Micheledesocio, thank you for your kind words. My mother is doing better now. I lpok forward to hearing your story too. There's strength in knowing we're not alone.

Christine73 your post really saddens me and hits a nerve. I have a story about medications and I will put one up shortly. I hope your mom is doing better. Yes there is certainly a special place in hell for people like this.

I think its terrible! When my mother entered a nursing home in November, that same day, without the doctor even seeing her, or talking to me, they discontinued her Aricept and Namenda because they were "psych meds" and they "don't help." My mother declined drastically and immediately, while I fought like hell and the nursing home closed ranks and stonewalled me. I had not cried that much in years, as I listened to my mother lose her words and her mind. Staff members lied to me. Mind you, they all had to tell themselves what they were doing was ok. But Aricept and Namenda are not psych meds! Even if they were, there's a darn good reason why these medications exist, and sick people should not be denied them. Getting back to my story, I finally got back the Aricept only and my mom got much better. Staff members noticed the improvement, but will deny it to me. In summary, the damage that this did to me personally, and my relationship with the nursing home, is immeasurable. It happenef at the worst possible time, when I already felt terrible about my mother needing to go to a nursing home. All said, I'm sure there is a special place in hell for those who destroy peoples parents like this, and about that I could not be happier! I was told that everyone's Aricept and Namenda gets discontinued upon admission and no one is every evaluated for the effect of that move. Special place in hell indeed!!

It's a tough call. The meds can be helpful. However, I do feel some doctors prescribe these type of meds too quickly for elders. I'm in the process of getting my mom off some and I can already see a difference. She isn't sleeping 20 hours a day anymore. She is very anxious (she was never like that before the dementia), so maybe the smaller dose is what she needs so she doesn't become frightened. Everyone is different. I'm so sad for the elders that don't have someone looking after their best interest.

I know there is a mandate for Gradual Dose Reduction (GDR) of antipsychotic and other psychiatric medications periodically. If the GDR is failed, the patient is returned to a higher dose. If the GDR is failed 3x, the patient does not need to go through this process again. It is rough going. In some cases, the GDR is successful but usually it is a time of agitation, risk of falls and emotional upheaval for the patients. I don't have any easy answers for you. I look forward to more comments from others too. Best of luck with your mom.