Mailbox Response

The question was submitted 01/08/2007

Subject: medications for mum

At the moment my mother is on 100mgs of Zoloft at lunch time and I give her 0.25mgs of Risperdal of a night. She continues to have episodes of aggression each day and wanting to take off and go "home". Last night I tried her on 0.5mg of risperdal but this morning she was calmer but more confused than normal from when she got out of bed. Can you suggest other forms of medication that I could speak to her doctor about trying please.

Answer from DementiaNet

Thank you for your question.

Aggression can be a difficult problem for the carer and doctor to deal with. The first thing to do is to keep a diary to look for any pattern to your mothers’ behaviour. Are their any clear precipitants that can be avoided? Does her aggression always occur at a particular time of the day? What was her response to introducing her Zoloft originally? If it helped does the dose need to be adjusted? Did the risperdal help? If so could the timing or dose be adjusted? There are many other drugs that can be tried including Epilim.

The best thing to do would be to ask her doctor to explore all the options with you.

The answer was published on DementiaNet 06/08/2007