Risperadal questions | ADHD Information

Risperdal is an atypical anti psychotic that is approved for kids for bipolar and schitzophrenia. It is used off label for other mood issues and anxiety. My youngest has been on it with guanfacine for several months and is doing really well. She will probably start back on the focalin after we get a baseline with the start of school. It can increase anxiety and cause weight gain.My son is 8.5 and had been on ritalin LA 30mg for about 4yrs all was okay until this summer my son always had anxieties but they excalated and before I knew it I was in the hospital and it was very heartbreaking for me I found a doctor (that I have to pay for) and he pur my son on Resprdal and off of Rtalin.  The resp helped somewhat with thoughts but he was very hyper school started 4 days ago the first day was okay second day was terrible he was crying in the morning and dancing and singing in the afternoon I spoke to the doctor so we put him back on Ritalin because he cannot function w/out it and he is taking it with Risprdal so it could still help him with his crazy thoughts But I was wondering how bad is Risperdal for kids and how long are they allowed to stay on it ??? Different children react differently to a particular medication.  If it is helping your child then the objective has been achieved.  Unlike a stimulant these drugs can take weeks to reach full force.  Therefore side effect are not noticeable at first.  Some kids don't have these side effects while others do.  Good luck with it.  Hi there,

My 14YO son was on Risperdal, along with Focalin, for about 16 months. It
seemed to take his edge off. We noticed that his personality seemed
flattened a bit, but it was preferable to the rages/outbursts. We also
observed an increase in appetite and weight gain. About 6 weeks ago,
coming back from a trip, we forgot to administer the Risperdal. We didn't
notice any changes, so we kept him off it the next day and so on.   So now
he is on just the Focalin and has lost the extra weight and seems more
animated. We're glad we could eliminate one medication, but are not sorry
we administered it for the time he needed it.