Mike, in our experience the need for the drugs took a curve.   In the
beginning she was fine with just her antidepressant medication, and the
doctor increased the dosage over time... then when the delusions came, we
started with one risperdol per day.   After that it continued to build up,
and at one point she was receiving two risperdol tablets a day, one in the
morning and one in the evening.   Later in her illness she became a bit more
calm and the delusions were less compelling.   At that point we tapered off
to only one per day.

Now that she is in the nursing home, their philosophy is to manage with as
little medication as possible towards "controlling" the patient.   They feel
that they want the patients to have as much of their abilities as possible
and the anti-psychotics tend to make them too docile and tending to fall
more often and such.   So I don't think she is even still receiving the
risperdol anymore at all, though she is still on her Aricept and her Zoloft.

In any case she was happier and calmer and more "normal" while on the
risperdol than without.   You could actually reason with her and she did
well.   Every person is different and your loved one may not fit that same
mold at all.  Play it by ear, as they say :-)

Hi, Mike. My mom is also on an anti-psychotic, Risperdol (SP?), due to extreme
agitation and delusions that developed last year. They have helped immensely and
the only side effect that she experiences is that she is a little less steady on
her feet. Not to the point of falling, but she moves more slowly. She is being
cared for at home by my father and I am there daily to visit and check on her.
Without the medication, life was miserable for her and us. She still has
delusions and occasionally gets agitated, but nothing like it was a few months
ago. We want her to be happy, but the benefit is that she is more docile and my
father can enjoy his remaining years just a bit now, too.
-steve