I thought Risperdal was supposed to increase appetite and cause weight gain? My difficult child has been on it for about a week now and I haven't seen increase in eating. This is the one side effect I want him to have because the Adderall he's on suppresses his appetite. Do I have to wait longer to see if his eating increases. I have seen small increases in eating, but overall, he still has a lot of trouble eating during the day.
My son is 8 and has been on risperdal since he was 3.5. He has just started to gain any weight in the past year or so and its still not excessive like a lot of folks talk about. He is not on a stimulant, tho. It is my understanding, tho, that risperdal is pretty immediate. If he's not eating you out of house and home, I wouldn't really expect him to suddenly start.
My son gained twenty pounds in one month on Risperdal. Most psychiatric medications are not weight neutral...most mood stabilizers and antipsychotics cause such a huge appetite increase that you can't control yourself. I'm an adult and gained eighty pounds on Paroxetene (I lost it, but I know folks who never can stop eating). My son has been off medications for five years now, did not have a he appetite before medications, but still overeats now. I often wonder if it effected his metabolism or appetite forever as he is still quite overweight. It's something to take into consideration, if this is an issue with you. I believe the biggest weight gainers (I used to know the list, but this was a long time ago so I'm putting the drugs in any order): Risperdal, Zyprexa, Depakote, Risperdal, Lithium. I know some huge anti-depressant weight gainers are Paxil/Paroxetine, Remeron, Trazadene, Amitriptylene (I gained 60 on this one).
See, I am wanting him to gain weight. He is SO stick thin right now. He hasn't lost any weight with the stims he is on, but I was wanting to see his eating increase with the Risperdal. I haven't seen the huge increase at all, but it's only been a week so far so not sure what to think at this point. medications are helping HUGE though!
I tried to get him to drink pediasure, but he said it tastes funny and won't drink it. I thought about trying Boost Kids Essentials. I heard it tastes better. Some days are good eating days and some are really bad.
wm has been on risperdal since he was 9 ~ he will be 16 in early July. The boy hasn't gained any appreciable weight due to risperdal. He's stick thin. I truly believe he was meant to be a tall skinny kid. (by the way, he isn't on any stimulants.)
