Risperidone drug

[Anonymous]

#3928

Note: SFTAH transferred this from old data base when site was updated, thus date and name lost, all dates 2006 & 2007 changed during changeover to odd dates.Does anyone have any experience of using Risperidone. Our doctor has suggested it as a possible therepy for my 3 year old son's violent tantrums and extreme anxiety. from what i have found out on the net, it seems a powerful drug with some possible nasty side effects. It would be good to hear of anyone's experience of using it, good or bad.ThanksNick

[Anonymous]

#5041

hi nick
not used it myself but friend son takes it and she cannot believe the differance its made to the whole famlies life . Before using it sons behavour was so bad and putting so much strain on the family they were at there wits end .
She was concerned about side effects but he hasnt experienced any.It has really improved their quality of life.

debbie

[Anonymous]

#5046

Hi Nick,
Our son has been on risperadone now for about 3 years. He was prescribed it for violent tics and jerks which were almost knocking him off his feet and ruining the quality of his life. We were amazed at the transformation as a tiny amount of risperadone, mixed in his juice morning and evening, totally stopped the tics and jerks. We still get some minor tics and the dosage has had to be increased slightly over the time but overall it has been successful. The only minus, and it’s a fairly big problem is that it caused him to put on loads of weight (a known side effect). He is non verbal and, as he is hungry all of the time, he continually wants to graze. This was a particular problem at home as he knew where the food was and could help himself so, unless we locked everything up, he was perpetually eating. As you can imagine this had a very detremental effect on his overall health. We could not resolve this problem within the home environment but he is now at residential school during the week and there structured mealtimes (locked kitchens) and exercise regime has bought his weight back down again. Sorry for the long rambling answer but once I’d started…… Hope this helps and best of luck. Dave.

[Anonymous]

#5045

Hi Nick,
Just noticed your previous postings about the violent tantrums and thought as a relevent comment, our son also has these violent outbursts which cannot, certainly by us, be linked to any specific event/issue/distraction. We saw a specialist last week in relation to it and he felt it may be a manifestation of his tic/jerk disorder. He suggested a further increase in risperadone may suppress it but, having just got his weight back under control, we are reluctant to increase the dosage. We are being referred to a Tourettes/Tics specialist in Birmingham and will let you know of any further info we receive. We fully understand how helpless you feel under these circumstances as any attepts to console our son just seem to prolong the outburst and results in further injuries to all concerned. Dave.

[Anonymous]

#5043

Many thanks to all your comments. I feel a little more confident about the drug now. It would be good to know how much weight was gained and how long did it take to get under control?

Thanks again

Nick

[Anonymous]

#5044

Hi Nick, I can’t remember figures for the weight gain but it was significant in a very short period of time. Our son went from slim and active to obese and breathless very quickly. However, given how the tics and jerks ruined the quality of his life it was the lesser of the two evils. Our home environment didn’t help as we have two autistic boys and our other son eats very little. He takes a lot of persuading, hence there was always food around that could be ‘hoovered’ up. If your son is in a more structured environment with regular mealtimes you may be better able to stay on top of it. Dave.

[Anonymous]

#5042

i am a 17 year old girl on the drug just started on it as i was suicidal and very easily depressed recently haven’t found any useful preventions from this drug it just the same as before

[Anonymous]

#5047

Risperidone is in a class of medications called atypical antipsychotics. It works by changing the activity of certain natural substances in the brain. http://autismandaspergersinthefamily.freeforums.org/risperidone-t79.html

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