I haven't posted on here in ages but every once in a while I check up to see what's going on. My difficult child is now 13 and doing very well. He is being homeschooled now and so a lot of the frustration that he was getting from school is gone. My question is should I see how he responds off the risperdal? I would like to medicate him as little as possible and this seems like the one that would be able to possibly go without a huge backfire. My psychiatrist basically agrees with me on whatever I say so thought I would ask some people who have actually experienced it. He is on depakote, buspirone and risperdal right now. Thanks.
Should I take off risperdal?
- Thread starter jrdoubleh
- Start date
Let's hear it for the homeschoolers! We've been homeschooling my (probably) bipolar difficult child for three years--his behavior improved so much when we brought him home that we are only just now seeking a diagnosis (and going through the roller coaster of trying to find the right medications...)
I don't have any particular advice about medications yet (risperdal is on the list of what psychiatrist is willing to try, but we haven't gotten around to it yet ;-) ). You're right that keeping him home takes a huge amount of stress off him, but it works that way for "normal" kids, too--school is just like that for some (ok, a lot) of people.
Best of luck!
Celise
I don't have any particular advice about medications yet (risperdal is on the list of what psychiatrist is willing to try, but we haven't gotten around to it yet ;-) ). You're right that keeping him home takes a huge amount of stress off him, but it works that way for "normal" kids, too--school is just like that for some (ok, a lot) of people.
Best of luck!
Celise
witzend
Well-Known Member
My thoughts on medications are, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." My blood pressure is fine since I started taking medications, but I keep taking them. I feel the same way about the others that we give our kids. I think the thing that scares me the most about taking them off medications when things are going well is that it's possible that if symptoms recur off of the medications, when you put them back on, they might not work as well or in the same way that they did before.
I'm all for taking them off when it's not going well. But maybe homeschool and risperdal is what works?
I'm all for taking them off when it's not going well. But maybe homeschool and risperdal is what works?
smallworld
Moderator
I have a different view.
in my humble opinion, the fewer medications, the better. If your difficult child is now stable on Depakote (have his blood levels been checked consistently?), he may not need Risperdal. Furthermore, of the three medications your difficult child is on, Risperdal has the worst side-effect profile, and because it's relatively new and not tested on children, there is very little information on the long-term effects on pediatric neurodevelopment. I also believe that as children grow and mature, they may not need all the medications they once needed to function.
This is all my long way of saying that in your shoes, I'd try to wean your difficult child off Risperdal.
in my humble opinion, the fewer medications, the better. If your difficult child is now stable on Depakote (have his blood levels been checked consistently?), he may not need Risperdal. Furthermore, of the three medications your difficult child is on, Risperdal has the worst side-effect profile, and because it's relatively new and not tested on children, there is very little information on the long-term effects on pediatric neurodevelopment. I also believe that as children grow and mature, they may not need all the medications they once needed to function.
This is all my long way of saying that in your shoes, I'd try to wean your difficult child off Risperdal.
