Risperdal use in the elderly
Common Questions and Answers about Risperdal use in the elderly
risperdal
Weight gain and diabetes is a problem with all of the atypical antipsychotics because of the receptors they target in the brain (in addition to the ones they are supposed to work on) which cause metabolic imbalances. If kept in check it generally is not permanent though but any changes in weight or appetite should be reported to a psychiatrist. The antipsychotics most likely to cause this are Clozaril and Zyprexa. The least is Abilify though of course it can and does happen.
Some focus on relationships. Some focus on the elderly. Some focus on the young. Some focus on issues of sexuality. Some focus on anxiety. You want to see one that focuses on what it is that's going on with you, and if you think you have ADHD, again, it's a bit more difficult to diagnose and the treatment would usually begin with uppers. The drug you're on was developed to treat psychoses, which you don't appear to have, but it is legal to use it for depression or ADHD.
My 9 yr old grandson has a seizure disorder that may be linked to autism. He is on Depakot & Risperdal. The main problem is his inability to realize when he needs to use the toilet, resulting in having bowel movements. He can sit forever until someone notices the odor. It doesn't bother him & his doctors don't seem too concerned. Could the medication w or w/o the disorders have anything to do w/this problem. Or, is it some other reason?
We have used Risperdal with our 12 year old son in the past, 2nd and 3rd grade, but due to weight gain he had to be taken off it. We had major problems with sleep so when he went off the meds he went back to not sleeping. Then we found Melatonin, it is a god sent. It is a natural supplement that has helped a lot of children with atuism and other disorders that effect sleeping. As for the agression we have tried behavioral programs that help with it.
Good luck.
I just looked into Risperdal. I did find the info on the I use all the link all the time for info. It just wasn't listed under the ADHD category. This one is for the side effects. http://www.pharmacydrugguide.com/Risperdal_Side_Effects and this one is for Coupons http://www.pharmacydrugguide.com/Risperdal_Coupons. Still need to google and find more information on this drug and it's uses. But thought i would share this part.
He still gets shor tempered on the risperdal and tenex and prozac. We have upped all the amounts except the risperdal is still at 2 mg a day. He was much better in the beginning. He takes 3 mg of tenex, 2 mg of risperdal and 10 mg of prozac. He still is impulsive and gets into arguments. It seems to be an ongoing problem to adjust his meds. We see the psychaitrist monthly. He has been on other meds and they either made him worse or stopped working.
It is very common to feel this horrible flatness, where we have no emotions. The anti psychotics can be too much, they stop us from feeling anything, just numbness.
It keeps us from being unwell, but at a cost of losing our creativity, or to feel happy or sad.
s book on emotional eating and are slowly working through some of the exercises. I have noticed that the worse I feel the more I eat the worse I feel and the less active I become. And the cycle starts again.
I can't even comprehend one whole year, let alone 53 of them. I am younger but feel ancient. Very ancient.
I was discussing treatment with my doctor yesterday and again cost came up.
He offered help me to sweep the floor/yard. Hanging and picking up the clothes. He also concentrated on the weather make sure he picked up the clothes before it rained. He'll miss if he slept all the day long! LOL. He liked sleep (usually longer hour than us). He said to me, when getting old all the bones shrink, so can feel the body aching. He said exercise is important. Even he was on the bed, he also moving his toes and fingers a lot.
Yet in spite of the increasing evidence of the dangers of these anti-psychotic drugs such as Risperdal, Thorazine, and Stelazine (as well as other derivatives like risperidone, quetiapine, and olanzapine), they racked up a staggering $14.5 billion in international sales in 2007. These are three of the top 10 best-selling drugs on the planet.
And even standard psychiatric guidelines are now stating to use anti-psychotics with caution in the elderly given that the rate of emergent tardive dyskinesia as well as other side effects of current anti-psychotics are more severe in an older population. Even for someone who needed the medications Klonopin already is an anti-anxiety drug. Xanax is not needed as well and can be highly addictive. Celexa is a standard SSRI anti-depressent.
She is 39 years old. I have been trying to be hard-nosed and told her that she can't live with me anymore if she keeps on doing drugs. So, she left, and she went completely off the risperdal for about 3 days now. And, as I figured, she is currently in the hospital because of an episode. The people that she decided to "hang with" are enablers so they let her go cold turkey on the risperdal even though I told them that she could get psychotic if she does.
Risperdal is not typically used alone, but as a booster to help other meds. I threw mine in the trash after three days, due to it making me so dizzy. The doctor only gave me a sample to see if it would help me sleep so it is not a medication I had to continue. I am already on an excellent combo of Lithium/Wellbutrin and quite stable. So by no means am I recommending him to stop taking his Risperdal.
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