Finally saw the psych again and he's given me a scrip for Risperidone. He says there have been good results with it in autism and depression/anxiety cases. Does anyone here have experience with it? Specifically, I'm a tad worried about the weight gain side effect. I'm already fat and when it comes to junk food I have all the self-control of a Labrador on speed. I'm not sure reminding myself of the horrible things which could happen if I don't keep under control will actually help me do so. Any advice?
uhhh I am in the boat of no anti-psychotics for people who aren't psychotic. Anti-psychotics such as risperdone are VERY powerful drugs that alter the brain significantly. There are plenty of other medicines out there to treat depression and anxiety and stuff. I would talk to the doctor and tell them you would like more research on anti-psychiatrists before taking them. And if you have time, I would research it more too before taking it. Because the withdrawal symptoms of anti-psychotics mimic the symptoms of someone with psyhcosis, and then when THAT happens, people will think you needed to be on that med for psychotic reasons when in fact you were never psychotic to begin with. Tread carefully with those anti-psychotic pills. If you go through with taking it, or abilify (another anti-psychotic people like to prescribe to "boost" anti-depressants), make sure it's in low low doses because it's really meant for treating severe mental illnesses. But I'm biased and "delusional"but I know what I'm talking about. I've read studies, I've read lots of pamphlets on these drugs, and I've read books on the stuff. Feel free to PM me if you want references or talk more about it. My experience with risperdone was fantastic, because I do suffer from psychosis. It did wonders for it. The only bad thing was one side effect: I started to lactate. My prolactin levels were elevated on this drug. So I had to stop taking it. But boy I miss it because it was one of the few pills that made me feel close to being "normal".
I was on it for "mood swings" related to being suicidal. For three years. Mostly because I was a minor at the time and couldn't speak for myself. The withdrawals are a mother fucker, that isn't a joke. I agree with @ectoBiologist 100% talk it out with the psych again if you can. As someone without psychotic symptoms on it for similar reasons your psych has explain to you, it could be very dangerous. I haven't been on it in several years and have shown marked improvement of basic function. You get drowsy as hell. You take it and you're out. For me it felt like one of those syringes they give you at the hospital or like you see in movies that knock your ass out. Most important part of taking resperidone : I have very little retained memory from the period I was on this medication. Three years of my life I can barely remember. Please be wary.
This is a bit late but I was on Risperidone and had a hell of a time with it. It WILL knock your ass out at night, you will have no choice but to sleep because once it's in your system it tranquilizes you. The other thing to worry about: In me personally it caused severe muscle cramping, especially in my calves to the point of tears. It was basically the worlds worst charlie horse where my entire calf locked up. It also severely worsened my tremor and could have been the cause of my tremor sticking around past puberty, along with giving me severe tinnitus. As a note: I was subscribed it for Bipolar Mania due to actual hallucinations and severe night terrors, the doctor I had at the time didn't want to give it to me because it had been linked with heart and liver damage. There was no other option. It has drug interactions with SSRI's as well so please keep that in mind if you are on one and your doctor has brought Risperidone up. Basically SSRI's increase the level of risperidone in your blood due to the interaction, and can make a tiny dose into a huge one and lead to severe consequences. I didn't like what Risperidone did, it might have helped my hallucinations to a degree but it didn't actually help my night terrors at all! It just forced me to go to sleep in a way that I couldn't wake up from the night terrors, thereby 'solving' them and my insomnia. I also remember not wanting to sleep but being in my bed pretty much paralyzed from it, while my brain was still awake. TL;DR: It's an anti-psychotic and there are lots of other meds to approach anxiety that can help with autism. I personally do not like the drug and how hard it is on the system, and would recommend really asking your psych why they want to move to such a hard-core drug.
