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Elanor

Medications - Risperidone

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My son (9) was prescribed with risperidone (Risperdal) just before Christmas. His aggressive behaviour had steadily got worse, and he was assaulting his bother and even his 3 year old sister. Fortunately we were able to get a short notice appointment with our son?s specialist (we?ve been seeing him for 18 months) and he suggested either Prozac, or risperidone. We chose the risperidone because it has a much quicker effect.

 

To me, it?s a huge step to put my son on medication ? risperidone is an anti-psychotic commonly used for schizophrenics, and also for anxiety, and it scares the heck out of me. But my son isn?t the only person in my family, and I have to think about the needs of the other children too.

 

The result of the medication has been totally amazing ? my son is significantly less anxious, and is only rarely aggressive ? hitting was a daily occurrence, and he?s only done it twice in the past 3 weeks. He?s much happier in himself, can rationalise, understands what?s going on around him better, and can simply cope much better. Oddly enough, his Asperger?s traits are coming out more strongly in some ways ? perhaps because he reacts to things now, rather than simply flying into a rage which then masks every thing else. He has put on some weight, and we?re keeping an eye on that ? but so far, so good ? we had a great Christmas!

 

I?d appreciate anyone?s views and experience on this drug.

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Elanor

 

I have no personal experience to pass on, but if you do a keywordsearch on

risperdal at the Oasis forum:

 

http://forums.delphiforums.com/AspergerOasis

 

You will find several threads referencing it. The consensus is that it can have very positive efects, but that weight gain can be a serious problem, and it doesn't always mix well with other drugs.

 

Simon

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I thought that it was a bit odd when th emessage board says last message posted was yesterday but the dates on th e2 messages contained in the post are dated january?? Maybe some replies have gone astray.

 

What I wanted to say was that I have been giving my son risperidone for a couple of weeks and there has been a marked change in him.

 

He was becoming very aggressive in school with a real danger of him being excluded and he was almost in a constant state of being stressed out if he was spoken to or interrupted while doing anything.

 

I was extremely reluctant to go down the medication route but thanks to one or two very positive replies I received on this site(for the life of me I cant find them anywhere), helped me and my wife to make up our minds.

 

As in most cases when being with someone 24 hours a day you don't always notice changes immediately. One thing I did realise after the first week how few arguments had occurred in the house. There is a more relaxed atmosphere throughout the home both in th emorning and in the evening.

 

There hasn't been any ill side effects showing at all. He was taking melatonin to help him sleep(still is), although it doesn't appear to be quite as effective.

 

The school have said nothing but positive things about our lad's behaviour and work since starting the medication.

 

So personally I am happy the way things are progressing at the moment. Our boy is much happier and there is less stress in the house all round.

 

My plan is to keep him on it until just after christmas and see if he is more relaxed without it than he was before.

 

Good luck

Mike

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Just wanted to add - your posts seems so similar to our family & school situation. My son has just been put on Rispiridone & so far it seems to be helping a lot - he is a lot less violent and anxious. - his brothers have commented how much better he seems.

 

The only thing is that he seems to be even more thirsty & his appetite has increased - so I am trying to increase his energy levels - hopefully this should counteract it. he has complained of headaches - but this could be due to the dehydration - he has always drunk a lot so it is difficult to tell.

 

Carol

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Just a word of caution - if you decide to stop the Risperidone, wean the dosage down very slowly over a matter of weeks as withdrawal symptoms can be awful for SOME folks. Your Doc may not emphasise this enough as they don't see people on a daily basis and so don't always realise the effects of what they prescribe! No offence meant to Docs, that's just the way the job is. I'd advise this approach with virtually any meds unless you're stopping because of intolerable side effects.

 

I'm only speaking from my experience as a nurse, haven't needed to use it in the family.

 

love Ali xx

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Thanks for that advice Ali. During a brief conversation with the Doctor when I was picking up the prescription, we touched slightly upon th esubject ofeventually stopping it but he didn't mention possible ill effects from this.

 

Having soem experience of taking anti-depressants in the past where there was no ill effects when stopping I assumed the same would be the case with my boys meds.

 

We see the doctor again next month and I will press him more on the subject. Thanks again.

Mike

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