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Post by weskie on Sept 27, 2004 8:36:19 GMT -5
I posted a message about DS's experience with Adderall under "The Doctor's Office" about three weeks ago. I really should have posted it here. DS is 21 and in college. He didn't take Adderall all summer but started again in the fall. He had been at college for only a week and was hospitalized for psychotic thinking. I looked up Adderall in the PDR and the first thing it says under "Adverse Effects--Central Nervous System" is "Psychotic episodes at recommended doses (rare)". This is just to sum up what I posted elsewhere. Needless to say, this was frightening!!! ( DH flew out there when he was hospitalized and spent a week with him, and we just drove out again last weekend, so we're in very close touch with him. He does have a therapist now and is being followed by a psychopharmacologist.)
But he can't take Adderall or any other stimulant, and is having trouble concentrating. He was put on Risperdal and is doing better, BUT is very fatigued. My question is: does this fatigue wear off?? He's been on it about three weeks. The fatigue PLUS the difficulty concentrating may mean that he has to take a medical leave this semester.
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Post by rosyred45 on Sept 27, 2004 14:17:35 GMT -5
Hi weskie, sorry, I don' tknow alot about medications, BUT there is reported sleepiness as a side effect. drugstogo.net/drug/risperdal.htmlI found this, it list possible side effects, I hope it helps, sorry I can't offer more  |
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Post by ohmama on Sept 27, 2004 15:50:42 GMT -5
Weskie,
The fatigue he is having now could be the result of the dose of Risperdal being too high. I'm sure it was necessary at the time all this happened to give a higher dose but maybe now it should be lowered if the fatigue or sedating effect is still prominent.
What is his diagnosis?
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Post by Amsmom on Sept 27, 2004 18:46:43 GMT -5
hi weskie,
what dosage of risperdal is he on? my ds8 is able to take 1.5 mg per day, without any sleepiness. ohmama is right, perhaps he was put on a higher dose to help him get through the pychotic episode, but is no longer in need of the same dose. my ds8 is bipolar/adhd and is also unable to take stims.
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Post by StrugglingAgain on Sept 27, 2004 19:30:24 GMT -5
My son took Risperdal last school year for aggression (in addition to Ritalin LA, Clonidine, Focalin). He was off it for the summer, hoping a rest will keep him from developing a tic. Today we started back on it .25mg daily, for aggression. He's already been in the principal's office three times for hitting the other children. If it's necessary, after a week he can take .25mg twice a day. If I remember correctly it made him sleepy for a few days, then that side effect went away. Stay tuned!!
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Post by weskie on Sept 27, 2004 21:43:42 GMT -5
DS is on .5 mg Risperdal, twice a day. That doesn't seem like a lot for a big guy. He is still having some crazy thoughts, so right now cutting down the dose is probably not a good idea. Ohmama, a diagnosis is up in the air at this point. I am hoping that discontinuing the Adderall will mean that this will all go away. He is scheduled for testing at Fall break--and to see a psychopharmacologist here, who knows him. So we should know more after the testing. I hope we don't find out something really bad. DH and I are so scared and worried!! But, one step at a time. We're trying to stay positive!
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Post by Amsmom on Sept 28, 2004 6:12:19 GMT -5
yes weskie, .5 twice a day does not sound like a lot. i do hope that going off the adderall will make a huge difference. in my ds's case, it did make a difference being off stimulants.
((((((((((weskie))))))))))keep us posted.
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Post by weskie on Sept 28, 2004 7:36:52 GMT -5
Amsmom, a bipolar diagnosis is being considered at this point (no testing yet). Is Risperdal the only medication your son is on? Does he take anything for concentration? Right now my son is not doing well at school with no stims. He says the Adderall helped not only his concentration but also his level of interest in his work. He doesn't feel interested in it now. He had an easy paper to turn in yesterday and he couldn't get it done. He had to ask for an extension. This doesn't bode well for his being able to stay at school--which he wants to do. Of course he could take a medical leave this semester, but he really doesn't do well at home--he took a semester off last year and didn't use the time productively. I hope he can stay at school for the friends and activities.
