Risperdal for Schizophrenia User Reviews (Page 2)

• ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 11, 2021

"I have to say that some of us have nothing better to do with our time than just writing anonymous reviews with our creative nom de plumes. I have read many of such reviews on many websites, and I have come to the conclusion that many of them are reflections of the user's mind. Some say they have an increased appetite, while others say the exact opposite! Strange. This is why I would like to say that Risperidone has made me gain weight because I now have a ravenous appetite; it made me tired the whole day until I was put on Fluoxetine by my shrink, who took so long to tell me that Fluoxetine removes the tiredness (partly). Early mornings are the worst - it is as though I am flooded with demonic thoughts of not having to bathe. A brilliant way to start the day. Joanna Moncrieff is right about some things, but she gets it wrong when she calls this drug a 'placebo' effect. Not really. It has removed all my delusions and hallucinations."

• Cac...
• December 8, 2015

"It's impossible to stay on this med long term unless you want man boobs. My nipples have pain in them, and I had sexual side effects. I also had akathisia on this med and needed to pace back and forth. It's not worth the weight gain."

• Ano...
• October 20, 2016

"I started risperidone after my last hospitalization for PTSD with psychosis. Before risperidone, I suffered from insomnia, nightmares, and paranoia that led me to a full-blown psychotic state. I now live a more normal life with few symptoms. I take risperidone with sertraline and clonazepam at night, then pass out for about 10 hours. I suffer from mental fog and lack of emotion on the drug. I don't fully wake up until about 4 pm after my afternoon nap. It has also caused my periods to stop and enlarged breasts that leak once I upped to 2 mg. Going to try ziprasidone next to see if I can have a better quality of life."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2016

"Horrible!!! ...made me silent and socially disabled, sucked happiness, just feeling irritated and flat. ...wasn't effective at all for my symptoms, also increased anxiety dramatically when I upped the dose to 4 mg..."

• nos...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 7, 2012

"I have used Risperdal several times over the last few years. Originally, I was taking it for ruminating thoughts (I call it busy head) and difficulty sleeping. It definitely helped slow down my thoughts and allowed me to sleep better. After my son was born, I was having some postpartum depression and went back on Risperdal. It helped with the kindling and agitation, but I did gain about 10-15 pounds on it. When I stopped the medication, the weight fell off. Most recently, I'm using it as an adjunct therapy to Neurontin and Trileptal for agitation and anxiety. I have emetophobia, and this has been the only thing that has allowed me to be around my phobia and not have a panic attack and an ER visit. I do not like the weight gain."

• Lav...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 16, 2017

"Please avoid this medication at all costs, it is impossible to get off. I have tried twice and ended up in total disaster. The first time I tried to get off it, I ended up completely constipated, and three years later I am still badly constipated. It changed some mechanism responsible for that during withdrawal. The second time I tried to come off it, I ended up with anhedonia, which is an inability to enjoy things. When I look at food now, it's like looking at a rock, no reaction. These drugs cause total dependency, completely change the brain, and cause brain damage and are not the answer. Please just see a shaman/healer and get an auric sweep and clear out the negative entities that cause schizophrenia. It's worked for thousands of years."

• ari...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2017

"This medicine helps with my schizophrenia, calms me down, but that's about it. But the worst things about it are the freaking side effects! Look, I took this medicine in first grade for irritability, took it again in middle school. Now I'm 20 and started back up again a few months ago. It makes me so sleepy that I'm falling into things, I get severe panic attacks, and I'm hungry as hell, hence, why I gained 11 lbs. Oh, and I have this funny, unbearable feeling in my right leg, and it's so uncomfortable, omg! But on the other hand, it's not as bad as Latuda or Haldol, but it's worth it, I guess."

• cam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 11, 2022

"This drug is like all antipsychotics, it's a crime! And more than that, they forgot to label one of the worst side effects of it, which is apnea (difficulty breathing). That's because they never tried one pill! Because every time they do RCTs for these types of drugs, most of the subjects leave early before continuing the studies!"

• Hel...
• October 2, 2018

"I got put on this medication for psychosis, delusions in December of 2017. I started at 0.5 mg and slowly raised to 3 mg. So far, this is a decent drug. I feel like the way I was before my psychotic episodes began, and it's very nice. The downside is high prolactin levels and slight weight gain (roughly 10 lbs). My doctor and I are in the process of getting off of it (currently at 2 mg), but this drug did the trick to placate delusions. I would recommend but not for long term."

• Jes...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 20, 2018

"This drug did not react well with my body chemistry, but I didn't have any delusions on it or for 4 years afterward. I gained over 120 lbs in a year and a few months on it. I slept about 14 hours a day. It made me apathetic, not a normal trait for me. I just didn't care about things. I stopped having my period and developed a lot of symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Oh, I had major carb cravings, like for fast food pizza, that I never usually have. I didn't feel like myself. I have been diagnosed with different things but believe I have major depression with psychotic features."

