Good Morning everyone-

Could anyone who has a child on Risperdal tell me anything about it? My six year old son was just prescribed this by his psychiatric and since this will be his first medication for ODD/ADHD behaviors, I am scared. We do, however, need to try something. I have not posted here much. I don't seem to have the energy to do much of anything-life is so stressful. Thanks for any help you can offer.
 

Steely

Active Member
Well, I know a little bit, as my son was on it and all of it's cousin medications at differing times, but here is also a website that gives you some indepth details about the medication:

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/risperid.htm

From my experience, it can be a wonderful medication if your child is really struggling with impulse issues, anger, or intense mood issues. Things to just be aware of - it can increase the child's appetite, cause weight gain, or make them sleepy. Also, it can, not always, but can raise cholesterol and glucose levels, so have your psychiatrist do routine bloodwork to keep an eye on that.

Overall, it was a good medication for us, and helped my son regain some control of his mood issues at the time.
 

Janna

New Member
This drug is obviously, just like any other, going to work different for every child, but I would advise you to keep your eyes open.

This drug is an atypical antipsychotic.

My son has tried this drug three times over 7 years. The most recent, in November of 2005, it caused hallucinations, increased mania and made his conditions worse, rather than better.

I do know people, though, that have had incredible luck with it.

If you see negative effects, I would call the psychiatrist immediately. Just watch ~ that's what's most important.
 
Risperdal was a flipping nightmare in our house. Cub was tired, crabby, put on weight(which upset him greatly), and started wetting the bed a lot more because he'd sleep so deeply. We didn't see it doing a single good thing for him. BUT -- it works great for many cubs so many docs try it first. Lamictal was our fourth trial and it's a godsend for our cub. You might hit a homer the first time at bat and find that Risperdal is great for your cub.

I'd suggest documenting your observations so you have some concrete stuff to tell the doctor as you work on finding the right medication and dosage for your cub. "It didn't seem to help much" or "I guess he's a little better" seemed like good summaries at the time when we were first exploring drugs, but after a few months, I didn't really remember why I thought that about certain drugs and dosages. I wish I had done a better job documenting his behaviors, like how many rages he had and how long they lasted.

Good luck!
 

sameold sameold

New Member
Hi

My son has been on and off this medication for the past 9 yrs. He is much better on it than off. It works quickly to control his angry aggressive outbursts. We have had to take him off it a couple of times over the years because of weight gain. He gained 60# in 3 months when he was 16. He is a very lethargic person, so if your child is active it may not be quite so noticeable. It has been a life saver for us. No other medication has workded quite so well for him. Good luck
Sherri
 

jannie

trying to survive....
Risperdal worked well for my difficult child. It cut down on the agression/frustration...however he only stayed on it for about 7 months due to issues with weight gain. I'm glad we tried it.

As with all medication...just watch carefully...
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
We had a positive experience with Risperdal for a while. No problems with weight gain, likely due to difficult child 2 being on a stimulant at the same time -- they balanced eachother out in the appetite dept.

It did help him with his anger/mood/frustration issues... for a while. I had him up to 2.5mg and then we switched to Abilify since the psychiatrist didn't like the fact that his dosage was creeping up.

Hope it works for your difficult child!
 

wakeupcall

Well-Known Member
My difficult child was on Risperdal for several years. It helped him immensely with impulse control and aggression. Every child is different, you'll just need to keep an eye out.
 

nlg319

New Member
My son has been on Risperdal for a few years now. He has benefited greatly from this. He did have a weight gain issue. The psychiatrist gave him Topamax to prevent increase in weight. Like it has been said before, every child reacts and responds differently to medication. I hope you have good luck with it.
 
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