Risperidone....anyone?

[wendihouse22]

My son has ASD/OCD/Tourette's. He has just commenced on a weeny dose of Risperidone to (hopefully) lessen anxiety exacerbating his condition (s).

Does anyone have any experience of this? Apparently, it is given "all the time" in the USA for autism related anxiety and co-morbid anxiety induced conditions.

He's 10. Dx ASD aged 4.

my dd is on risperidone she has asd/asp she is only on a small dose it works for her, side effect is that she has put lots of weight on

Ds (ASD, adhd some ocd traits, now 13) trialled this last year - at low dose had no noticable effects, at middle dose some improvements (less angry), at slightly higher dose again a lot of confusion, getting stuck in a loop talking, more ocd type behaviour (having to check things were safe in each room), more pronounced tics and worrying about what he was feeling. At that point we weaned him off it again fairly rapidly. So I guess my advice would be to go slowly with the dose increases but also to reassure you that if your ds doesn't respond well to it, we found that the adverse side effects, if that's what they were, mostly disappeared or became less frequent once he had stopped the medication.

Thanks. Not too worried about some weight gain as he is so tiny. He has a non-existent appetite and needs constant prompting to eat anything.

Don't want his worries to worsen, though.

Risperdal is unfortunately given all the time in the USA, where they have a pill to cure everything . My best friend from high school's son was just dx Asperger's and given a script for Risperdal! He's not violent, aggressive or anything else, just says things that can be misconstrued and frequently offends relatives who think he ought to just blend into the woodwork, etc.

DS nearly 17 was put on it 8 weeks ago by his new adult team psychiatrist he doesn't have a proper dx yet except severe ADHD and complex LD's but since he has been on it he is a completely changed boy he sleeps at night, is more compliant, has only had one meltdown and in general is nicer to be around whereas before it was a living nightmare not knowing when I was going to get attacked by him.

borderlass.....that must be a relief.

If it works for my little boy, I'll be delighted but we already tried Sertraline and he had to come off it as it made him even more aggitated. Is your son on a large dose? Any side effects at all? I know you can't compare a 10yr old with a 17yr old but I'm SO hoping I'll be able to see a calmer child who isn't utterly driven by anxiety. It'll be worth it, then.

My ds (aged 9) ASD is on risperidone and has been for about a year now. It has really helped him. He has put on weight and he was very skinny when we started as he ate virtually nothing. It has definitely increased his appetite. It has also calmed the anxiety and everyone has commented on what a positive difference it has made. We started with a tiny dose of 0.25 and he is now on 1ml.

Glad to hear some good stories-I know of three DCs who reacted very badly to it;made their condition worse(violent behaviour/anxiety etc.)-one from a low dose and the other two on higher doses. My very good friend's Ds initially showed improvement when first put on it,but his behaviour rapidly got worse-

Agree with PINKORKID in that he is improving again now she's weaning him off it

hope it works for your DS

Thanks ladies.

cansu....how long did it take to have an effect with you 9yr old? My son's dad (my ex) will not be happy with the weight gain. He's into fitness in a big way but, I'll have to see how the pros outweigh the cons.....

Not very long. I would say that within about a month we could see some difference. The most major benefit was the decline in aggression and anxiety. The weight gain took a while to appear. I definitely think it was worth it. Everyone who knows ds has remarked how much he has changed, many of whom knew nothing about the medication.

My son's only aggressive toward himself. He will "punish" himself for having unkind thoughts!!!!!

He came home from school on Friday with a perfect imprint of his teeth on his forarm. Hadn't broken the skin but badly bruised. I have NO IDEA where this is all coming from. He is the most gentle and polite boy you could wish to meet.

He's only on a tiny amount at the moment hopefully he wont gain weight as he is already 11 stone in weight quite a challenge when he's in a foul mood with me.

my dd is 17 she was a size 10/12 this time last yr risperidone has made her put lots of weight on she is only on a low dose she has gone upto a size 18.now she's depressed about her weight.

Oh God, that's a lot of weight gain. And at such a critical (teenage) time. Is your DS better for taking it in terms of the reason it was prescribed? I can well understand she is upset abou the wt gain.

I thought it wouldn't bother me, as my son's very underweight but, I will hope to see a massive improvement in his condition to justify a huge gain in weight.

It's all so difficult, isn't it? I'd give anything to go back to "just" the ASD.

Sorry, meant to post DD.

dd is better than she was with the risperidone but we keep asking for it to be changed but camhs won't do it. dd had assessment at residential college a few weeks ago and the doctor who did medical was very blunt with her he called her fat...dd explained about tabs making her put weight on and he wants them changed but we have to wait till she starts college as camhs still won't change them. i feel like the tabs work but causes dd to become depressed about her weight. it's a vicious circle

Oh dear, that's really not good. In desperation, I have to put my faith in the Psychiatrist at CAMHS but really, they're just fishing about in the dark, I think. My son's behaviour has gotten so bizzare that I have to defer to them. For now. No choice. I'm fearful though, that he MIGHT NOT GET BETTER and this is it, for always.

His autism seems so simple but this, now, is something else.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Hi

My son is on risperidone - we moved to Texas last year from the UK and the majority of kids at his special school are on some sort of meds and it is not a big issue here - in our case it has made the diference between a child that could not go to school as he lashed out at whatever was near by including any other child ( nothing personal they were just the nearest thing when frustrated and anxious) to a child that is excelling in every way. I see an enormous differnce in him and it was apparent within the first week. On meds we lead an almost normal life - off them we were isolated and excluded.

I do wonder if he would have had a diffferent outcome in his Uk school if he had access to the meds but they were never offered as an option. Meds are not a big deal here - school help in getting the dosage right and I would say give it a go - we were at the stage where nothing could have got any worse.

So far we have managed weight gain with portion control and my learning to say no to his asking for food plus plenty of exercise.

Wow Planomum, that sounds like a really good response to the mess. Can I ask, does your ds have a diagnosis? My son's dosage has increased today. He's on 0.25 of a ml (weeny starter dose) now am and pm. No results as yet but.....no adverse side effects either. Only 8 days in, so will stick with it.

He's like a little stick, physically so a little increase in appetite would be welcome......we'll see.

Sorry, meant "meds"

Meds are still a last resort here in the Uk.....and so good that you have school support, there.

Hi Wendihouse

My son has an asd diagnosis but was aggressive with it and the risperidone controls the impulsiveness -he has not hurt anyone since the day he started on the meds - still has occasional meltdowns but is able to take himself off and calm down ; we started on 0.25ml 3 times per day but he now has 0.5 in the morning and 0.25 at noon and at night and it seems fine. Best thing is he recognises how much better he feels.

Sooooo encouraging. Thanks planomum