Coming off medications? (risperdal)

IT1967

Member
Hi there. It's been a while since I've updated. Here's where things are and I am hoping the collective wisdom will have some words or advice or comments to help educate me. Really hoping to hear some positive stories of their difficult child's successfully coming off Risperdal. Please tell me how it's gone when you've taken your kids off some of their medications.

difficult child 2 has just completed his neuropsychologist testing. We meet with-the dr. for results next week. In the meantime, since the summer, we've cut the Risperdal down from 1.5 to .5 given in AM only. He's still having trouble sleeping dry many nights, although that's decreased since we cut way back on the Risperdal. I truly think the Risperdal may be contributing to some of his problems, not helping, and I suspect at our next appointment. the psychiatrist will suggest we eliminate it completely, which I'll be thrilled with. Honestly, since dropping the after school dose, he's been much easier to deal with after school. He was a nightmare after school for awhile (while still on that afternoon dose of Risperdal) and we actually tried adding a small dose of Ritalin in the afternoon that he had a terrible reaction to. I had forgotten how many stims we tried that caused horrible explosions before we found the Concerta. :( My only concern is that cutting out the Risperdal entirely might upset the balance of the effectiveness of the other medications. My main concern being the Celexa. He's been doing fairly well, although he still has issues with-poop holding that we do have a plan in place for that works, but he still won't just go on his own with-o prompting and cajoling. It's extremely frustrating. He's had a few outbursts at school, that I'm keeping an eye on that. They appear to be not that frequent and always center on recess or gym and somehow something being "unfair" in the game or that he thinks the other team "cheated". Exact same thing happens with-my difficult child 1 too.

difficult child 1 has been doing ok. Her teachers have told me that she's been doing well and she's only had a few times at school that she's told me she's had issues. So, the psychiatrist and I agreed we should try cutting the Risperdal out for her as well. I had cut her down from 1.5/day to 1.25/day over the summer and she did fine. Now, we cut her back to 1.0/day of the Risperdal. At first, honestly, I could tell that she was less in control of her anger. At home, when she gets angry, it's 0 to 60mph with-nothing in between. It is so frustrating. However, her emotional outbursts at home for the most part seem to have leveled off on this lower dose. The psychiatrist had wanted us to cut the Risperdal out completely by taking her down .5mg/week. I think that would've been crazy. To go from 1.5mg of Risperdal to nothing in less than a month would've really been bad in my opinion. I am holding her at this 1.0mg level for now, although, she does need to come off it completely, I agree. We've had a lot of life stressors lately (mother in law passed away and difficult child 1 was extremely close to her). I just feel we need to do this at a snails' pace. We have a second opinion with-a different psychiatrist scheduled for both kids with-in the next couple months. It's taken more than 6 months to get these appts!

Please tell me that some of you out there have had good results coming off the medications! For those of you who've taken your kids off Risperdal, or any other medications for that matter, have you seen some initial emotional stuff, but then maybe it evens out?
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Why is the Risperdal being removed from both childrens? Is there any evidence it is causing harm? I have weaned difficult children off medications in the past and surely agree that a slow process makes me more comfortable, too. it just seems odd that you have two difficult children and chart the same course of medication reduction...especially when you have a second opinion coming up for both kids within the next couple of months. Why not wait and see if both experts agree?

Have you ever heard the old expression "if it ain't broke don't fix it". That's my philosophy on medications. I'm thrilled that you have an upcoming quality psychiatrist appointment (it's so darn hard to get one!) and suggest you wait to see what he/she has to say. Yes, I know how stessful it is and am sending supportive hugs your way. DDD
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
If your difficult child is becoming medications resistant because of the side effects... then it's "broke", and we need to find some way to fix. This is a medication with huge side-effects, and the longer you are on it, the more the side effects accumulate.
 
C

Confused

Guest
I am just experiencing medications, so unfortunately I can only give you my support and prayers. Good luck
 

IT1967

Member
Sadly, my kids' diagnoses are the same, so their medication regimen is similar, although not exactly the same. I totally agree about that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but Risperdal is not a drug my children can or should be on long-term. The kids' second opinions are a month and 2 months out.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I wish you the best of luck. Each of our difficult children is different...as are we, lol. None of mine used the same four medication combo that yours are taking. But the one who did take Risperdal and Concerta stayed on that combo for close to two years with no side effects and very positive results in behavior and self worth. It's stressful making such important decisions and I am thankful that the kids are now adults! Hugs DDD
 

IT1967

Member
DDD, did your kids come off the Risperdal successfully?

I had a positive meeting with-the kids' counsellor today. Based on ongoing in depth evaluations and analysis, she feels that hopefully, most likely, the kids don't have mood disorder, but are suffering from ADHD/anxiety - difficult child 1 anxiety worse than ADHD - difficult child 2 ADHD worse than anxiety. So, she feels that coming off the Risperdal is actually a good thing and should hopefully not impact the kids' behaviors negatively and they may even do a bit better. It was a good meeting and really helped me come to slightly better grips with-this whole thing. However, she also feels that their Celexa should probably be increased, which I'm petrified to do. It has definitely helped their anxiety, and they are on the lowest dose and I know that in theory, they'd do better with-a higher dose. However, the kids were previously tried on Zoloft and Prozac and things started out good, but when we upped the dose, the kids spiralled out of control. Because of that, I feel paralyzed. I'm really glad we have this second opinion coming up. It's not that I think our psychiatrist is the worst, but I don't think he is that great either. He's just been dismissive of my concerns and when we see him, I feel like he never remembers where things are at with-my kids.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Darn...I really wish that I had "the answer" but I don't. My thought is that if they are not currently harmed by the medications they are taking then another month or two to get a qualified second opinion is worth the wait. One thing I KNOW for sure there is NO one answer for our complicated children. If they are not being harmed staying as they are I truthfully believe I would stay with the regiment until after I had the opinion of the second professional. I also would keep a dairy to make sure that my memory was accurate. I must admit that it took me years of very active searching to find the professional that inspired me "to believe". Once I had that confidence I was able to move on with-o too much fear and the children evolved into the best they could be. Many hugs. DDD
 

jal

Member
My difficult child is 11. He was on risperdal at a young age. We took him off due to the beginnings of gynomastica. He came off of it well. Make sure you titrate down. Don't stop cold turkey.
 

IT1967

Member
Unfortunately, my daughter's cholesterol was becoming elevated and that scares me to death and my son was peeing the bed at night - both due to the Risperdal. Now that he's almost off of it, that's completely stopped. So, really, we needed to come off of it. First appointment. with-the 2nd opinion psychiatrist is actually this week. I will for sure update.
 
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