Risperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• April 7, 2011

Risperidone "When I started Risperdal, it made my whole body shake the first day, but after that, I was restless every day, and I couldn't sit down for long periods of time. The medicine helped a lot with delusions and hallucinations (including audio) and helped a bit with reality perception but did not help with irrational thinking. Gained 15 lbs."

• Dru...
• February 15, 2020

"This was the first antipsychotic I tried for schizophrenia. It did absolutely nothing for me but cause severe anxiety (worse than I already had), made me gain weight, and I was tired all the time. Antipsychotics have ruined my health. I used to weigh 160 pounds and was a very thin male, now I'm over 220 pounds. All thanks to antipsychotics. And that weight gain occurred within the first year and a half of starting antipsychotics. I was on risperidone for about a month before being switched to Zyprexa, which made me gain 20+ pounds in one month!"

• Rol...
• April 14, 2018

"I’ve been on risperidone for 13 years now. I’m 31 now, and I have a master's degree, and I have experience working at major corporations. I only had 2 relapses since 2005. In 2011, they put me on the depot injection after the first relapse and added escitalopram (I reached 25 that year). Now they took away the depot and replaced it with tablets and put me on flupenthixol depot and kept the escitalopram. So I’m still on it now. It caused weight gain (olanzapine level weight gain, which is partly why the depot injection wasn’t worth it), gynecomastia (enlarged breasts), and ejaculatory dysfunction (I can still have sex just fine; it’s just that I don’t always ejaculate - the orgasm is the same), which is ok since my sex drive dropped with the disease (I’m the depressive type). I don’t agree that it clouds your mind; severe mental illnesses come with cognitive impairments (such as disorganized thinking, tangential thoughts, and mangled speech)."

• Kik...
• February 19, 2016

"I've been taking this medication for three weeks as an addition to my other antipsychotics. I've always had debilitating anxiety all my life. Nothing has ever made a difference. This medication did. I'm taking .50 mg at night. I feel less motivated during the day, but my anxiety has significantly decreased. I'd like a bit more energy, but it's a welcomed trade-off for my anxiety."

• Jod...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 26, 2021

"First of all, I would say we are real people facing the side effects of this awful drug they call Risperidone. There are some people with positive comments, and as an earlier stated review mentioned, when it works, it works brilliantly. Yes, in a rare occurrence, it works. But most of the time, it has lifelong side effects, this is coming from someone who has taken the drug for a few years, so I can weigh in literally on this topic. I'm 100 pounds heavier, and not to mention hair loss and loss of a grip on reality. It may stop the so-called patients' 'hallucinations' at what cost? In my case, they couldn't pin a full diagnosis on me, so gave me a cauldron brew of meds on top of this. It might help a little, but at the cost of the body, your price is too high. Side note: what are they worried about me thinking or experiencing..."

• spo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 28, 2019

"I had both good and bad effects. First off, risperidone made me feel less paranoid when driving and when being around people. I enjoyed that part as nothing else has worked for me in the area of paranoia yet. The awful side of it was nightly nightmares. And I don't usually get dreams or nightmares. But these were frightening and affected my mood for a while after awaking. The nightmares were absolutely frightening, and I didn't look forward to sleeping at all. I changed to Geodon lately, and we'll have to see where that leads me. Have a great day."

• jca...
• May 10, 2013

"This medicine has really helped me. I have been on it for a bit over a week, and I am already noticing a big difference: the racing thoughts have slowed, my paranoia is a bit more subdued, the auditory hallucinations have calmed, my mood has stabilized, and it has helped in being more sociable. One side effect I had was just dry mouth and possible cholesterol level increases. Not sure about that, but will ask my psychiatrist about such a question. I am also taking citalopram for my anxiety and depression."

• Des...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 13, 2021

Risperidone "Prescribed 4 mg daily after auditory hallucinations. Works well for that, but has caused a notable increase in anxiety, complete loss of appetite, and sex drive. Looking to come off this and try a new med."

• Jed...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 4, 2016

Risperidone "I have been on this medication longer than any other medication I have ever been on. It's been four and a half years, mostly on, and I feel like this medication let me sleep better than all other medications I had been on until Saphris. I gained weight, but not too much, about 25 pounds over the course of four and a half years. I am a man, and I have noticed enlargement of the breasts, development of female breast tissue. I'm coming off Risperidone now, and I will see what the withdrawal effects are. Last time I came off meds, I had a manic episode, which was quite embarrassing. I held a job at Walmart for two and a half years. I would say, though, that the biggest drawback is its effect on diminishing the user's willpower."

• sha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 26, 2017

"I used 1 mg risperidone for about 2.5 years daily and hallucinated voices removed. From last year, real voices vanished, but I felt that someone was doing telepathy on my mind and talking to me in two or three different voices. They talk only negative things about me, that something bad is going to happen. However, risperidone tablets are not able to treat me completely. I removed this medicine from the last five months and problems started again. I gained weight from 45 kg to 57 kg. Even now, I eat very little, but risperidone does increase your weight. It's a lifetime medicine for auditory and visual hallucination. There is no permanent treatment for hallucination. I wish medical science developed enough to treat schizophrenia."

