What are the best anti-anxiety/anti-depressant for dementia patients?

Mincemeat: what dosage of Celexa does your father take? My mother is on
Celexa -- 20 mg tablets once a day. Since this didn't help much with her anxiety and paranoia, Dr. suggested upping the dosage to an additional half pill. The only problem is, I am not there in the evening and not sure she is taking this additional half pill.

For my mom, Lexapro, Remeron and a little bit of Klonopin

Celexa has been a wonder drug for my father.

I haven't been impressed with Ativan helping my cousin. Maybe the dose is too low, but it doesn't do much. Plus, it increases risk of falls, IMO.

I highly recommend Cymbalta. It was a miracle drug for my cousin, who had dementia. It took away her anxiety and she is content on this med. It also helps with pain, if that is an issue. I can't say enough good things about this medication. She was taken off this med for a short time and the results were horrific. Her anxiety went out of the roof. We got her back on it and now she's fine again. I would discuss the options with her doctor. I have also talked to several other people, who don't have dementia who say good things about Cymbalta.

Thanks for the heads' up about Ativan. I was thinking that maybe Ativan or Xanax would be helpful in acute situations. It's so hard to do this long-distance. We haven't had the opportunity to discuss her issues with the staff. My husband has to call the nurse when she's having a melt-down and they reassure us she's doing ok. What's the saying "Trust, but verify". For all we know, the only time she's really "losing it" is when we call.

Doctors put my mom on Zoloft and Airicept to slow down her memory loss and level out her moods. Only one problem, she won't take them. So the battle of med taking continues.

It depends, you need to trust the doctor and staff to figure this out. High anxiety is very common when those with dementia/Alzheimer's are moved to a facility. My mom was moved about eight weeks ago, her anxiety level is still very high. The first six weeks there she needed a 24/7 attendant to monitor her behaviors. That was quite costly. Mom is on Seroquel and Celexa, but am unsure about others. What works for some, will not work for others. Only one recommendation for you. DO NOT try Ativan! It has the completely opposite effect on most elders with dementia than what is intended.