hi , recently my boyfriends 15 yr old son came to live with us. He has adhd. He brought with him his medications. One he takes everymorning and it is alza. That one I am not concerned with but the other is risperdal and the lable says take up to 6 pills at bedtime. Well this is definatly given to put him to sleep but I havn't seen it mentioned anywhere that this is for child with adhd. I have read that it is perscribed for schizophrenia but I have not seen that listed as one of his medical or mental problems so why this medication. Can anyone tell me if they have ever had a doctor prescribe this for a child with adhd. I am alittle worried that the long term effects that it could have may be worse than if he was just prescribed some kind of sleeping pill for sleep.
Thank you, sfierr
sfierr
Hi my son was prescribed Risperdal for adhd along with Adderall XR. He's been taking Risperdal for approx. 3 yrs. It does help him sleep, it also helps with his adhd. He is 9 , weighs 80 lbs, and has taken up to 3 mgs. at bedtime. We had to lower his dosage to 1 1/2 to 2 mgs at bedtime, because he was to hard to wake up in the am. Hope this helps. Kim
My son is also prescribed Resperdal. Originally to be taken during the day to help calm him down, but it made him too sleepy. He takes it in the evening now. It helps his appetite, and puts him to sleep at bed time. One note......... accidental overdosing can be dangerous!
sfier, My daughter took Risperdal for awhile for ODD due to Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID). It did help with her temperament but not her sleeping. She was on a very low dose as she is only 4. The problem with it was she gained 11 lbs. in a little under 4 months. She was not taking any other drug at the time. Since the weight gain wasn't good for her the doctor took her off and put her on a new drug called Abilify. I can say that it had the same effects with her personality (not perfect but much improved) but also gave us the added benefit of helping her sleep. Both of these drugs were developed for Schizophrenia but are used for many other off label problems because of the other benefits of the drugs. My daughter is still struggling with her weight but it is better with Abilify than it was with the Risperdal. I do often wonder about the long term affects of these drugs but since they are so new nothing is known about that. We have a hard time finding meds she can take because of the SID. She is affected orally and will throw up if she has to swallow a pill. The Risperdal came in a liquid form and although the Abilify is a pill she can chew it. - Gettingagrip-Thank You everyone for responding to my plea of help and sharing your knowledge and experience with resperdal. I do feel better now knowing that there are other people that have been given the same prescription and that there are some benifits to taking them. They do seem to keep him calm and in control but he also takes the concerta so i am not sure yet what each one does. He has only been with us 1 week and i have been trying to read up on everything i can.
thank you 4-woys, treysdad, & getting a grip
sfier