Risperdal and Increased Appetite: What Users Say

• Bri...
• May 6, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on this for about 6 months when I was 15. It's the only thing that has worked for me. I was able to go to school. Had great relationships with everyone. Only had one bad mood swing and I was having them every day before I got on it. But I also gained 20 pounds and I could never get enough to eat. I've tried about everything and this was the only thing that helped. It doesn't make you feel funny or blank like a lot of them. But if you eat healthy and can ignore the always wanting something to eat feeling, this is an amazing medicine and will change your life."

• boy...
• January 5, 2019

"This medication has saved my child’s life. He has no diagnosis, but he has always been an extremely angry, irritable, and withdrawn kid. Despite extensive testing, we haven’t been able to find a medical cause. He has now been on .25 milligrams of this medication for 2 months, along with the same SSRI he’s been on for a year. As soon as we added this medication, he was able to get back into a regular classroom at school. He started talking to us, joking around and asking us if he can have friends over. He has become such a loving and sweet kid who laughs and has fun. The teachers and therapists we work with are all so thrilled with the positive changes. His dose is very low, so the only side effect seems to be a slight increase in his appetite. But even at this low dose, we are seeing huge changes. For the first time, our son actually seems happy."

• Anonymous
• November 10, 2011

For Depression "I take 50 mg of Trazodone and 1 mg of Risperdal for my racing thoughts and 40 mg of Celexa for my depression, all at bedtime, and the Risperdal is good. I get really hungry from it, though. I always snack now before I get to sleep. Besides the hunger, I like this in addition to my other medicines. Before, I would have racing thoughts that kept me from sleeping, and now I don't have as many, which is great!"

• 1ti...
• April 4, 2011

For Autism "This medication was given to my son by an ARNP who swears by it. My son cries for no reason, does not help him sleep but makes him eat like a bear, and he is argumentative about everything whenever he takes this. He needs help sleeping, but there has got to be something else more effective for him with fewer side effects."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Gor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2024

For Bipolar Disorder "After trying 3 or 4 SSRIs and last using Zoloft for 6 weeks, my mania was horrific. As a last-ditch effort, I decided to go on Risperdal due to my sister having been on it for years. I started with a 0.5 dosage, and it changed my life the 1st day and immediately calmed me down. It has been causing me insomnia somewhat, so I'm starting to take it during the day instead of before bed. I have noticed that it increased my appetite for food, so I have to keep that in mind and don't deviate from my usual eating routines. It miraculously is taking away almost all of my OCD, which was my biggest problem in life. Don't be scared of all the bad side effects you may read on different sites, because all meds have those and they may not affect you like that."

• Inv...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 19, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "It's helped my paranoia, delusions, irrational thoughts, and impulses to self-injure and commit suicide more than anything else. Also helps control the hypomania because I'm not on a mood stabilizer. It just also makes me extremely tired and sedated, and I'm constantly hungry and have gained a lot of weight on it. I've fluctuated in my dosage from 3 milligrams to as low as 0.5. Currently taking 2 to 2.5 right now."

• reb...
• April 13, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "I've taken the medicine for a month, and I do notice my mood is a lot better. I have gained 16 pounds almost. It makes me very hungry when I take it. My doctor moved me from 0.05 mg per day to 1 mg per day because of my horrible anxiety. It does help, but not all day. I plan to still give it more time. The weight gain is not exactly good though."

• Anonymous
• August 2, 2010

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• rel...
• February 28, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "My 11-year-old started taking this about a month ago, and what a difference it has made. He is finally able to control his anger and think more rationally. However, he is constantly 'hungry.' All I can do is educate him on good nutrition while on this medicine."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."