Risperidol

[Julieanne]

My son Jay is on Risperidol 0.2ml once a day in evening...it does calm him & we have noticed a effect as in, he is not as aggressive. It also helps to calm him when he goes to bed as we were going through a phase of him not going to sleep till midnight...just banging his buses constantly on the floor which is very draining...bang...bang...bang.....all day & night!!!! and screaming, shouting, and just wanting this & that...up and down stairs like a yo yo...but thankfullyall that has calmed down

Just wondered how many other parents used this medication in their autistic children and how they got on with it?

[darky]

I would be interested in people's views on this, as this is something we *may* be considering. My girls tantrums are getting worse, and her temper is begining to affect her at school. When she lashes out, she does so impulsively, and has given her brother 2 black eyes in the past. Our consultant mentioned something like this, and said it would help her sleep as well? So we will be able to ditch melatonin which is pretty useless anyway! We are managing at the mo, but the consultant said it might help with the self harm as well?

[Julieanne]

sorry im new to this & getting replies mixed up and doing it twice

Edited May 18, 2008 by Julieanne

[Julieanne]

we also used melatonin and we also thought it was pretty useless lol...we feel that it does help with Jay's sleep.. talk toyour paeditrician , it does have side effects, but as yet jay hasnt presented with any...more popular side effects are weight gain...but he runs around so darn much he never could put weight on

we have found it to be a good thing so far.....

it may help with your girls tantrums as it is meant to have a calming effect and to control aggression too..

good luck & let me know how you get on if you decide to take the plunge

[Enid]

Hi, my son was put on resperidol after his severe meltdowns at christmas, at first he was put on 0.5mg twices a day, ad he was very calm but had a medicated look in his eyes, but after a month his behaviour became worse again, trashing the house at the slightest thing etc etc, he was then given 1mg twice daily, after about 4/6 weeks there was a big improvment in his behaviour, however he is now starting to have meltdowns again but he is definately less anxious and obsessive. hope this helps. Enid

[JsMum]

I would be interested in people's views on this, as this is something we *may* be considering. My girls tantrums are getting worse, and her temper is begining to affect her at school. When she lashes out, she does so impulsively, and has given her brother 2 black eyes in the past. Our consultant mentioned something like this, and said it would help her sleep as well? So we will be able to ditch melatonin which is pretty useless anyway! We are managing at the mo, but the consultant said it might help with the self harm as well?

 

 

Our doctors here wont persribe it here to children, they have concerns, with Js aggression it was down to not been able to verbalise his feelings and things would build up, his aggression got to the stage I wanted him placed in LAC because I really couldnt keep been punched, kicked, biten, scratched anymore and we did recieve home support, but whats really helped is a communications pack called widgits, its visual support and we have done a step by step visual support chart, we have done social stories and helped him with his feelings and other peoples reactions, for me I would say its really helped Js aggression because he can understand and express throw the visual supports and the awareness of his routines lesson the changes.

 

I obvously still have moments with J but its nothing compared to before the widgits, I strongly recommend them before using the medication road, also I know that concerta and rispridol has a contriticting effect on the body, as one drug is encourgings certain hormones and the other is trying to block the hormones/chemicals in the brain.

 

I would also look at why her behaviour in school is increasing, is the work getting too much, are the school really trained and experienced in autism it could be that now the curriculum increases and other childrens social skills develop further it leaves a more noticable gap in her social understanding and this causes frustration in your daughter.

 

J really struggled once in year 4, when socialising and the worked increased considerablly.

 

Now J is on widgits and has a time timer and other things in place like the weighted blanket things are better than before.

 

JsMum

[loobylou2]

my daughter is on 0.7 mg twice a day and it really helps her anxieties and has stopped her getting really down. She has been on Respiridone for nearly a year now and we have had to adjust her dosage nay times to get the right one. If you do decide to go ahead with it, ask to have it in the liquid form as it is very powerfull and we found that only the slightest increase or decrease can affect her moods. Good luck with whatever you decide, its not an easy decision to have to make and only you and the doc can make it. We found that she is much better on it and she finds life just too difficult without it.

[smiley1590]

i have AS i was put on this by adolescent pysch in ma teens around 14/15 approx this meds didnt do anyfink for me didnt calm me down ma outbursts of violent anga n agresive outbursts n rages meltdowns but sum meds it works for sum not for ovas it trials all tyme to c if it works if not talk to GP n swap to sumfink more suitable for ya child tat ma advice! keep alert on any sudden changes in moods or behaviours keep ya eyes peeled al tyme! keep note write down fings if tat helps ya meba fings more clearli!

