OT-Questions on Risperdal

[shoegirl1020]

I just returned from our first appt with a new dr. The dr wants to switch ds8 to Risperdal. He also wrote a prescription for a medication "in case he suffers from the muscle spasms related to Risperdal". My question is, does anyone have any experience with Risperdal and/or any related side effects? I've decided to not begin him on this drug, but would just seek some re-assurance I've made teh right choice.

Thanks

 

[MidgeD79]

My ds (8) is on risperdal and I have not noticed any side effects since he's been taking it (over a year). He takes 1 adderall and 1 risperdal in the morning and is suppossed to take 1 risperdal at night. i dropped the night one and started giving him melatonin.

 

[flying_babyb]

hey im on adderal!

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

I just returned from our first appt with a new dr. The dr wants to switch ds8 to Risperdal. He also wrote a prescription for a medication "in case he suffers from the muscle spasms related to Risperdal". My question is, does anyone have any experience with Risperdal and/or any related side effects? I've decided to not begin him on this drug, but would just seek some re-assurance I've made teh right choice.

Thanks

My autistic DS9 has been on Risperdal for about a year and a half. It's been a wonder drug for him (previous to Risperdal, he routinely had horribly aggressive, destructive meltdowns) and he has had no muscle spasms or any other side effects besides gaining a lot of weight at first, like 10 lbs the first 2 months he was on it. He was always a pretty thin child, so even with the rapid weight gain, he's still not heavy, so it was okay, and the weight gain did level off after the first couple months. We still have some behavior issues with him, but it's absolutely nothing like the nightmare our lives sometimes were before he was on medication.

 

[Forevryoung]

I know there are two sides to every coin and everyone has their own opinion about medication and especially medicating their children.

While I don't know your exact situation, I do wonder why you are just blowing off the doctors suggestion to try a new medication. Is the current medication or treatment working and thus the risperdal is unneeded? Or is your fear of potential side effects getting in the way of potentially making your childs life better in addition to your own? I am sure you gave this a lot of thought before making your decision. I suggest telling the new doctor that you wont be giving your son the risperdal and asking if there is something else he can suggest. There are many meds out on the market although some are definitely better for certain situations.

I should have been medicated when I was 10 or 11 but I wasn't. My parents thought things would improve over time. It wasn't until I was 16 that I went on psych meds. Unfortunately, I've been on over 17 meds in the past 6 years and nothing works for very long. I have experienced many side effects, some I have dealt with, some I have gone off the med, and some I have had to add a med to relieve the side effects (I get tremors as a side effect frequently so I wind up taking something at times so I dont shake so hard). I would not be where I am today without them though. My life is 200 times better on meds than off (and I have gone off them).

If you have any questions, PM me... I'm not an advocate for medicating every little issue but quality of life can be drastically improved. You will never get the re-assurance that you have made the "right choice" because you will wonder every day what the right choice is and if things could ever be better than right that second. I do it every day too and I am already taking meds... "should I increase my dosage? would things be better then? should I try something new? what if things get worse?" you will forever play "what if"

Unfortunately, psychiatry is not an exact science and as a patient, you quickly become a guinnea pig with trial and error.

 

[ducklite]

My son has been on Risperdol for about five years now. At one point he was taking 3.5 mg a day! Now it's 1 mg a day. He takes it at night before bed.

SIde effects have included drastic weight gain on the higher doses, but after he was weaned down to the lower doses, he lost it all and is now skinny (6' 135 lbs dripping wet). He had very minor very occasional muscle twitches--more like a hand tremor, but nothing worth even mentioning--they very well likely weren't even related to the meds. The only other thing is that he sleeps like a rock. I mean like a won't wake up to the smoke detectors rock.

All in all the benefits have far exceeded the side effects.

Personally I don't feel you've made the right choice. Your child obviously has some sort of an issue that could be helped by the medication, and to withhold a very safe drug that's been effective for many people for years without any serious side effects without even trying it first seems foolish.

Anne

 

[Poohnatic]

My son was on Rispirdal for two and a half years, we just switched to Abilify this past summer.

It worked very well for him in that you could definitely tell when it was time for a new dose/he'd skipped a dose. It minimized meltdowns considerably while he was on it. Same side effect as the others mentioned-he gained about 15 pounds over the course of treatment with it.

Along with the others, if a doctor has a valid reason for prescribing it, I'd give it a try. Put it this way, if your son was diabetic and had been prescribed insulin, would you deny him medication. I'd suggest you fill the first script and see how it goes. Question your son on how he feels on the medication. My 10yo DS has always been quite honest with how he feels a medication is helping (or not helping) him.

I will admit that at first, it concerned me that it is used for bipolar and we're thinking that he is. However, it's used for several issues successfully. It worked well, but Abilify is a better option for us. Like Forevryoung mentioned, it's trial and error with medications. For instance, all the stimulant based ADHD meds would overstimulate my son.

Anne, funny that your DS sleeps like a rock on it-Neil didn't. We eventually added Clonidine to get him to sleep (which works about 65% of the time).

Please, for the sake of your son, try the medication. If it doesnt' work well for him, at least you gave it a try.

BTW, there's only one med that my son is still taking since his diagnosis of Aspergers and OCD 5 years ago. You learn to roll with it. At least now, it's only 4 meds and he takes them on his own most of the time.

Suzanne

 

[shoegirl1020]

MORE INFORMATION-I think I was just trying to quickly get an idea of problems/successes with Rispedal.

My son is on a boatload of meds right now, Zypreza, Prozac and Ritilian. He had ONE dose of Rispedral when he was only 3 years old and that one dose caused him to look like he was scared to death, he was trancelike on that one dose. So I vowed to NEVER try that med again.

The doctor that prescribed it was a doctor that we had just met yesterday and was aware that I would not try Rispederal again, but despite that he wrote the prescription, along with a prescription to cure the spasm. I think that I was so overwhelmed with the appoitment and possibly "trying to be nice" that I didn't raise more of an issue. I was also taken aback that a doctor wouldn't ask my opinion and offer alternatives to this one med. The doctor was consdescending and didn't interact well with my son. We are not returning to this doctor

I was only trying to get some side effects, now that I've heard about the sucesses and lack of major side effects I will ask his current dr (I've notified yesterday's doc I won't be returning) to discuss in more detail the side effects and possible similar drug.

I am my son's #1 advocate, but I also am not "pill happy" and will not just give him a drug because the doctor wrote a script.

Thanks to everyone's imput.

 

[RADOPT]

My daughter was on Risperdal for awhile but our neur was worried about ticks, spasm, etc. So we took her off. She uses a medication which does not have that side effect.

Do what you think is best for your child - you know him best. Discuss it with your doctor. You can also call the company and they will discuss the side effect etc. with you. I have done this with a number of different meds.

Good Luck.

 

[Lewisc]

I'll go one step further. You should either follow your doctors instructions or change doctors. It makes very little sense to spend time and money going to a particular doctor if you don't have enough confidence to try the medications he's prescribing.

Some doctors are "pill pushers" but the solution is to find a different doctor not decide which scripts you fill and which ones you ignore.

edited to say I saw the OPs follow up post and I'm glad to see that's exactly what she's doing. Find a doctor you're comfortable with.

Personally I don't feel you've made the right choice. Your child obviously has some sort of an issue that could be helped by the medication, and to withhold a very safe drug that's been effective for many people for years without any serious side effects without even trying it first seems foolish.

Anne