Why authentic dementia meds aren't negotiable (and how to find them)
Alzheimer's and dementia medications are among the hardest to find in Nigeria. When pharmacies run out, your parent's cognitive decline accelerates. Here's how to secure consistent supply.
- ✓Dementia medications like Donepezil and Rivastigmine are specialty drugs with low local stock.
- ✓"Sourcing requires searching a wide network of 1,000+ pharmacies."
- ✓Care Specialists proactively source refills to avoid dangerous gaps in cognitive treatment.
- ✓All dementia medications require a valid clinical prescription.
Your father was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's six months ago. His neurologist prescribed Donepezil 10mg daily. For the first three months, his local pharmacy in Ajah had it. Then, one month, they didn't. You called five other pharmacies across Lagos. Three had never heard of it. One quoted ₦35,000 for a month's supply (usually ₦8,000–15,000). One said they could "special order" it in 2–3 weeks.
Two weeks without Donepezil. Your father's confusion worsened noticeably. He started repeating questions he hadn't repeated in months. When the medication finally arrived, it took another two weeks for him to stabilise back to where he was. A month of progress, gone.
This is the supply reality for dementia medications in Nigeria. Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Memantine, and Galantamine aren't mass-market drugs. Few pharmacies stock them because demand is low compared to hypertension or diabetes medications. Many carry zero stock and would need to special-order.
All of these are imported, making them vulnerable to forex-driven supply gaps that can last weeks or months. Unlike blood pressure where switching from one medication to another is possible, dementia medications are not interchangeable. If your parent is on Donepezil 10mg, they need Donepezil 10mg, not "something similar."
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How Famasi finds what others can't
For specialty medications like dementia drugs, we search across 1,000+ pharmacies in our network, not just the 3–4 near your parent's house. If none in the immediate area have stock, we expand to the wider network and arrange delivery from whichever pharmacy has it.
Your Care Specialist also tracks supply patterns. If Donepezil is consistently hard to find, they proactively search ahead of your parent's refill date — ordering before the current supply runs out, not after. That's the difference between a 2-week gap and no gap at all.
Important: All dementia medications are prescription-only. Famasi will not process delivery without a valid prescription.