My 8 year old daughter was prescribed Risperidone for anxiety and mood disorder. We have tried everything we can from a behavioral standpoint for years without great success. It isn't that she is a bad child at all, in fact she is an angel the vast majority of the time, but the outbursts are beyond her ability to control. I am confident that medication is needed at this point so I'm hoping not to get judgement about my decision to follow the recommendation of her doctor to medicate. What I am looking for is information from any mom who has a child on this medication. I am wondering how long it took before you saw a change, if your child experienced any side effects and how pronounced the behavioral changes were. Thank you so much for your input!
So far so good. She has taken the meds for 2 days and so far no unusual hunger, or any other unpleasant side effects. I am so grateful to those of you who took the time to tell me your child's (or grandchild's) experience on this medication.
Not to start a war here, but I am pretty shocked at those who decided that their right to push their own anti-medication agenda superceeds my right to seek personal eperiences from mother's who have had children on this drug. I think I was clear in my question that I was not interested in such criticism - even veiled as "concern." If I wanted an opinion about how medications will kill/injure or otherwise damage my child for life I would have asked for opinions about how horrible it is for me to give my child medication. That was clearly not my question. I think it's a matter of respect, and I appreciate the responses who honored my rights.
Thanks again to those who responded to the heart of my question... I'll update again with how it is working when she's been on it a bit longer.
Well I sat down to type out the side effects from the PDR for you, but there are TOO many to list. I would not put my son on it, but that's just me. Not to mention that possibility of addiction and then withdrawl if she ever wanted to be off of them.
I have social anxiety and when I go out in public I will take some valerian root. Does the trick for me :)
My son is 5 and has been DX with PDD-NOS and ADHD. He also has extreme anxiety and mood disorder as well. I went as long as I could without medication and tried all of the natural ways and therapies, nothing worked. I have always been so against medication but my sons outburst and aggression was out of control. He has been on resperidone since March 2009 and I have seen great improvement in his mood and anxiety, but it has not cured all outburst. We still have them but they are more controlled now. For side effects the only one we have is his appetite and weight gain. The first weeks he was hungry non stop and if you would not give him food he went off the wall. This lasted the first week or so and although he was still always hungry he was more calm about it. You will just need to choose the right foods to give and make sure they are on the healthier side.
I am in the process of looking to see if they are any meds that work the same way without the weight gain, but other than that I am happy with the results and everyone can see the differnce in him. If you get online and goggle you will come up with alot of info that we have you second guessing yourself, but go with your instinct, you know what is best for your child. Medication is not the answer for everything but if it allows your child to function with less anxiety and is able to cope more than I am all for it.
Have you tried L-Theanine? I give it to my son and it really seems to help him allot. http://www.biosynergy.com/theanine.htm?gclid=CJjO_YKmrp0C...
Our child psychiatrist put both my 7 yr old and 10 yr daughters on it. It does help w/ irritability & anxiety. We also use Zoloft for the anxiety/depression. Every child is different, so I can't really tell you what to expect. Weight gain is the most common side effect. It is a medication that you need to begin gradually and also wean off if you decide to stop. Does your daughter have an underling diagnosis besides anxiety & mood disorder? Anyway, e-mail if you want details.
My son takes it to help him sleep. We call it the "wonder drug" because the difference it made was so drastic. The only side effect we have noticed is weight gain, so just make sure you monitor what your daughter eats. My son is 10 so I explain that he really isn't hungry, but just feels that way because of his medication. Things that work well as far as food with low calories is air popped popcorn. He tends to eat this while doing homework, and the rest of the time I try to keep him distracted with outside activities. When he is not thinking about it he is not as hungry. He also drinks a lot of water to try to not make him feel that he is hungry. Hope this helps and good luck.
Hi E., I would hope no one would dare to question a parent making a huge decision like whether or not to use a medication for their child. My son is 18 years old and he has taken Rispeidone for years; he takes a liquid form in juice, splitting the dose into two times.
It's very powerful, and when he had too many drops he would become groggy and sleepy. It has helped him to participate better in group settings,i.e. school, traveling, groups.
He was biting his hand all the time with frustration and had some wounds from the biting, it was reduced alot.
He has more time to understand the situation and tries to control himself, he wants to be in control too.
Weight control can be an issue for some kids. We found it worked right away to reduce anxiety. Please keep the behavioral approach going, it will become more efficient and useful. We have been trying to give him high doses of omega fish oil, evidently it helps the brain to function better and less meds can be the result. Suggested by his psychiatrist. keep in touch, if you have time. I'm here for you. Deb
I'm sure this is not your situation, but please make sure that everything in your daughter's environment is correct. My ex-boyfriend in high school was medicated for years and years for outbursts and behavioral problems. No one, not even his many therapists caught the real problem. He was molested by his own, biological father for 18 years. He didn't ever talk about it until he left home and saw that his young nephew was in danger of being his next victim. I hope no one is offended by this post, but felt I ought to throw it out there. We have to protect our children like Mama bears with a nose up for danger.
My grandson has been on this medication for many many years. It is a mild medication, very low dosage 2mg he takes twice a day. It takes the edge off his anger. He takes it with other meds, which are working to his advantage all these years. I truly feel it is a safe product if this is the only med your doc is suggesting for your daughter. Works well in my opinion, with no side effects also that i have ever noticed. Good luck to you in your decision.
I agree with Jeniffer S. The side effects are what you need to look at. Also, check out www.cchr.org.
