For those using Risperdal, I have a couple questions. I know what our doctor told us today, but I want to know from those who've used it with their own kids.

First of all, Angela is currently taking Prozac and Chlonidine. Today we spent an hour and a half with the ped discussing the med issues (and my frustrations). She talked to the dev. ped. who said Risperdal is the next on our list to try. I am ready to see if this will work! BUT.....we leave for Atlanta in 2 days!

At first she said not to switch her until we come back from Atlanta. Being in a different situation, etc. But we did agree that I could give her a small dose of chlonidine for the plane. (yay! not enough to sleep, but def. enough to calm her down a bit.) And that we'd switch when we come back because we should wean her off the Prozac slowly (over 3 or 4 days) which, of course, will me 3 or 4 extremely difficult days for all involved.

THEN she said, "Well, you could start the Risperdal at 1/2 dose just once per day for the first 3 days (so Thurs - Mon) then start weaning the Prozac on Monday as you start increasing the Risperdal. This way you would avoid the extreme mood swings she'll have once the Prozac is stopped. The small dose of Risperdal would have a slightly sedating affect which should be wearing off by the 3rd day. That way you'd avoid having to increase the clonidine for the plane, and even that small dose of Risperdal combined with the Prozac may make a difference over the weekend. It's up to you, either way is fine with me."

So now I'm totally unsure if I should wait and start it when we come back, or go ahead and start it tomorrow. I suppose I could try it tomorrow first, and if she's too sedated seeming tomorrow I could just hold off and not try it again till Mon when we're back home.

UGH!!! What do you guys think? I hate hate hate messing around with these meds. The ped and the dev. ped are pretty puzzled about why she reacts the way she does to the meds. If this doesn't work our next step would be to do an inpatient med study. Lovely......

I spent most of this visit today in tears. I hate that my kid is like this. She is not happy. We are not happy. Nobody is happy. Most of all she is so frustrated with HERSELF! I'm so sad seeing her this way. The other day she got into big trouble at a birthday party, and that mom, too, was sad to see how Angela is just SO not herself! I hate this! I just want my happy kid back!!!! She used to be just hyperactive, but still very happy. Now she's just mad, sad, aggressive all the time. The last couple of days have been a little better, but she can still get pushed over the edge pretty suddenly, and we don't know what sets her off.

And all I can think about is if we can't manage her now, what in the world are we going to do when she's 15???????

With Mikey we have found that some medications work for a period of time and then they just lose their potency. Mikey stops reacting to them and he needs to be switched. In every case we have seen that the new medication works well... it's just a question of how long it will keep working.

Mikey is on 2mg in the morning and 2mg at night. We don't find that the Risperdal makes any difference in his sleep. The medication we found has made the biggest improvement in Mikey is Depakote. Mikey takes both Risperdal and Depakote but we really think it is Depakote that makes him more able to control himself.

Thanks Tom!

I did give her 1/2 the Risperdal, and 1/2 the prozac dose today, and will continue at that level until Mon or Tues, then decrease the prozac, increase Risp.

So this morning I did it, and sent her off to school. When she came home was DEFINETLY "sedated", but not "sleepy" if that makes sense. But she was raveneously hungry! She at like 3 lunches before she had friends come over the play. When they got here she perked up quite a bit.

I have to say, she had and AWESOME afternoon! Something I haven't seen in quite some time. Lets just hope it keeps up all weekend.

Interestingly, at the doctor yesterday we were plotting her growth. In the last 14 months she's gronw 4 1/2 inches! WOW! And here I thought I was shrinking everything. LOL But she's LOST 4 lbs, which isn't good as she really doesn't have weight to loose. I was told the Risp. sometimes causes wieght gain because of an increase in appetite. That could be an added benefit for her.

Gotta run dish up a 2nd plate of spaghetti!

Yes, Risperdal can increase appetite. Mikey burns so many calories that it isn't a problem for us! When we first started using it, it did make him a bit sleepy but that effect seemed to wear off after a little while.

I am soooo happy to hear that the Risperdal is working. I know you have been going through a TOUGH time lately so here's hoping that it does the trick!

Leah,
I'm sorry I missed this till now. Risperdal is the most helpful medication that my 15 year old takes. I see a difference when he misses it. We just increased it and it stabilized his mood again - he had grown a lot. His appetite can be a problem so we watch him and encourage exercise. He was a little sleepier in the beginning so it's good you're adjusting this during the summer.

Daniel takes .75mg of Risperdal in the morning and .5mg in the evening. After about a year on it, I tried taking him off because it is quite expensive in S.A. and I thought it was not really helping because it was supposed to assist with his sleeping. So, after discussion with the Paed I took him off it. After 2 weeks I called the Paed back to tell him that I think I made a huge mistake. He laughed at me and said that he was expecting my call a lot sooner, and we had lasted quite long without it. The problem was that Daniel was so hyper that he did not sit still for 1 second. So, the moral of the story I will not mess with his meds again!!

Leah, How is it going? Notice a different?

We started Courtney on it.. yes it mild.25 twice a day.. but man oh man.. what a difference but ummm one problem I see her tongue out more. So asking the Dr about it today!