[mas215]

I take care of my elderly parents, my dad is 86 and my mom is 83. My dad takes warfarin, sotalol, lisinopril, metformin, 81mg aspirin. He used to take simvastatin and synthroid too.
He did well on the above meds and even though his blood pressure is always around 100/70, his heart rate was always in the 40's. So the doctor suggested a pacemaker.

Since then he's doing great, same bp but now a usual heart rate of about 69 to 70. But the doctor took away the simvastatin and the synthroid, and added resperidone, .25 twice a day. He never had a problem with depression.

My mom, on the other hand, has taken Zoloft for over 25 years as well as lisinopril and xanax when necessary (her son died 30 years ago, my brother). Again she's doing fine but the doctor wants to switch her to lexapro and added the resperidone, same dose .25mg twice a day.

I asked the doctor first why my dad no longer had to take the simvastatin or the synthroid. He just answered that he was taking too many drugs and that wasn't necessary. I asked why they both are given the resperidone (reading up on it seems to say it's a drug for depression or bi-polar), and he just said that it helps in other ways. I hate when these doctors talk down to you, but they just seem to be very short when it comes to explaining things.

So my main question is does anyone know anything about the elderly and resperidone (or resperidal)? Again my dad, who never had a problem with depression all his life, I just wonder why he's taking that. It's been a couple of months and I don't see any changes positive or negative. He did have 2 bypasses, one in 1980 and one in '99. He also had the carotid artery bypass in 1990.

I thank God that they're both doing well into their 80's, I just wonder about some of the drugs they're being given. Thanks!