• Mun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 1, 2016

"The shrink prescribed Risperdal 3 mg a day, then had me come off it. I had withdrawal symptoms of fear and panic attacks, so I overdosed and took 20 pills of 3 mg, then started hallucinating, then attempted suicide but was arrested by police. They did a procedure in the hospital while I was passed out."

• Kkl...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 2, 2021

"Had my first psychotic episode about 2 years ago and had to go to a mental hospital. They gave me a risperidone injection and I passed out for the night. I was in a bit of a brain fog for a week or so but eventually recovered while taking risperidone daily. My positive symptoms all subsided besides a faint voice every once in a while like someone's talking on the radio when it's really quiet. Makes me really tired during the day and working is hard, though. Glad I found something to keep me out of psychosis. I take 4 mg daily with no negative side effects."

• lou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2016

"I took this medicine for 2 weeks now. I am feeling much better with no episodes of mania. But I have been terribly sleepy with this med as I take it twice daily. I am thinking to just take it at night. It might work better then."

• Anonymous
• June 27, 2015

Risperidone "I was prescribed Risperdal about 6 months ago because I suffer from schizophrenia and anxiety, but am afraid of side effects. Also, the doctor gave me Celexa. Plus, I suffer from seizures and drink Tegretol and many other meds. I decided to give it a try for my family's sake. I had my first pill, wishing things will work out. Just wanted to know, am I on the right track, or is there something I should know before I experience the unknown?"

• pho...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2017

"My mother was prescribed risperidone for a mood disorder at 81. It was a godsend, she was a nuisance living on her own in the community and thought she was in witness protection for something she couldn't really explain. It settled her down and made her more approachable. The only problem was she didn't sleep and used to call out to the staff all night and disturb everyone. She still has her good and bad days, but overall it was beneficial, and we can reason with her these days, where prior she would just tell us all to get knicked."

• jim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2023

Risperidone "Risperdal helps me the most out of all the medications I tried. Invega was a nightmare for me and made me feel constant fear. Risperdal, even though it's incredible for my mood. It makes me sleep a lot, like I can sleep 11 hours and still wake up tired."

• lea...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 1, 2024

"I don't quite remember what my dose was, but I remember it being my first medication for schizoaffective disorder. It calmed the voices and the visions. I was on it for 2 years. After my second year with it, I started noticing involuntary movements. I am grateful for the medication. It was the first step to my sanity. Side effects I experienced were sleepiness and the uncontrolled movements. The other downside was getting the injection in my stomach."

• moa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 7, 2018

"Definitely worked as a PRN, got heavily sedated. I slept through a whole day, but apart from the sedation, I had no other effect. I initially started on 0.5 mg, and that did nothing, so we tried it a second time, and I got up to 4 mg. Did nothing for the depression and only made the voices a little bit quieter. Quite a bit of weight gain, tremors, permanent prolactin increase, and the sedation messed with my schedule. I would say not worth it, but it works really well for some people."

• jij...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 8, 2022

"Absolutely terrible experience with Risperidone! I haven't had a period since right after birth when I only spotted a little bit (June 2020). I have still not had a period. I also still have breast milk and have had it since I was pregnant from 2019 to 2020. I thought the lack of periods was from a birth control implant. Risperidone has also caused terrible premenopausal symptoms at age 29. I have about 30 hot flashes for 30 minutes a day, mood swings, mental fogginess, sleep problems, vaginal/bladder infections, no sex drive. They started around the time I had my birth control implant removed in March earlier this year. I have been on Risperidone the whole time this has been happening (for about 2 years now). When an MRI told us I did not have a type of tumor in my pituitary gland (which is usually the cause of increased prolactin levels), my psychiatrist had a realization that it was my Risperidone, and we began a 3-week taper plan. I am starting week 2 of my taper now."

• gmu...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 23, 2013

Risperidone "This has been a miracle for me, it keeps my mind calm and in balance. I had delusions coupled with moderate to severe mood disturbances, and this puts me back on the normal spectrum."

• Baz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 13, 2019

Risperidone "Took two milligrams for one day. Nausea for several days. I actually broke down and cried for hours because it was the closest to torture I had been. I didn't really need it anyway."

• mmm...
• May 6, 2014

Risperidone "I think that it helps with the schizoaffective disorder. They put me on it 2 years ago, and now I don't hear the louds as much as I did before."

• lm2...
• May 25, 2011

Risperidone "Caused a lot of weight gain."

• Sni...
• October 6, 2016

"This medication made me sicker, never fall for the lies, it gave me hallucinations when I never had them. Bad choice, doctor."

• ks2...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 23, 2017

"Works okay! Six months later, I am still taking it, and the side effects slowly disperse. Six months later, though, I feel like I need something else for the voices..."