Hi,
My son started on Risperdal, mainly for aggression, but also to help with sleep issues, about a week and a half ago. My son is 5 years old, and weighs 55 lbs. (the weight of the average 8 year old
The psychiatrist who prescribed the Risperdal, told me to start him on 0.5 mg at bedtime for 2-3 days, and if we didn't see any change increase it to 1 mg. at bedtime. Well, we have seen improvement on the 0.5 mg dose, especially in his sleep.
I just can't decide if I should try giving him 1 mg. or not. I'm wondering how much improvement I should expect. I was thinking about trying it just to see how he does, but I am worried about his weight. We will go back to the psychiatrist a week from Monday, and I may just wait and see what he thinks about it, but I was interested in hearing other's experiences, and what kind of improvements you saw in your children.
Thanks,
Lisa
Hey Lisa... Tyler takes risperdal... he is 9 1/2 and 63 pounds he takes 1 mg at night but can take up to 2 mg 2 x a day I chose not to give that much because of the eating. He will eat til he feels sick! PLUS there wasnt much difference.
As you know it isnt a cure for behaviors. It doesnt make everything go away completely. So I would say if it is controllable and he is able to function leave it at a smaller dose it may need increased in a month when he is used to being on it though.
Im curious... let me know if you see any improvement in speech... I did after Tyler was on it a bit and I swear there was a connection. I might be wrong tho and am NOT tryin gto give false hope/ JUST CURIOUS if controlling frustration enables speech
My son Jared weighed about 85 lbs. the first time he tried Risperdal. They also gave him .5. He took it at bedtime. He imediatly started to gain weight craved sugars and carbs really bad. He gained 5 lbs a month.
Then because I told the Dr. school says it is a wonder drug but I don't see any change, Dr bumped it up to 1mg at night. My son went nuts his heart raced, he couldn't sleep I just kept taking his pulse and it scared me! My son has a heart murmer.
I tried to get Jared to just take the lower dose but he wouldn't touch it.
Then a couple months ago he started taking it again (without the schools knowledge). He had been told by the school this would be his only way to be mainstreamed to his beloved home school.
The funny thing was the school didn't realize his was on it and his behavior reports were exactly the same. The school however is mad because I didn't tell them. They send bad behavior reports through the mail and have suspended him twice. His teacher has no time to talk to me now.
Both times Jared took the .5mg. This time he started at 95 lbs. (he had lost about 5 lbs when he got off the med.) Now he weighs around 110 and he is about 4'9".
Please if you adjust the dose keep an eye on him. I would run everything by the Dr. I have had some Drs. who don't want to talk about possible side effects. PUSH THEM TO! I learned the hard way.
Nelle
jordon was taking risperdal for a number of years for aggression and behaviour etc and its only now that i have taken him off that i realise how much calmer he was on it . dont worry there wasn't any bad side affects etc i just choose to see if i can find other ways to teach him to control his behaviour etc as i was needing to put his dose up and thought id see if i could do it myself etc . mind u having just spent the past 30 mins scrubbing carpets etc as he thought it would be a good idea to smear chocolate every where i am now kinda missing the risperdal lolI will be on the lookout for speech improvements, but I have learned not to expect anything. He is doing better with his picture symbols, but I recently changed his pictures to a more concrete version (True Object Based Icons), so it may be due to that.
No problem Lisa..... You're right never "Expect" anything, but there is always hope..... Great idea with the True Object Based Icons, I have heard alot about it making a difference,... Please let us know how it goes..... I wish you lots of success! HI LISA, MY 4 1/2 YR. OLD TAKES RISPERDAL ALSO, he too just gained weight but is monitored every 4 wks. and gets weighed in. He takes 1 1/2 a day 0.5 mg. he was just weighed in last nite he gained 3pds. hes now 49pds. but he also upped his adderall, but hes goin through a growth spurt which this age they all do.I luv when family members say "is he takin his meds." well yes but there going to have good days n bad days..doesn't matter his behavior n impulsivity is willlllld this week..with his seizures they just started him on DEPAKOTE SO HES STILL ADJUSTING to this..so hope this helps My Ds has been on Resperdal for 4 months now. At first, it was like magic! He slept and he signed and he did not tantrum. We go back next month to see our Psych and I think I will just take him off. I see nothing, nil, zilch that it is doing, except making him gain weight. Oh yeah, he takes 1 mg at night and .5 in AM. we started off with .5 at night then upped to .5 also in AM and then added an extra at night. I am very disappointed, becaus eit was so incredible for the first month or so. THe Ped Neuro told me that it is always a game of adjusting and seeing what will and what will not work. My DS has gained 7 or 8 pounds (53 pounds) and he just turned 4, but we are BIG (lol) folks to start. At first my DS really was eating and trying different foods, but that went away too...sigh........Here are some links about Risperdal.... Maybe they will help...... Click on the link to read the full article.
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