My 4 yr. old son will be starting on Risperdal tomorrow night and I was wondering if anyone could help me out. How long will it be before I see results from the Risperdal? Will it be somewhat like the stimulant medication (ex. Concerta) or will it be something that has to build up in his body and will see results after time? Also because it will be taken at night will I see results during the day? Thanks for any input you can give!
P.S.- He takes 27mg. of Concerta for ADHD/ODD and they are adding the Risperdal to help him sleep and for his attitude.
well it looks like we are on this journey together. my 9 year old has started this morning!
Heres to our boys.
Gave ds .25 of Risperdal tonight about 7:30 and it is now 10:00 and he has just now went to sleep. I hope this gets better.
Rae70 I noticed you said you give your son his in the morning? Does it not make him to sleepy to function?
Thank you Kenny35 for your input. He has a psychiatrist appt. this Thur. the 30th this will be his first appt. with him and I was going to wait until then to talk to him about all of his meds. just to see if he thinks what I have him on is the right combination for him. His pediatrician is currently the one who is pres. his meds. along with therapy from his psycologist. They are both doing a fine job but we all believe that there may be something else going on besides just the ADHD and I thought that a psychiatrist would be able to do a better job with medication management and dx. the problem. I hope I have made the right choice! Thanks again.With risperdal you should see results within a week if not immediately. Risperdal is an Anti-Psychotic, very different from Stims like Concerta. Well son has been on the residral for 2 nights so far and I can't really say that it has helped with his sleep or his appetite. Both nights after giving his med. at 7 pm it has been after 10pm before he has fallen asleep and yesterday he only ate a little turkey for mid-dinner and a piece of pumpkin pie. Then wanted some peanuts about 8pm. He has got to start eating. He has already lost 5 lbs. since he has started on his medication which has been a month. He is 40" tall and weighs 30 lbs. It sure is long road we mother have to travel.momof2&439045.2817939815mom it hasnt done so far! and i was really surprised to see others that had been recommended that in the evening and i was starting to worry.
his dose goes up soon - this is the first week but i have seen varied results.
1. he is smiling more
2. he was violent as school for no reason - which is new
3. he ran away and hid at school - normal behavior for him
so i really dont know if it is helping or not - but it is so special to see him smiling. i have come to accept there is more to my son than adhd. i believe him to have something else that is psychiatrict like schizophrenia or bi polar. its been a grief ridden week accepting this - but now i have i feel things will improve.
reached the end of week one yesterday and I feel that he is a bit happier with life atm. I think it may be helping him. I actually got my first photo of him (he is 9) of him really smiling on the weekend, that was remarkable.
Risperdal caused huge problems for my son. It was great for a fe weeks and then he got angrier and angrier like he was so uncomfortable in his own skin. He would be boiling when I would pick him up from school. Then he would just scream when I would ask him something and rant. This culminated in 3 nights of wild ranting and wild raging. Shouting, throwing things and it would go on for 5-6 hours. He would pace and wanted to escape. Once when I tried to talk calmly to him, he got a baseball bat and was swinging it at my head. It was horrific. There was a build up over time. The same thing has happened to a number of our friends kids - one boy would light fires, and punch walls in. He even would go on the roof and throw his beloved dog in the pool. He just snapped! His mother called the police as she was in fear of her life. Once off the meds this 12 year old returned to the timid little boy. But it must be said that others have great success. What works for one child does not always work for another!!!!!!!!
Good lucK
PS Isn't it great to see them smile in a photo? Something to treasure!!!
Risperdal can be helpful. It only sometimes causes a lot of sedation.