 

take care every1

 

KLxXxXX

[edith simon]

Our son is 22 year old and we had lots of problems with sleep,agression etc.

We took up behavioral "Lovaas" approach when he was 11 year old we started and it has helped a lot.

His condition is very severe and with severe learning disability tooo but now he is a nice and quiet young man as a result of behiviral method.

He started to take risperidol 3 weeks ago and indeed it has got very positive effect on hi.First of all he can sleep which is a great releif.

He is taking 1mg/day and the consultant wanted to give 4-6mg/day but me and my husband did not agree and he is reacting weel at the moment.

I wish you all the best.

Edith Si,mon

[Caffeine Junkie]

'A' is seven years old and was put on Risperidone in September. The dose was initially 0.25 mg once a day. This worked wonderfully at first. It reduced his aggression and his mood swings. He was generally a lot calmer and happier. This lasted a few weeks, then the same old problems started to resurface. The Risperidone was increased to 0.25 mg twice a day. Once again 'A' has calmed. Whether his aggression and mood swings will resurface again, I don't know ...... we will have to wait and see.

[alisonatt]

my son (6) has been on risperidone 0.5 mg for 2 weeks now he can have this dose twice a day but the dr said see how he is if i feel i need to give him two a day then do so,we only give him one a day and that works great with him,he is a lot calmer and not so stressed but its early days and we will see what happens, my son does not have a dx yet as they are still looking into aspergers and adhd i was bit shocked they gave my son table with no dx

[cmuir]

we also used melatonin and we also thought it was pretty useless lol...we feel that it does help with Jay's sleep.. talk toyour paeditrician , it does have side effects, but as yet jay hasnt presented with any...more popular side effects are weight gain...but he runs around so darn much he never could put weight on

we have found it to be a good thing so far.....

it may help with your girls tantrums as it is meant to have a calming effect and to control aggression too..

good luck & let me know how you get on if you decide to take the plunge

 

 

 

Hi

 

Were you referring to risperidol or melatonin when you say that it has side effects? If melatonin, could you advise what kind of side effects?

 

Just curious, as I wasn't aware of any side effects of melatonin.

 

Thanks.

 

Caroline.

[Enid]

I found my lad had to have it upped regularly, he has been on 1mg 3x a day since july, it has been his calmest period, fingers crossed. Enid

[edith simon]

sorry im new to this & getting replies mixed up and doing it twice

I am also new and find it a bit difficult how it works,where to look for answers.

good luck for you too.

Edith

[peaches]

Is this the same risperidone that is given to people with schizophrenia? I find the thought of giving children anti psychotic drugs really scary, but I accept that it is necessary sometimes. Are there any long term effects on the brain's biochemistry?

[linsha31]

i think it comes under an SSRI it is not a drug that can be taken long term and blood tests also need to be done every year , My Daughter was 11 when we tried it i wasn't very happy about it but the school put alot of pressure on me we started on the smallest dose ,and it had a disasterous effect first it used to just knock her out first dose i gave she was bouncing on the bed she took it 5 mins later she was limp in my arms ,its scared the life out of me ! ,then there was the weight gain my daughter is very active but she just ballooned to a scary size and was constantly after food ,then the increase in violence began to where i couldn't remember a time in the day where i wasnt being either dragged round by my hair or being punched and bit ,it was the first and only time i have thought about putting my daughter in care things got so bad ,i used to have to evacuate the house ! then i was told to up it so we did and so the violence escalated again i looked like i had been in a ring with mike tyson and freddie krueger !! then the night terrors began she would wake screaming and would be bolt up in bed eyes wide nothing i could do ,would stop her screaming then she also started constantly rocking too that was it i had enough slowly reduced it and took her off it , alot of people say it works miracles, but me i would never let my daughter take it again

[Tally]

Respiridol is not an SSRI, it is classified as an antipsychotic. Many antipsychotics have other uses, and you shouldn't be put off by the classification if it is appropriate for you or your child. For example, Lithium is commonly used as a mood stabiliser for people who suffer from bipolar disorder, but it also is classified as an antipsychotic.

[linsha31]

well it is what i was told by my daughters consultant ,i wasn't put off by the name just the increasing terryfying side effects !