For agitation it was a lifesaver for us.   I don't know how we would have
managed without it.

BUT be aware that there are some dangers.   Being a little more disoriented
is part of it, but it also has some physical things associated with it too,
like falling more easily and developing diabetes and also it has some
association with strokes.

Upon finding this out, we felt my mother in law had no quality of life at
that point, so it was worth it for us.   Her diabetes is controlled with
diet, and people in her state sometimes have strokes anyway.

On the plus side, it made her more focused and calm, less agitated, reduced
her delusions and wild imaginings, and made her more comfortable in her own
skin.

Our doctor gave her a certain dosage, and as time went on we felt it was
wisest to cut that in half, which was just fine.

Without it Dad was impossible for any one to handle.  He was like his old self
once the dr got the dosage squared away... well...except for the memory.. that
is.
Unlike many AD patients, Dad was quite ambulatory... and quite the social
butterfly of the dementia unit.

We noticed that my mother developed some tolerance of the drug, and it was
no longer helping her to get a restful night's sleep.  She resumed her
pacing all night long.  Under consultation with the doctor, we increased her
dosage, but even that didn't help.  It did seem to continue combat
delusions/hallucinations, however.

- Jennie

I can't help with long-term problems. as my wife didn't live long
enough - the cancer got her first.

However, I did notice it was very helpful in the short term,
making her less agitated, more content.

One thing is that you may have to adjust the dosage as it builds up to
the full therapeutic level; we were able to halve the dosage, which
reduced the sleepiness but kept the good effects.