Risperdal for Schizoaffective Disorder User Reviews

• ano...
• June 14, 2013

"Risperdal is my miracle. I put on about 30 pounds in the course of 18 months but that is nothing as to the improvement it has made on my mental well being. Gone are the sleepless nights staring at the ceiling, delusions of grandeur, and being overly worried about life's ups and downs. The psychosis has diminished to the point where I no longer need medication to remain stable. If symptoms ever return, I know this is the medication for me. Also no unpleasant side effects from coming off it."

• Anonymous
• February 19, 2014

"I first went on this medication in March of 2013, and almost a year later, I've had to adjust it 3 times, going up to 4 finally. When I first started, I was sent into a manic-like state for several hours, but after about a week, I started to sleep more than I ever did. I usually only got about 3 hours of sleep each and every night, starting from when I was 12 and up until I started Risperidone, which was when I was 18. It has helped with every single thing that was wrong with me: the delusions, hallucinations, dissociation, and homicidal feelings. I would definitely suggest trying this if you haven't yet. It worked wonders for me."

• 8Bi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 15, 2017

"I've been on this for three years and love it. No delusions, no paranoia. Side effects are nonexistent for me. No weight gain. I'm never tired. I sleep 6-7 hours of sleep each night and feel fine. Since being on Risperdal, I've run two half marathons, work 40 hours per week, and haven't had symptoms in over a year."

• Die...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 9, 2020

"I take 6 mg of Risperdal at night for schizoaffective disorder. However, my mania was getting out of control during the next day; my thinking was very accelerated and euphoric. So I decided to split the dose: 3 mg/night and 3 mg/day. I got much better results. My manic episodes were stopped in their tracks."

• Ano...
• November 2, 2013

"I'm taking this after a few antipsychotics didn't work, and I was hospitalized a few times for the first time in my life. My bipolar diagnosis changed to schizoaffective disorder, then schizophrenia. The delusions and paranoia were very scary. I was on 2 mg for a while with Ativan and Celexa, and I gained weight over the course of all the medicines, but it needed it. Weight gain stopped when I stopped Celexa. No paranoia. Now I'm taking 1 1/2 mg and have less anxiety, on a day I went back to 2 mg, I had more. I still have anxiety and will ask my doctor to increase my Ativan from 2 back to 3 mg or lower my Risperdal down to 1 mg. I am also on lithium and have hand tremors from that and Risperdal, but feel stable. It's so worth it. I'm staying on it."

• Met...
• October 15, 2018

"Absolutely horrible drug! I had worsened serious depression and severe akathisia from it. Agitation, irritability, anxiety, aggression also came into play. I have tried many antipsychotics on the market, and this one is by far the worst (now on Quetiapine and Abilify - much better!). No redeeming qualities whatsoever."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 19, 2012

"This was clearly not the medicine for me. The sleeping for 2 days once I went on it thing was okay. I needed it. But it made me so hungry that I gained 30 pounds, so tired that when I took this I cared about nothing, so bored and apathetic so quickly that my life felt without meaning. I began lactating 3 weeks in, and I couldn't concentrate on school. If anything, I got more paranoid...no voices, but OCD and paranoia and agitation through the roof. I was on 0.5 mg in the beginning and eventually went up to 3 mg."

• Poo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 28, 2019

"This drug is very bad and not helpful. Still hallucinated on it. Blurry vision, restlessness, does not make you tired, brain pain, motor control malfunctioning, difficulty thinking on it, lack of emotion on it. Please don't take this 'medicine.' Very bad. Does not work."

• kat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 28, 2014

"I was on risperidone for over a year. I suffer from severe manic depressive bipolar disorder with schizoaffective episodes. The medication, along with an antidepressant, helped with the delusions (visual and auditory). But the weight gain was immense, in one year, I gained over 60 pounds. I weigh over 300 pounds now, and the depression is worse. I have osteoarthritis in both knees that, with the weight, have been severely debilitating. Preparing meals and doing daily activities are almost impossible. Standing for more than ten minutes is excruciating. I suggest using caution with the increase in weight this medicine can cause."

