Taking Namenda
Namenda: Easy to Start, Easy to Take
Namenda® (memantine HCl)* is easy to start and easy to take because:
- Namenda can be taken with or without food
- Namenda is available in tablets and liquid, for those who have difficulty swallowing tablets
- A convenient Titration Pak guides patients through the first four weeks of treatment
Getting Started
Therapy begins at a low dose (5 mg per day) and is gradually increased until the target dose (10 mg, two times a day) is reached. To be effective, Namenda must be taken correctly, according to the following schedule 1:
Namenda dosing schedule
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Week 1: Start on Day 1
Take one 5 mg tablet in the morning, each day.
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Week 2: Start on Day 8
Take one 5 mg tablet in the morning and one 5 mg tablet at night, each day.
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Week 3: Start on Day 15
Take one 10 mg tablet in the morning and one 5 mg tablet at night, each day.
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Week 4: Start on Day 22
Take one 10 mg tablet in the morning and one 10 mg tablet at night, each day.
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Once the target dose (10 mg, two times a day) has been reached, people taking Namenda can continue with that daily regimen unless instructed otherwise by their doctors. (For patients with severe renal impairment, 5 mg twice a day is the recommended dose.) 1
As with all types of prescription medication, do not stop taking Namenda without first talking to a doctor.
A Day Well Spent
Since there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, the goal of treatment with Namenda, as with all Alzheimer's medications, is to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Namenda in combination with Aricept® (donepezil) has been shown in patients to 2:
- Improve and maintain thinking 2,3
- Help maintain the ability to perform activities of daily living such as grooming, finding belongings and conversing 2,4
- Significantly improve behavior
- Delay the onset of negative behavioral symptoms such as agitation, aggression and irritability in asymptomatic people 2,5
Once on Namenda, please keep in mind that either no change in Alzheimer's disease symptoms or a slower decline in symptoms are positive results compared to the rapid decline a person with Alzheimer's disease might experience without treatment. It is important to understand that every day that symptom progression is delayed may allow for the person with Alzheimer's disease to spend more quality time with his or her loved ones.
