Risperdal?
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Risperdal?
| Wed, 04-30-2008 - 9:50pm |
My son has sever anxiety issues so we finally decided to get some Dr advice. He has always woke up frequently during the night but lately he has been having nightmares that make him so anxious that he gets sick. Plus he has also been anxious at school.


I personally don't have any experience with this drug, although I do know of some moms who have used it for their kids, both on and off this board. Hopefully someone will chime in with some advice for you.
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Our problems have largely been with Anxiety as well.
Risperdal is an antipsychotic and is NOT an anti-anxiety drug. Liam was on it for 18 months for rages and defiance. It did work for a while for these symptoms but it eventually funked out and Liam put on a great deal of weight.
Now he's on seroquel, also an anti-psychotic but it doesn't seem to be messing with his weight and is affective at a low dose.
I am at the very least confused as to why the pdoc prescribed risperdal for anxiety and night terrors. Possibly as risperdal has a sedating effect. However, I would be looking at other meds rather than something as potent as risperdal. And I know how expensive it is as I had to pay out of pocket the first time and it was almost $300 for one month's supply.
Have you looked into clonidine? It's a blood pressure medication that has proven supportive for sleep issues. adhd and tics and some anxiety. I even know of a toddler up the street (ASD) who takes it for her sleep concerns-although I always wonder about the use of psychotropic medication for those under 3.
I would steer away from Haldol and thorazine (the brand names of the generics you mentioned). Both are typical anti-psychotics and are hard core; prepare your son to be very groggy, unable to get up in the morning etc. Risperdal is an A-typical antipsychotic and dosn't have a lot of the side effects that the typical ones do. But again I am thinking you need something more appropriate for your ds's needs, and if he's not raging, or aggressive I would look into other options. Sorry I know I'm not much help with offering other options; as each child reacts to diffferent meds differently. Liam has been on two mood stabilizers and 4 anti-psychotics and two stimulants before we found teh combo of the two we have now. Do also understand Liam is co-morbid bipolar and adhd so he is very different from your son.
hth,
Dee
I suspect your doctor doctor is staying away from classic anti-anxiety meds due to the black box warning for children and young adults.
"Have you looked into clonidine? It's a blood pressure medication that has proven supportive for sleep issues. adhd and tics and some anxiety. I even know of a toddler up the street (ASD) who takes it for her sleep concerns-although I always wonder about the use of psychotropic medication for those under 3."
Dee, thank you so much for the Risperdal review.
Mollie
I have two kids who have/had experience with this drug.
My oldest (12)took risperadol and it was like magic the first 4-6 months and then it flittered out like it did for Dee.
Casey
- Christina mom to-
Chloe (10) Aiden(8)
Christina-
OT here, omg Seweden has gotten soooo big....she's beautiful.
Dee
Lainie,