Am i doing the right thing?

[josie h]

Just been to see the psycharatrist with C. he has been having huge problems at school with his behaviour and has had to be restrained a number of times. As he's getting bigger, now 13, its more difficult to contain him when he has a bad turn. on one occasions it took 4 memebers of staff to get him under control/ Anyway we have been advised to try Riperidone. we have been given a 0.5 mg dose once a day. we go back to Camhs in January to see how it's going. C seems happy to try it. 'I'll try anything mum,' was the response when i asked him of he was ok about it. I guess he realises that thinks are pretty bad at the moment. Any way, just wanted to see if any one out there thinks i'm doing the right thing. I'm sure i am, but it's nice to know that there is support out there.

[Tally]

I think you are probably the best person to judge what is right for your son. If you are sure this is the right thing, then you are probably right. He also wants help and seems keen to try it. Medicating children is a very controversial issue, but there are times when it is the right thing to do.

 

A few people do react badly to Risperidone, so it's worth keeping a close eye on him. You can always go back to your GP if you have concerns before your appointment in January.

[mbrown]

Our boy now 13 has been on risperidone for a few years now, no major side effects except for massively increased appetite. He has settled now but we need to keep an eye on him most of the time.

 

I questioned efficacy with psychiatrist who recently diagnosed ADHD on top of the Aspergers he already had.

 

I thiought that risperidone was more for autistic behaviours rather than ADHD.

 

We tried to stop the risperidone gradually. It went well until we stopped it completely, so he is on a small dose that the psych thinks is worthless. What do they know? LOL.

 

Currently having very heated debate with psych re use (or in my case non-use) of strattera.

 

I am not anti-drugs but I do like to consider all available treatments as well.

 

0.5 mg does seem a rather small dose for a growing lad. Dosages very often have to be experimented with (under docs supervision of course) until an optimum dosage i sfound.

 

Good luck.

 

MB

[loobylou2]

Hi, sorry to but in like this! Risperidone is an anti-psychotic drug. My daughter takes it for bipolar disorder and its used in schizophrenia etc to control psychotic moods and behaviour. You need to make sure that you areprescribed liquid risperidone as it is a very powerful drug and tiny increases/ decreases can make a huge difference. My dd was on 0.5mg twice a day and it was increased to 0.6 twice a day and that small increase has stabilized her moods. Hope this helps and good luck!!

[Caffeine Junkie]

Have you considered that the school enviroment that he is in may not be the most suitable. I don't know anything about your background, so I could totally be wrong. However, we saw a huge improvement in my son's challenging behaviour when he changed class and taxi.

 

We were in the process of trying to get 'A' medicated for his challenging behaviour (it was either get medication or have him put into residential care - as I just could not cope with his constant agression, and the negative effect it was having on my two daughters).

 

My son was moved into a autism specific class, where his needs are able to be dealt with more effectively, and he is now transported to school in taxi for himself (he finds it very difficult to share his personal space).

 

He is now a lot calmer, and the challenging behaviour has reduced. He is a lot more loving towards his sisters (they now want to interact with him). His challenging behaviour has not totally disappeared, it has however reduced sufficiently has to not warrant being medicated for it.

[cmuir]

Hi

 

There are lots of people who disagree about putting a child on this type of medication. In my experience, those are the ones that don't have children with the behavioural problems and difficulties that we have. I guess you've got to ask yourself about the benefits. I think one of them would be that it would be worthwhile is your son is a lot calmer, more able to concentrate, etc. I know when my son kicks off that I often think to myself that he must surely feel anxious and on edge a lot of the time - that can't be a good feeling. Obviously, with medication, it's important to watch out for side-effects - that's the down side. Some people benefit, some don't.

 

Best wishes.

 

Caroline.

[curra1]

Hi Josie,

 

This is a question that I have often asked myself too. My son (14) has been on Risperdal for 2 years. At first he had 0.5 mg once a day which is a very low dose, but nevertheless he had side effects (muscular twitching). It was reduced then to .025 mg once a day and ever since he's been fine, apart from increased appetite. His weight is stable, although rather a bit overweight but it's also because he doesn't do any exercise. During these two years I've reduced the medication twice but I ended up giving it to him (with doctor's consent) again because without it he gets in a state which he describes as "not having enough control" and could harm himself or others. He's being monitored by a consultant once a month. I think that medication is not the only solution as most of my son's stress is school related and without that stress he would be so much better, but the benefits have been more than the negatives. It's really something that I have considered carefully and finally thought that it was the best thing to do in his case.

 

You are the best person to judge what is right for your son.

 

Good luck!

 

Curra

[josie h]

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to reply. C has been on the med since Tuesday, not very pong i know, but already he is alot calmer. Most of his difficulties are within the school environment, but as he is in secondary school, changing class is not an option. we are currently going through a statement review as well! i take him to school and pick him up, so he knows i'm going to be there. i appreciate all your comments and agree that we can only try. i have a friend whose son takes ritalin for adhd. she noticed a big change and has found that this has benefitted him as well. with regards to weight gain, C is as skinny as a rake and has told me he would like to go to the gym with his dad, so hopefully if this becomes a problem, it can be easily monitored there.