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Post by rosyred45 on Sept 28, 2004 7:51:08 GMT -5
Weskie, (((((((((hugs)))))))))
Can I ask how structured the school setting is? Not that it has to do with your med question(sorry), but does he have any kind of tutoring center that he can go to, in the waiting game for the medication and dx?
Personally for me, I dropped out of college the first month into my second year-yes, regretting it now- but I never went to student services for ANYTHING. I was just wondering if student services could be of help.
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Post by weskie on Sept 28, 2004 8:45:23 GMT -5
It's a college--so it's not very structured. Of course, there is a counselling center and tutoring center. There's an office for disabilities. But DS is not good at asking for help. He just told us his advisor is away this semester. Did he ask for another advisor? No. His former advisor is the head of the office for disabilities. Has he gone to see her? No. We encouraged him to make these contacts. His class dean has been very kind, so he knows there are nice people out there ready to help. But I guess he thinks asking for help shows weakness. We talked about this with him over the weekend. He seemed to see our point. I'm going to call him today to ask about advisors and the disability office.
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Post by rosyred45 on Sept 28, 2004 8:55:32 GMT -5
Is there anyway that THEY could initiate the contact, since he isn't, or would their response be "he's in college, he's a big boy now". Jeez, I STILL have a time asking for help when I need it so I can sorta understand that end of it. Maybe if you bug him enough he'll do it, or would that just tick him off? |
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Post by hopeful on Sept 28, 2004 8:56:49 GMT -5
My son seems to get really sleepy on Risperdal if he's not doing anything or is bored. I'm still trying to figure this med out. He takes .25 3xs per day. If he's engaged in something (school) he's fine. If we're driving or we're just hanging out after school, he gets tired. I think he's tired anyway after school, so this makes it worse. We're trying to avoid taking meds at school, but that may be my son's answer.
Just a thought: how's his diet? Risperdal can bring on the appetite. It could be he's eating differently on this med. Processed foods are terrible (and fattning). You may want to look into that.
Hope this helps a little.
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Post by weskie on Sept 28, 2004 13:33:40 GMT -5
I like the idea of .25 3 x/day. Maybe when DS sees the psychopharm at fall break, some kind of adjustment could be made. My son just told me he tried to cut down to .5 only once a day--this lasted two days--now he's back on .5 twice a day and feeling tired.
He's always eaten a good diet but he did mention feeling hungry all the time and eating more. If he gains much weight, this could be a problem because he enjoys being thin. He is going to the gym to work out--something he has done a lot of in the past. He belongs to a food coop at school--about 30 people who take turns preparing meals for the whole coop. It's fun and mostly vegetarian (meat once a week).
Rosyred, yes, you guessed it--colleges don't believe in chasing down students who don't initiate contact on their own! I've got to say, with all the ADD problems DS had when he was younger, in some ways it was easier then because I could take care of doctor appointments, meds, diet, etc. Now--he's far away and at 21, wants to be independent.
DD, 25, also has ADD but has had a far easier time of it. She did well on Ritalin and didn't have the learning problems, dysgraphia, and social issues DS has had. She's in grad school and is living proof ADDers can do well! I'm just hoping DS can succeed, too.
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Post by Amsmom on Sept 28, 2004 14:24:48 GMT -5
weskie, my ds8 takes depakote and elavil for mood stabilization with the risperdal. he doesnt take anything to help him focus which is a problem in school. b/c he is only in 3rd grade, he is in a special public school program that helps him with staying on task, which of course, is not available in college. i know that colleges dont reach out to students who dont seek help on their own, but would the disability office director make an exception in your ds's case? if he/she is truly knowledgable in the area of mental disabilities, they should take that step to help your ds, knowing that he is not emotionally able to do it himself. do you know how to contact that person just to see if they would do it? it's worth a try. the worst that could happen is that they could tell you no.
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Post by weskie on Sept 28, 2004 15:42:34 GMT -5
That's a good idea. I hadn't thought of contacting the disability office myself. The director does know DS from two years ago. I'll give her a call!
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