It is well established that memory health drugs, which includes Aricept, Exelon and Razadyne (galantamine), are each a major risk factor for developing urinary incontinence. The literature shows that people taking these drugs are 1.5 times more likely to be prescribed a drug for urinary incontinence, such as Detrol, Ditropan (oxybutynin), Vesicare, Enablex or others. If this is the case you should understand that using the bladder health drug to manage the incontinence may, in fact, negate the benefits of the memory health drug completely or to some extent. Non-drug interventions for incontinence is perhaps your most beneficial first approach before considering a bladder health drug. If nighttime incontinence is the major concern, try taking Aricept in the morning. This may lessen the nighttime awakenings to go to the bathroom, which may also improve on your quality of sleep and reduce your risk of falling. Other things to consider are whether the memory health drug is truly of benefit. In most instances these drugs provide modest benefits, and not in all people. A thoughtful review should occur with the prescribing physician to determine if the memory health drug is accomplishing what it was intended to do. Lastly, let’s see if there are other medications that are possibly contributing to memory loss or causing it all together. Read our blog on statins associated with memory loss.