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 6, 2018

"I find it helps in terms of what I wanted with the voices and all, but the side effects make me very drowsy and tired, and I can barely muster the energy to do anything in my day. My mood's been pretty low or up and down too. I find myself to still have a slight paranoia of others. Even when I first started the meds, the first few times I believed I was being poisoned, but I usually felt like everyone offering me drinks or food was trying to harm me, so not really anything new there. That part has calmed down a fair bit. I hope one day they can find a way to completely rid me of this so I don't have to rely on medications all the time, because I sometimes forget to take them or I can't find them on occasion. I'm glad I'm back on them, though, after I was initially told by the mental hospital that I'm not to have them anymore, which mucked me up. I hope I'm not forced to stop again, because this is honestly my peace."

• FAa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 28, 2018

"19 years old, using 2 ml instead of 3 1/2 ml and actually 4 ml was initially prescribed by a psychiatrist. It was because I was hearing voices and was paranoid and smoking marijuana almost every day for a period of 6 months. I got side effects: stiffness, spasms, trembling, increase in saliva, decrease in sexual ability. I have been taking now 1 pill every other day until I don't take it anymore since the doctor said that I had to take it at least for a year without smoking to find out if the problem goes away. I'm looking for another pill to control these symptoms, and I am not smoking or hearing voices anymore. Read all the comments, but I do not constipate or gain weight. Since I lowered the dose, I am more sociable, smile, and confident, but the spasms worry me since they happen like 3 or 4 times a day."

• COC...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 18, 2019

"My husband was just prescribed this, however, he is already drowsy, unmotivated, and gaining weight. I am looking for a better option for someone who has been hearing many voices for years. Please help."

• shr...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 30, 2022

"This was the medication. I grew painful chest feelings. I still pace all day. My libido made me feel asexual and more. It kept me just laying on the floor in anxious, depressive pain, waiting for a minute to get up. I overate on this drug, and at the time it was the only medication. I spent almost four years laying down because I didn't think another medicine I could afford would be out. I was so worried about trying Seroquel, however, due to the weight gain and diabetes thing. But since I've stopped monitoring my weight (which I believe more doctors should provide therapy for the weight gain and body image issues), and I got on Seroquel, things are better. At the time Seroquel was thought to be not as strong. We will see if it holds up, but much better medications have come out. Also, I think Risperdal prolonged a mood problem for me, that might be why I spent 3 years in bed waiting for it to improve. When they threaten the Invega shot, I get worried because forcing this med to last long."

• tyh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 24, 2021

"Took this for psychotic depression. It made me unnaturally tired, like I was fighting the effects of a sleep medication all the time! I also started overeating and was constantly hungry (like with Zyprexa). I did feel less anxious, but it wasn't worth it. Wouldn't recommend based on my experience. One note if you're autistic like me - some people report being more sensitive to side effects. It was complete news to me, but it makes sense with my history."

• Xen...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 16, 2022

"I have taken Risperidone for at least 8 years for schizophrenia. When I first started taking it, I noticed it made my symptoms a lot better. However, it wasn't a cure-all, and I still heard the voices, but in a more muffled manner. The visions and visual hallucinations, like lasers floating in the air, went away, too. It also seemed like, despite being on Risperidone or any other antipsychotic, my symptoms were dependent on my external behavior. As far as side effects go, I drool pretty badly at night. It also kind of made me look at things as being pointless. It's hard to know whether it's my schizophrenia or Risperidone that is causing me problems, I've been on it so long. Overall, it was great for taking away the hallucinations, it just kind of made me a shell of my former self (or was that the schizophrenia), who knows."

• moj...
• February 23, 2011

"I have been taking Risperdal for ten years, can't imagine life without it anymore. My advice to people is don't stop taking your medicines if you or other people think you don't need to anymore."

• Don...
• July 31, 2017

"Please, please do not take this drug, it destroyed my life. Once you take it, you are completely dependent on it, and trying to stop it can cause brain damage. It is the most horrific med."

• Anonymous
• November 5, 2008

"Is providing some relief from hallucinations on 6 mg a day - also helps bipolar ups and downs. I do have some side effects, though."

• Ano...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 8, 2017

"This makes you restless after long-term use. Good at controlling symptoms if you are patient with it. Ask your doctor to reduce dosage if you feel better after 3 years. Good luck."

• mat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 17, 2015

"Did nothing for me. Just gained a lot of weight!"

• Anonymous
• March 25, 2009

"No relief of voices. I rarely have visual hallucinations anyway. Very bad menstrual irregularity and some dry mouth. Had to quit taking it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2018

"It did nothing for my delusions and psychotic behavior. Made me gain 40 lbs in 2 months. I now have restless legs and arms that haven’t gone away even though I am not taking it anymore."

• kay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 10, 2018

"I was taking this medication to combat features of psychosis with my depression and PTSD. It made me start lactating and gain like 10 lbs. It worked well for my paranoia and nightmares though!"

• tex...
• October 13, 2015

"I take 3 mg every night, slowly recovering and no side effects so far."