CerAxon: The Verdict is In

Last week, Bob completed his six weeks dose of CerAxon, a sodium citicoline oral solution. His daily dose was 1000 mg in the morning and another 1000 mg in the evening. As promised, this post is my report about our experiences during these past six weeks.

Energy & Motivation:

The first change I noticed in Bob was immediately after Bob's first dose. (See Feb. 15 post: CerAxon & Bob Revs His Engine). Bob seemed suddenly full of energy and said he "felt different". I thought it was just a fluke or a coincidence, but I was wrong. These past six weeks, Bob has been running in high gear, full of energy and so very motivated to do his therapy. It's as if someone flipped a switch in him. And I am having trouble keeping up! ha!

Every day, all he wants to do is "exercise" (his word). If I suggest playing Scrabble, he shakes his head no and says, "exercise".  So exercise we've been doing, all day long, every darn day. And not just that, he's increased the amount of repetitions, added new exercises and increased the number of times walking at the rail. Like I said, I'm having trouble keeping up with him and honestly, had to cut him back because we just don't have enough hours in the day.

I remember reading some study research on citicoline (the main ingredient in CerAxon) the results which indicated that the group of patients taking the citicoline did better in Acute Stroke Rehab than the control group which did not take the citicoline. Now, I think I know why! If everyone taking the citicoline was as energetic and motivated as Bob became, it's no small wonder they improved faster!

Cognitive Thinking and Speaking:

Not immediately, but around the third week, Bob's thinking seemed to be getting a bit clearer, less foggy. Also at this same time, he began to, on occasion, sound like "old Bob" again. By that, I mean, he would say something, one of his old catch phrases, and sound perfectly normal. Or his tone of voice, the way he said something, sounded, once again, like his old pre-stroke self. I wish I could report that this is always the norm, it's not, but more and more a bit of "old Bob" pops out, sort of out of the blue. And it seems that he is speaking a little better, though I am not always the best judge of this. I plan to take another video of him speaking in the near future to compare to the last one I took. I do know that the new PT, who was here for 3 weeks, told me on her last visit that she thought his speaking had suddenly improved... Hmmm..  Also, he is understanding better, I find myself not having to re-explain things as often. It's as if a fog has lifted in his brain.

Improved Movement in that Right Leg:

He's moving his right leg better and moving it in more ways than he has done prior to this six weeks.  We also started some new exercises, thanks to his new PT, which, of course, could be the cause of this improvement. So did the CerAxon cause this or the new exercises or was it a combination of the two? I'm not sure. Unfortunately, our study group only has one lab rat! So all I know is that darn leg is moving better these days!

Short-Term Memory:

Pre-CerAxon, Bob and I would play his Memory game and I always won. He was lucky to match 5 pairs, usually came up with 2-3 pairs. Yesterday, we played the Memory game and he nearly beat me! I say nearly, as he was ahead in the game the whole time until the very end. He had collected 8 pairs and I collected 10. I also noticed, he was less hesitant while playing this game, more assured that he knew where the matching card was hidden. A big improvement here.

So there it is, my unofficial Pink House study on CerAxon. I do believe it has helped Bob. He had no bad side effects. I'm glad we had this chance to try it. I wish I had known about this a year ago--as it is recommended to be used in the first six months post-stroke and Bob is 17 months post-stroke... But like they say, better late than never.

I would certainly recommend CerAxon to anyone who is experiencing memory issues, cognitive issues or even just wants to boost their energy post-stroke or TBI!

I would like to thank Stephanie, the representative who so kindly sent Bob the CerAxon. Their website is at www.ceraxon.com.

Also thank you to Dean from Dean's Stroke Musings who sent Bob his free CerAxon sample to add to our supply!