Med Meltdown question

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Med Meltdown question
9
Sat, 09-30-2006 - 10:26am

We had a bit of a weird experience with the risperadol. Wondering if anyone else has had this and can explain for me. Or again, Mike just doesn't have the typical response to meds.

First, he has been on it for 2 days now basically. First I noticed that both days his appetite actually seems to have gone down. Mike is a huge eater, healthy but huge. He will usually come home from school and have a huge protein smoothie, a bunch of fruit and sometimes even a sandwich with all that or a bowl of cereal. The last 2 days he had like a pickle and that was it. No interest in the snack.

Then yesterday about 5pm he completely lost it. Huge meltdown because he forgot to turn in his book order at school. He was completely unreasonable and screaming for quite some time. So I am wondering if he was coming down off the med? Is there a rebound kind of thing or was it low blood sugar. If it was low blood sugar have any of you noticed a drop in appetite with risperadol?

I wish I didn't feel under the gun to get this regulated and right before Monday.

Oh yeah, Mike goes to 5th grade camp on Monday. I am so excited for him and so nervous.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2005
Sat, 09-30-2006 - 7:05pm

Is he still on the half of 0.25 mg or up to the 0.25 bid?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 09-30-2006 - 11:32pm

he is on 0.25 1 time a day. I just want to take the edge off.

The reason I asked was because the meltdown was worse than his typical and longer. It isn't that he can't have meltdowns like that, he does, but usually only under great stress. For instance he had one the other day when he had a heck of a day in school and was written up, went to the office, etc. He had had many bad days in a row, testing, etc. So that wasn't a surprise.

This one was kind of out of the blue after a good day at school and no other indicators that a big one was brewing. Thus it was weird.

Seems to be having a good day today though. Way stimmy and as such non-compliant in walmart but that is typical for walmart on a saturday with him. Plus risperadol isn't going to take away the autism. But no aggressions to speak of, no meltdowns and more flexible. That is what I like to see.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Sun, 10-01-2006 - 9:27am
Hi
Son's appetite increased on risperdal. He's gained 10lbs in about 6 weeks.He's also more difficult to wake in the morning. His mood has stabilized. No meltdowns. We have conversations not yelling matches. Homework is much easier and he seems to be turning it in to teacher. For a while he was doing the wrong homework but quoting son " I corrected the method in which I record my homework assignments". He tries to be more helpful- putting clothes away, making bed,helping with dinner. His anxiety level seems to have increased about a few specific things. Fire drills at school bother him and there was one scheduled for this week.His father told him I was scheduled for court and did not appear so the judge is not happy with me. I told son that it was a conversation for grownups and that mommy would take care of it. I was never served, but that's a different topic.
Son's dose may need to be adjusted because of the weight and the difficulty waking in the morning, but we're pretty happy with risperdal.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2005
Sun, 10-01-2006 - 1:31pm

Just a thought, but being end of the week and camp beginnning on Monday (as excited as he is and all), could have been an anxiety reaction?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2003
Mon, 10-02-2006 - 12:10pm

My son could have that kind of meltdown and he's not on any meds. Sometimes they come out of the blue and, other times, he's so docile and compliant.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2006
Mon, 10-02-2006 - 3:49pm

Steven had major meltdowns before risperdal. Hitting, slapping, kicking, running away from us in stores. Risperdal helped calm him down. It was like looking at a different child. He did not have side affects like what you are explaining. He was already on 20 mgs of Paxil. This may have helped him when he started the risperdal. Some physicians say that your child's dosage may not be high enough. You may need to call your physician to see if this is the case. It may not be. The medicine may not be right for your child.

Even with 1 1/2 mgs a day, Steven still has occassional meltdowns.

Good luck with everything and Hugs,

Kari

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 10-02-2006 - 6:14pm

I guess I should explain that he does have those meltdowns otherwise. In fact he can have some real nasties quite worse that than.

For the most part if life is pretty routine, no new stuff or stresses, and he has his diet and supps then the meltdowns stay at bay. He still has problems with out bursts and aggressions but not the big scary meltdowns. He has the meltdowns when he is stressed which is why we started the risperadol. Couldn't keep all the stress out of life forever, particularly since going to too many stores on the weekend is enough to stress him out.

On an up note, we had him home on the med all weekend for the first time. He did really well. No aggressions to Dave which is usually our biggest problem. Much easier going. Lots more auditory stims though. The humming was making me nuts. But the less agressions and outbursts was really nice!

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2003
Tue, 10-03-2006 - 8:22am

That's interesting about the humming. Maybe the meds take the edge off and he's able to re-direct his behavior to a stim instead of aggression.

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Registered: 06-24-2006
Tue, 10-03-2006 - 8:36am

You know I've noticed Liam is more stimmy now that he aggression has diminished.

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