Autism and Risperdal

[stenickar]

Thanks for mentioning that we could use the GAC for waiting in a shaded area, that will be very handy in August,

Lori,
When will you be going in August? We are going August 5-12 . I am going with my DD10(who has autism) and my Dsis and Dniece. Maybe we will see you there .

Lori

 

[LorlovesStitch]

Lori,

We are going Aug. 15-24. Maybe we will both be lucky with the heat and it wont be too bad!

 

[disneygal66]

I just wanted to say THANKS to all who have posted here. It really has eased my mind knowing that there are other kids on Risperdal and it has been so effective for them!! We have officially started him on it and have yet to see any changes. Does it usually help right away or does it take a few weeks to get their body adjusted to it? Just an FYI too, I am reading a wonderful book about a woman and her family - she has an autistic son who is 15 now Book is called "Making Peace with Austism" by Susan Senator Very interesting and informative!!

 

[stenickar]

Lori,
I am hoping for hot weather !! Especially right now it is -3 degrees outside. I just keeping thinking that in 6 months it will be sunshine and palm trees Lori

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My DS11 started Risperdal at age 8 to help with impulsive behaviors and outbursts (he has Asperger's). He also started taking Zoloft at the same time for his anxiety.

The Risperdal worked well. We saw a great improvement in his ability to focus and regulate his behavior. The problem was that he started eating way too much! I tried to limit his food to normal serving sizes but he would cry and say he was always hungry and I caught him sneaking food many times. The psychiatrist said hunger and overeating is a huge problem for people on Risperdal. Some people develop strange behaviors like eating non-food items just to fill themselves up (these people usually have extreme psychiatric conditions to begin with).

We switched him to Geodan and it continued to work well for him. This past summer when he turned 11, we decided to take him off the Geodan. We felt he was far more mature than when he started the meds at 8 and we wanted to see if he could do without it. We successfully took him off the Geodan without any huge side effects and he continues to take just the Zoloft.

If you're comfortable trying Risperdal, I'd say go for it! Just watch out for the side effects and discuss with your doctor what to expect so you're fully informed.

 

[Poohnatic]

My son was on Risperdal for several years for Asperger's and we felt it worked well. Yes, at the time it was off label, as Sue mentioned. To be honest, we've used several meds off label for my son, with varying amounts of success.

Risperdal was good at minimizing the intensity AND frequency of my son's meltdowns. It wasn't perfect for him, but was better than what we'd used previously. Currently, we have excellent results with his meds: Strattera, Abilify, Clonidine and Luvox. One thing that is consistent with Asperger's kids-no two kids have the same issues OR get the same meds to work the same way!

Yes, we had some weight gain while he was on the medication, honestly, when we added Clonidine, he really packed on weight. We swapped to Abilify over the summer, and he's dropped about 10 pounds. With most of his medications, it has taken about two weeks to reach full efficacy. You'll probably notice a gradual improvement. For the first few months, most doctors want to see your child more frequently. I will chime in that until he was on Risperdal, my son stimmed a lot. Now that he's not on it, the stims are back, but not as much as before.

One thing that I've learned is to research as much as I can before starting a new medication. We've been extremely fortunate in that all the doctors (except the first one who refused to consider anything other than ADHD) have been extremely honest in what they think will work and what won't.

Regarding the parks in the summer, Sue also brought up my favorite thing-the WDW stroller. When a child on the spectrum gets tired from all the walking and the heat, NO ONE wants to be around for the resulting meltdown(s). The strollers save your sanity, close off three sides of all that stimuli and keep your child comfortable. We also bring a beach towel to drape over it (if needed) or use as a pillow and my son insists on a baseball cap. Normally, he hates them, but uses them in the park.

Schedule down time. It's hard when you don't make frequent trips to not try to pack everything in, but if you schedule day 3 or 4 as a poolside day, you'll get more mileage out of your trip. We also would decompress poolside at night a few times. There is something about the water that calms my son. If your child has food issues, get a fridge in the room and keep some comfort foods (we had yogurt and juices).

Good luck with the medications and enjoy your trip!

Suzanne

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

I have a bi-polar son that was having daily outbursts at school, home, and basically everywhere. Screaming, crying, kicking, throwing things... He is a different person since he started Risperdol. He still has problems at school but his outbursts are much less intense and much less frequent. He's gained quite a bit of weight. But frankly, I'd rather him be fat and functioning than thin and out of control.

 

[bsgdg]

for mom with child on abilify and strattera please have at least once a year
liver function test done- we did'nt realize it- when abilify dose was increased
we eneded up ER- it stores in the liver and fat cells- he was it for 18months
if we had realized and dr remember we could have avoided those problems
from that- now 3 months later and a different med- getting my son back
i know an abilify rep and she had help me with reseach to start with- she went and checked- we had a very rare reaction - she was appalled
please goes for anyone one with child on medcation ask about lab work
worth it the long run- i would hate to see anyone have go though what
we did for 3 months while abilfy worked out of his system
new medication is serquel-which he has responded to GREAT

PLEASE NOT KNOCKING ABILIFY WHEN HE WAS ON IT AND AT THE TIME
WHAT HE NEEDED NO COMPLAINTS-just he grew and needed an increase and
WHAM

 

[tmli]

As someone has said all kids will react differently to all meds. For us the weight gain was the result of more than us "not regulating his snacks". Also gaining weight had more serious reprecussions than being fat for him. Besides affecting his already shot self esteem, and giving the kids one more thing to make fun of him for....he had physical health issues develop.

 

[mlwear]

DS age 9 classic autism, moderate to high functioning has taken Risperdal for more than 2 years now. It works very well for him. It has GREATLY reduced the tantrums and has a bit of an overall calming effect.
He takes a form that comes in a disolvable wafer that is mint flavored. He doesn't swallow pills. He gags on liquids. He doesn't like the disolvable meds that you buy for colds, but he has never complained about this one. It disolves quickly. The dr. had a placebo for me to try. It isn't bad at all.
He takes Risperdal only in the evening and I have permission from dr. to adminster if he has a severe episode of agression. It calms him rather fast.
It seems that meds work differently for different people, he has no decrease of stimming. We have not noticed an improvement in focus either. I was concerned about weight gain. (As a pp wrote I feared it would be another peer struggle for him, plus the health issues)> I did see a little for the first few months, but he returned to normal weight quickly and is actually on the thin side. DS is very hyper though and burns a lot of calories because he is always in motion.
DS also takes Clonidine. He actually chews these pills. He takes very small doses during the day and larger before bed.

I will share this as I was glad to know how it worked. I have some issues and have a prescription for Risperdal myself. I only use it when I am really upset about something. It is amazing. When I have a problem that I can't let go of and get more and more upset over, I take a Rispedal and it somehow calms everything down. It isn't like Xanax (I don't feel all drugged up and groggy, just not caring about things) at least to me. I am still aware of the problem, but it stops racing through my head and I am just calmer and able to put it into perspective. I don't know for sure if that is how it works with DS, but it interests me how it works.

I agree with the pp about having lab work done. My dr. tests regularly. I would inquire if dr. doesn't mention it.