• sho...
• September 15, 2015

"I gained 100 pounds or more. I developed diabetes and chronic kidney disease. I also could not keep my hands from moving, and at night my feet would twirl. I chose to stop using Risperdal, and withdrawal was horrible. The medicine did wonders for my mental health, but the side effects were worse than my schizophrenia."

• dee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 18, 2012

"I was experiencing awful symptoms, including visual and auditory hallucinations. I also had problems with 'feeling' something crawling all over me. I felt like someone had taken advantage/control over my physical being. I was scared for my life, wondering if my hallucinations were real. Luckily, this medication has cleared these thoughts and made the hallucinations better, but one moment clearly pointed out to me that the medication hadn't done any harm. I was laying in bed, and I started to laugh uncontrollably because I could actually lay there and listen to the quiet sounds all around me. I wasn't distracted by voices."

• Anonymous
• September 9, 2011

"I started taking risperidone when I was 15. It does take away the delusions and mood swings, but it leaves me with anxiety and dulls me out to the point where I don't feel like really socializing at all. I've tried other medicines like Zyprexa and Geodon, and they either do the same thing or have another bad effect on me. I'm 20 now and still haven't really found a medicine that works. I think whatever they put in antipsychotics just doesn't agree with me."

• Anonymous
• August 2, 2010

"This medicine has been okay for me. It certainly got rid of most of my paranoid thoughts, but never got rid of all of them. I still had a lot of them, especially present in the night. I'd think there was a serial killer outside watching me or a serial killer in the same room as me or on the chair. It was pretty terrifying. I started Geodon a week ago, and those thoughts completely disappeared, I'm very grateful. Risperdal also made me gain a lot of weight every year and made me very hungry even after I just had a meal. I'm 166 lbs and 5'8". I'm scared of being 200 lbs. I've been on this medicine since I was 14 and severely psychotic and couldn't function at all, so I guess it helped me with that, just made me gain a lot of weight. I'm 22 now."

• Thi...
• April 19, 2014

"This medication worked wonders for me, and I felt quite good on this medication. The problem lies with the side effects. Unbeknownst to me for many months was that it increased my prolactin levels, which caused my breasts to grow and my menstrual cycle to be off. High prolactin is harmful in the long run, and my breasts never returned to their previous size (although maybe some of you ladies would be happy about it). I also gained a few pounds on Risperdal, but nothing ridiculous."

• Anonymous
• March 23, 2010

"Very good medication. Helps a lot with the symptoms of psychosis. It's not a cure though, I still had to work on my problems. -1 point because it gives me dry mouth and makes it so I cannot tolerate as much alcohol. -1 another point because it's not 100 percent effective, but still works great. Overall, 8/10."

• ani...
• November 1, 2010

"Risperdal did not eliminate my symptoms, but it did make coping with the symptoms easier. It also made me sleep extremely deeply at night, so that someone who tried wasn't able to wake me up at all. It could be due to low blood pressure, but most likely because I have a low tolerance to sedative medications. I was not able to take it during the day when I needed to the most, when my symptoms were at their worst, due to the sedative side effects. I did find that using a 0.5 mg dose was mildly helpful for daytime treatment of symptoms and was not severely sedative, allowing me to function normally."

• Bip...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 21, 2016

"Beware of side effects! This medication caused sexual side effects. Unless you are a man who doesn't mind not being able to have ejaculation in the bedroom, don't mind growing breasts when you are a man, and don't mind gaining weight, do not take this medication."

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 29, 2021

"This is the only antipsychotic that did not cause me to gain weight. It's also the only antipsychotic I didn't 'feel' (tired, apathetic, no emotions) when I took it. When I was put on doses too high for me, I felt it, but not as strongly as other antipsychotics I've been on in the past. I keep my normal eating habits on this and a normal weight and really go about my day not thinking of it. I feel like my normal self on this and I'm not going to try other antipsychotics because this works for me. Weight gain and apathy were my biggest issues with other antipsychotics in the past, and Risperdal is the only one I've tried that does not cause these side effects in me."

• Sea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2019

"This med did not work for me. Did not help my thinking. Still felt depressed. Psychosis was still there. I was on it with other drugs too, so that is probably why it didn't work. Also, bad side effects too."

• Anonymous
• April 7, 2011

"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."

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

"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

"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."

• Anonymous
• June 27, 2015

"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?"

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

"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."

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

"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."