Risperidone
Does anyone have experience with it? What was it like for you?
I have been prescribed 2mg. I've never taken antipsychotics before.
My concerns are that my psychiatrist told me it doesn't ever cause shaking, blank expression, drooling, stiffness or mouth movements as side effects, and that it doesn't damage your liver or kidneys. He said that is only old medications and Risperidone is actually his first choice because it has so few side effects. I only asked about shaking, he listed the others unprompted.
I got the pills then read the leaflet and under very common effects, 1 in 10 people, is listed Parkinsonism..... with the description of it saying exactly those things.
I'm uncomfortable that he lied to me. Why?
Reading about it, it also raises the hormone prolactin more than other antipsychotics.
I want to try it because if it works then I don't mind dealing with some damage and weight gain. But, are there not other antipsychotics that don't have Parkinsonism as a 'very common' side effect and don't raise prolactin as much, but still might work as well?
I know I need to talk to a doctor about these concerns... but I also want to start treatment as soon as possible so wanted to hear what others with experience have to say.
Thanks.
I have been prescribed 2mg. I've never taken antipsychotics before.
My concerns are that my psychiatrist told me it doesn't ever cause shaking, blank expression, drooling, stiffness or mouth movements as side effects, and that it doesn't damage your liver or kidneys. He said that is only old medications and Risperidone is actually his first choice because it has so few side effects. I only asked about shaking, he listed the others unprompted.
I got the pills then read the leaflet and under very common effects, 1 in 10 people, is listed Parkinsonism..... with the description of it saying exactly those things.
I'm uncomfortable that he lied to me. Why?
Reading about it, it also raises the hormone prolactin more than other antipsychotics.
I want to try it because if it works then I don't mind dealing with some damage and weight gain. But, are there not other antipsychotics that don't have Parkinsonism as a 'very common' side effect and don't raise prolactin as much, but still might work as well?
I know I need to talk to a doctor about these concerns... but I also want to start treatment as soon as possible so wanted to hear what others with experience have to say.
Thanks.
Original post by Anonymous
Does anyone have experience with it? What was it like for you?
I have been prescribed 2mg. I've never taken antipsychotics before.
My concerns are that my psychiatrist told me it doesn't ever cause shaking, blank expression, drooling, stiffness or mouth movements as side effects, and that it doesn't damage your liver or kidneys. He said that is only old medications and Risperidone is actually his first choice because it has so few side effects. I only asked about shaking, he listed the others unprompted.
I got the pills then read the leaflet and under very common effects, 1 in 10 people, is listed Parkinsonism..... with the description of it saying exactly those things.
I'm uncomfortable that he lied to me. Why?
Reading about it, it also raises the hormone prolactin more than other antipsychotics.
I want to try it because if it works then I don't mind dealing with some damage and weight gain. But, are there not other antipsychotics that don't have Parkinsonism as a 'very common' side effect and don't raise prolactin as much, but still might work as well?
I know I need to talk to a doctor about these concerns... but I also want to start treatment as soon as possible so wanted to hear what others with experience have to say.
Thanks.
I have been prescribed 2mg. I've never taken antipsychotics before.
My concerns are that my psychiatrist told me it doesn't ever cause shaking, blank expression, drooling, stiffness or mouth movements as side effects, and that it doesn't damage your liver or kidneys. He said that is only old medications and Risperidone is actually his first choice because it has so few side effects. I only asked about shaking, he listed the others unprompted.
I got the pills then read the leaflet and under very common effects, 1 in 10 people, is listed Parkinsonism..... with the description of it saying exactly those things.
I'm uncomfortable that he lied to me. Why?
Reading about it, it also raises the hormone prolactin more than other antipsychotics.
I want to try it because if it works then I don't mind dealing with some damage and weight gain. But, are there not other antipsychotics that don't have Parkinsonism as a 'very common' side effect and don't raise prolactin as much, but still might work as well?
I know I need to talk to a doctor about these concerns... but I also want to start treatment as soon as possible so wanted to hear what others with experience have to say.
Thanks.
All antipsychotics work in roughly the same way (with the exception of clozapine) so all of them can have shaking, drooling, etc as side effects. That includes risperidone. I don't think your psychiatrist was being honest with you. They can also cause tardive dyskinesia - which, though rare in young people, can be permanent.
You're right about the prolactin - risperidone is actually the worst for raising that. When I was on it I lactated which was more annoying than anything else - it happened most at night but during the day a few times, it actually stained a few of my tshirts.
You say you don't "mind" the weight gain - I put 50lbs on with olanzapine and 30lbs with seroquel - so it can be a lot with atypical antipsychotics (which risperidone is) and if you're a normal weight can push you into the overweight BMI or even obese range.
Original post by Sabertooth
All antipsychotics work in roughly the same way (with the exception of clozapine) so all of them can have shaking, drooling, etc as side effects. That includes risperidone. I don't think your psychiatrist was being honest with you. They can also cause tardive dyskinesia - which, though rare in young people, can be permanent.
