Anybody with their child being weaned off Risperdal??

Shannon - posted on 12/03/2012

We took my son of Risperidone yesterday. He is 5 years old and has been on it for six months. When he started the medicine 6 months ago, he weighed 47 pounds. Now 6 months later he weighs 70 pounds. It made him gain so much weight. The doctor just prescribed Intuniv instead. I hope it works. His body built up a tolerance to Risperidone and it was not working well anymore.

Liesl - posted on 10/20/2012

Hi there my son has ADHD/ Aspergers and he had all the major symptoms OCD, Sensory issues ect. He also use to hit his head repetitively against the wall - they started him on risperdal when he was 3 years old and I put my foot down a few months back - since he has been of it his speech and interaction with us has improved drastically, his aspergers problems seems to be a bit more prominent. We added concerta for the ADHD part since none of the natural remedies I tried were effective enough - to be fair my son is super hyper and the natural remedies did help to an extent.

Hope it helps. It is difficult to know what to do, but follow your gut on this. I got a lot of trouble from family who believes in medicating but in the end I know I made the right choice.

Shanon - posted on 10/19/2012

Hello Athena, I was wondering with the child that is taking resperidal. How often and how much worked for your child?

Jeannine - posted on 08/17/2012

My son gained weight cause risperdal. Has anyone used Rolatin or orange oil to help with the drooling?

Tina - posted on 08/17/2012

Hi my son is 8 and has been taking Risperdal since he was 5.. My son has ADHD,Aspergers, and intermitten explosive disorder. Sometimes i feel that it makes him more whiney but for the most part stabalizes the mood. Has anyone expierienced alot of wieght gain? My son is 123 lbs and 8 years old.

Jeannine - posted on 08/16/2012

my son was put on it last year for mood disorder. He is 19 and gained 15 lbs. I currently asked his doctor to wean him off due to the lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson and because of clinical studies showing that this med should be used for short term solution since the adverse reaction will happened if used longer. I'm hoping once we get him off Riperdal his drooling will stop since this med caused it to begin with. If anyone can advise that the drooling will ceased i would greatly appreciate it.

Angela - posted on 08/03/2012

Have you had him checked for seizures?

Kassondra - posted on 02/07/2012

Is there a certin amount??That is needed for weight.

Karin - posted on 02/26/2009

Thanks for sharing your experience with me about the Risperdal. It's interesting how there are so many uses for medications, and how some of the "side-effects" they tell you to watch for are some of the same things the docs prescribe the meds for. *shakes head, laughing*
How is your son doing? I hope he's doing better! Have you tried adding in the Omega 3's? It's a good thing to help with the increase in cholesterol that Risperdal causes, it will protect his heart and blood vessels.
Take care!

Brandie - posted on 02/22/2009

a tic? you medicated your child over a tic? 

is that realy wort the risk?

im sorry but im realy against medicating my child, he does fine without any meds. and there are other ways around curbing behaviour without meds. dont get me wrong im sure some kids may need then but not as many as what are on them. if hes harming himself or other people ok.. if something is going to calm him down and stop him where nothing else works i can understand that. but because of a tic.. im sorry i dont mean to be rude.. but it just dosent seem worth the risk that these meds have.. :(

Jennifer - posted on 02/19/2009

This is true, Karin, but when they did the studies of Risperdal on Tourette's, for example, they found that is not only controlled the behaviors associated with Tourette's, but it also controlled their tics as well. My son was on such a small amount of Risperdal (used to control tics for a lot of ASD children), but it still worried me at the same time, so it was our decision to wean him off since the tic had actually stopped. We wanted to see where that left him.

Karin - posted on 02/18/2009

I'm curious why your son was prescribed Risperdal for a tic - one of the side effects of Risperdal is that it _causes_ tics. I have a son who is bipolar/ADHD and he is on Risperdal for his mood swings, it is an anti-psychotic, and it calms him at night. (He is also on Lithium and Adderall XR). I also have another son who has Aspergers, he's never been on any meds. In any case, you may want to try some Omega 3 fatty acids - Coromega makes a great orange flavored gel that tastes really good. There have been lots of studies recently that show supplementing with Omega 3 fatty acids and DHA help greatly with the neural transmissions and helps to protect the brain in kids with autism and bipolar disorder. It also helps protect the heart and blood vessels from the increased cholesterol that Risperdal causes. It has helped my son immensely!

Rachel - posted on 02/18/2009

My cousins son does the same thing with his eyes when he is anxious or nervous.  I don't believe he had been on or is on any meds.  He doesn't realize he is doing it.  He is around the same age and has aspergers.  Hope that helps, good luck.

Jennifer - posted on 02/17/2009

Thank you, Athena, for your response. My son has Asperger's and ADHD, and the whole reason we began this med is because of a tic. I now see some facial tics since he was weaned off, but I'm curious to know if this is something that will wear off?? He's beginning to pull at his collar, too, and his eyes are bothering him more now. I really don't know WHAT to do....thanks for your support!!

Athena - posted on 02/17/2009

my son is 11 and was taking it since he was 4.he has PDD and ADHD.he has been off for about 2 months and i just called the dr to get them back.it works wonders for him and i tried for the dr to get him off but he is not the same without.im not sure about your case but at first it seems like it wasnt going to be too bad but my husband and i made the choice to put him back on.he has trouble with his work and with anything i have to call his name over and over again to keep him on it.now he eats alot more on it,but we do blood test every 6 months.so what im trying to say is that i like the med but thats just me.you can write back if anymore questions.i also have a 9yr old autistic boy that is on no meds.....but its nice to have ppl to talk to about these things...take care