Dementia and Ebixa: What to do when your GP can't help?

This is about my 75-year-old grandpa. We noticed he’s forgetting what he was saying mid-sentence, constantly losing his keys, and can't remember actors' names or anything like that. After six months of endless testing at a local hospital, a private clinic, and a 15-day deep dive with specialists at the Mayo Clinic, they finally figured it out. Turns out, after two heart attacks and 40 years of high blood pressure, his brain hasn't been getting enough oxygen. They diagnosed him with early-stage dementia and put him on 10 mg Ebixa (and even without the Ebixa, he's already popping about 10 pills a day for angina pectoris).

He’s been taking them for a month and a half, and about ten days ago, we started noticing side effects—at least, that's what we think. He feels drunk, gets headaches, and has abdominal pain (right under the ribs). His GP, who handles his Ebixa, claimed she'd never heard of these symptoms before and just prescribed some Advil granules for everything (she actually refused to give any advice on the Ebixa itself—quote unquote!!). When he went back (because obviously, that didn't help), she "brilliantly" decided Anacin was the cure-all for his problems. Guess what? It didn't do a damn thing.

Now we're stuck—getting him to the hospital back home is impossible (that useless GP insists he doesn't even need a referral and keeps pushing the Anacin), and he can't make it to Washington, D.C. to see me because he's busy looking after my grandma, who just had surgery a week ago.

Has anyone dealt with these kinds of side effects from this type of medication? Are they just temporary, or should he stop taking the Ebixa altogether?

Thanks in advance!

My grandmother was on Ebixa about a year and a half ago, and she dealt with very similar issues. It can definitely fall under the category of more severe side effects😢—it’s clearly noted on the prescription. What you're describing as "drunkenness" or loss of balance was actually diagnosed as a gait disorder in my grandmother's case; she also struggled with blood clotting issues and chest pains... I noticed your grandfather seems to be in a similar boat. Since he has those significant heart concerns, it might actually be exacerbating the side effects from the Ebixa. I'm honestly at a loss for words, but if getting to a doctor isn't an option right now, I'd suggest looking into some kind of online medical consultation. A friend of mine used a service once, though I can't recall the exact name of the platform.
Best regards,

velvetraven42 said:I’m talking about my 75-year-old grandfather. We started noticing he’d forget what he was mid-sentence, constantly misplacing his keys, or blanking on actors' names—so we went down a rabbit hole of testing. After six months of endless appointments at a local hospital, a private clinic, and a grueling 15-day evaluation with specialists at the Mayo Clinic, they finally figured it out. Turns out, after two heart attacks and 40 years of high blood pressure, his brain just hasn't been getting enough oxygen. He was diagnosed with early-stage dementia and prescribed 10 mg Ebixa tablets (and even without the Ebixa, he's already popping about 10 pills a day for angina).

He’s been on them for about a month and a half, but roughly ten days ago, the side effects kicked in—at least, that's how we see it. He’s feeling drunk, dealing with headaches, and having abdominal pain (right under the rib cage). His primary care doctor—who is supposed to be managing the Ebixa—claimed she’d never heard of these symptoms before, so her "brilliant" solution was to prescribe him Advil granules (she wouldn't even offer advice on the Ebixa because she "doesn't know"—that is a direct quote!!). When he went back (because OF COURSE the Advil didn't work), she decided that Anacin would solve all his problems. Guess what? It didn't help one bit.

Now we’re stuck. Getting him to the hospital back home is impossible, and that incompetent GP insists he doesn't need a referral and that the Anacin will fix everything. Meanwhile, he can't make the trip to Washington, D.C. to see me because he's busy looking after my grandmother, who just had surgery a week ago.

Has anyone else dealt with these kinds of side effects from this type of medication? Are they just temporary, or should he stop taking the Ebixa altogether?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

First off, we really need to know every single medication he's currently taking and all of his specific diagnoses.
It could potentially be a reaction to the memantine, but if there's any doubt, he needs to get to an emergency neurological department immediately.