You're right about the prolactin - risperidone is actually the worst for raising that. When I was on it I lactated which was more annoying than anything else - it happened most at night but during the day a few times, it actually stained a few of my tshirts.
You say you don't "mind" the weight gain - I put 50lbs on with olanzapine and 30lbs with seroquel - so it can be a lot with atypical antipsychotics (which risperidone is) and if you're a normal weight can push you into the overweight BMI or even obese range.
You're right about the prolactin - risperidone is actually the worst for raising that. When I was on it I lactated which was more annoying than anything else - it happened most at night but during the day a few times, it actually stained a few of my tshirts.
You say you don't "mind" the weight gain - I put 50lbs on with olanzapine and 30lbs with seroquel - so it can be a lot with atypical antipsychotics (which risperidone is) and if you're a normal weight can push you into the overweight BMI or even obese range.
Thank you for the reply.
Why do they still use it if it raises it more than any other (if you know)? Did it work for you while you were on it in diminishing whatever symptoms you didn't want at the time? How did you feel about it compared to others you've tried?
Do they all have an equally high chance of causing tardive dyskinesia? Or is Risperidone worse for that too? If you stop treatment at first sign, can you be 100% sure it won't be permanent?
Sorry if I'm asking you questions you don't know the answers to, I know you're not a doctor but you evidently know more than me and I've been feeling so uncomfortable and torn - part of me really wants to take it right now, part of me hates that idea. I know at only 2mg dose with a half-life of only 24 hours, neither decision should be too much of a disaster anyway until I get to see a doctor again, but still...
I meant to say, why do they still use it if it raises prolactin so much, since that seems like such a heavy thing to do especially sexuality wise.*
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you for the reply.
Why do they still use it if it raises it more than any other (if you know)? Did it work for you while you were on it in diminishing whatever symptoms you didn't want at the time? How did you feel about it compared to others you've tried?
Do they all have an equally high chance of causing tardive dyskinesia? Or is Risperidone worse for that too? If you stop treatment at first sign, can you be 100% sure it won't be permanent?
Sorry if I'm asking you questions you don't know the answers to, I know you're not a doctor but you evidently know more than me and I've been feeling so uncomfortable and torn - part of me really wants to take it right now, part of me hates that idea. I know at only 2mg dose with a half-life of only 24 hours, neither decision should be too much of a disaster anyway until I get to see a doctor again, but still...
Why do they still use it if it raises it more than any other (if you know)? Did it work for you while you were on it in diminishing whatever symptoms you didn't want at the time? How did you feel about it compared to others you've tried?
Do they all have an equally high chance of causing tardive dyskinesia? Or is Risperidone worse for that too? If you stop treatment at first sign, can you be 100% sure it won't be permanent?
Sorry if I'm asking you questions you don't know the answers to, I know you're not a doctor but you evidently know more than me and I've been feeling so uncomfortable and torn - part of me really wants to take it right now, part of me hates that idea. I know at only 2mg dose with a half-life of only 24 hours, neither decision should be too much of a disaster anyway until I get to see a doctor again, but still...
As far as I know, higher prolactin is more of an inconvenience than a huge problem health-wise. It can affect stuff like getting it up for sex (sorry, don't know if you're male or female) and also actually wanting sex but I found that is also the case with other antipsychotics too. There's also the fact that what's causing you to take it could be behind the lessened interest in sex.
I found that risperidone didn't really work that well for me. I had a lot of cognitive impairment resulting from it, which was pretty problematic as I was at university at the time. I couldn't concentrate on anything and thinking was very difficult. I also found that I was extremely sedated after taking it and getting up in the morning was impossible. It did quieten the voices I hear but didn't get rid of them completely. I stopped taking it because of the cognitive impairment after a few weeks - I don't know, maybe it would have worked better if I took it longer, but I wanted to pass my degree.
From what I've read, it was initially thought that atypical antipsychotics (the new ones) didn't cause tardive dyskinesia but this has since been proved false. I think drugs like Haldol have a higher rate of TD but the only one that doesn't cause it is clozapine and that has its own side effects like needing weekly blood tests. Risk depends on the age of the patient, the dose of the drug, the amount of time it's taken for, and also females seem more prone to it than men. I don't think it's possible to be 100% certain that tardive dyskinesia won't be permanent, in fact stopping the offending drug can make it worse in some people so it's a bit of a crap-shoot what happens to individuals. 2mg is quite a low dose though - is your psychiatrist going to increase it do you know?
I know what you mean about feeling torn about taking it. I felt very similar when I first started on antipsychotics. It's scary taking something with such a bad rep and with side effects that can be pretty serious, but I guess you have to weigh up the pros and cons. The meds have helped me a lot in the past, although right now I'm kind of more in crisis and probably things need tinkering, but I don't think I'd be here now if I hadn't taken them. :/ I would say maybe have another chat with your doctor, he shouldn't have lied to you like that - but don't just take my word for it, there is a hell of a lot of info on the internet about side effects. Then again, if you trust his judgement then I think it's probably worth trying - I don't know what you're dealing with, that might have some impact on whether you wish to take it or not.
Either way, I hope you feel better soon and decide what you want to do.
