory loss? And after how long can we say that the exelon patch will finally be ineffective? Thank you very much! Excellent! This answers my question perfectly! Thank you so much and have a great day! Addendum: From the beginning of the exelon 4.6 mg, does it stop the progression of the memory loss without going backwards? Of course, I understand that the effectiveness thereafter will depend on the response to the treatment. Thank you very much!

Jean-Samuel Poisson · Accepted Answer

Hello, these side effects may be transient. They are worse at the beginning of the treatment and when the dose is increased, but they may decrease or even disappear after a while. They can last from a few days to a few weeks. However, these effects are usually less severe with the patch than with the tablets. As for effectiveness, it can vary from person to person. Efficacy is usually seen primarily at the 9.5 mg dose and above. Studies have shown that, on average, after 6 weeks of treatment, 15% of patients have a clear improvement, 50% have a moderate improvement and 35% do not respond to treatment. Nevertheless, treatment can generally be tried for 6 months to evaluate the evolution of symptoms before concluding that the medication has failed. If this is the case, another medication can be tried and may sometimes be more effective. The doctor usually plans to re-test to see how the disease is progressing. If you do not notice any effectiveness or if the side effects persist, I encourage you to discuss this with your pharmacist in order to evaluate possible solutions. Does this answer your questions? Dr. Jean-Samuel Poisson, pharmacist Familiprix Wickham 819-741-0080 The 9.5 mg dose is usually the target dose, so the dose at which we will most of the time start to see a better improvement. Maybe we can start to see an effect 6 weeks after starting the 4.6 mg, but it is not certain. Have a nice day too