If I wasn't scared before, I am now

[hopeful]

:'(Here is the latest. He wants to try .25mgs Risperdal at night. My son seems to fall into the "ring of fire" mainly by way of how he's been reacting to the meds we've tried.

I've read how many of you found much needed relief with this med. About 6 months ago I brought it up with the doc. I also said that on some levels he sounds bipolar, but mainly he doesn't. He doesn't AT ALL do any risky behavior. NO is not a dirty word in his book. He hates it when he rages and is remorsfull. He is not aggresive. He is a loyal friend to a fault. He is caring. He only had a problem with sleep once in his entire life, and that was when he was getting used to Wellbutrin. That is not a problem now.

However, his moods do cycle in periods of months, not hours, not days. August - December were great. It's been down hill since then.

I've read alot to scare me about this med. Deep in my heart I think it may work. I've been crying all night. Actually, I've been crying for the last couple of weeks. We have a 2nd opionion appointment on Tuesday. He wanted us to try Risperdal and see how it goes for that appointment. MAN I HATE THIS.

I guess I need to read some more success stories. I've ready many here and on the old website. I just need some hand holding. If this doesn't help, we're going to stop everything that he's on and reassess.

My eyes are so red it's hard to type. Maybe I'll try and get some sleep.

[Brenda]

I can't tell you anything about respirdal but I hope someone else can.I know how hard it is trying a new med.We are lucky to only need concerta and tenex but it took us a year to get my dd's meds straight.I'll be thinking about you.Good Luck!

[geewiznit]

If it's any help, our psychiatrist (on staff at Yale) says small doses of Risperdal can produce miraculous results in the area of mood stabilization. We tried it briefly and saw real effects, but had to drop it because of weight gain, a common side effect. We're now trying Abilify, a med that works similarly to Risperdal, but seems to have fewer side effects. Hoping it helps in the impulsivity area. No bad side effects yet. I know how scary it is to try a new med. I filled the Abilify prescription but then put off trying it for two months!

[StrugglingAgain]

Boy, can I ever tell you about Risperdal! My son (8) has been on it for a couple of months! It's been nothing short of WONDERFUL!!! He was having lots of aggression at school, and of course, the school will NOT tolerate that. I don't blame them, so I asked the doctor what I was supposed to do. He put him on a very low dose of Risperdal. He will take him off of it in the summer because he said that long term it can cause a tic with the mouth. BUT, after a break, he can go back on it if it's necessary. Don't panic at the thought of giving it a try. If it doesn't suit, you can tell the doctor and he'll take him off it. My son has always had issues with aggression and it's so nice not to have to face that every single day. You may see benefits of some sort, too.

[hopeful]

Strugglingagain:
How often did you dose? and how much? how soon did you see results? The weird thing is that my son is not aggresive, he's gets out of control frustrated. It's not all the time either. It seems to be every few months.

[Amsmom]

hopeful,
Risperdal has also been like a miracle medication for my ds. He has been on it for 3 years. He started out on .25mg and is now on .5mg am and .5 mg pm. I will
never forget my fear when the psychiatrist told me of the side effects. I, too, was in tears. He told me that if my ds had seizures, to give him benadryl on the way to the ER. I was TERRIFIED and felt like I putting poison in my son's mouth. Well, he was FINE, no seizures, thankfully and no bad side effects. He did have weight gain for awhile, but that has stabilized. I remember when I spoke to the dr about the weight gain, and he said he would rather see a chubby, happy child, than a miserable thin child.

[hopeful]

Thanks Amesmom: That is wonderful news and thanks for the info. Since he's never had problems sleeping, I thought I might try giving it to him in the morning on Thursday. We have a 5 hour plane flight that day, so I won't be bummed if he sleeps on the plane.

[dfp]

Hopeful,
How is it going? We came back from the doc. today with, guess what? A prescription for .25 mg of Risperdal. Same story as you, pretty much. And my emotions are about the same.

Anyway, as someone whose child just started the med, what are your impressions so far?

Thanks.

dfp

[hopeful]

While we were on vacation last week, we dropped Wellbutrin out of the picture and upped Risperdal to .25 2xs a day. Everything was WONDERFUL!! Then we came home and some of the crabbiness returned. Not as bad, but it is back. At our Monday appointment we decided to keep things where they are for 2 reasons: 1-my son had an ear infection/sinus infection and has been on antibiotics (again) and 2- he had oral surgery this past Tuesday. We can only assume at this point there was some pre-surgery anxiety. I know we'll probably be making risperdal adjustments in the next few weeks. Until then, we're glad all has been well at school.