Risperdal and Tiredness: What Users Say

• Mom...
• May 26, 2019

For Asperger Syndrome "My son was given risperidone at age 6. He took it for 2 weeks. He became a blob. Sure, the teachers loved it. He was sweet, not hyper, and easy to manage. The downside? Yeah, he was a blob of a kid just sitting there, dull as can be, and then on his tiny frame, he gained TEN POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS. Two. He couldn't even put his jeans on! OMG. I took him off of it, and he was back to being hyper, laughing, and fun, but annoying. So, suck it up, teachers. He just is what he is. Needless to say, today, a few years later, after ABA therapy and other therapy, he's just fine. Stay away. I also found out that Risperdal causes boys to sprout breasts and lactate. The next psychiatrist we had said NEVER put a boy on that medication... they grow breasts. So yeah, not a good medication for us."

• gat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 14, 2020

For Bipolar Disorder "I've tried a lot of different meds, my favorite by far is Lamictal, but it stopped working after 10 years. I started Risperidone a year ago. It makes me calm, I hardly get angry, I have no anxiety, and I have not had an episode since I started it. I feel great on it in general. The downside is that it makes me lazy, I'm so chill now that I'm totally comfortable just sitting on the couch. I feel relaxed and balanced, but without the anxiety, I have no reason to get up and 'run it off'. The biggest and worst issue I have with it is the damn weight gain. I've always been super fit and thin, but now I have a belly that I just can't get rid of. If it didn't work so well for my mood, I would get off of it immediately to lose my weight. I would still recommend it and I won't be stopping it anytime soon."

• Jam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 21, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "Risperdal saved my life. I was hospitalized two times with psychosis, and this is what they gave me. It took a few weeks to really kick in. At first, I was tired. I have been on the medication for almost five years now. I am able to live a normal life, although I still have some depression. I take 4 mg of Risperdal, which I just increased from 3 mg because at times I would have mild hallucinations or delusions when tired or the like. They are almost non-existent now, really just coming on if I have caffeine. I did gain weight, but not meaningfully so. The trick is to watch your calories and exercise as much as possible. I would recommend trying this for severe psychosis. I also take 600 mg of lithium, which seems to help my mood. I like to think that the lithium helps protect the brain from the damage Risperdal can cause. Without Risperdal, I wouldn't be here by now. Every day is a blessing and a gift!"

• Han...
• March 21, 2017

For Schizophrenia "I wish I could give Risperidal/Risperidone 0 stars. Worst medication I've ever had to take. Made me so exhausted despite getting 12 hours of sleep a night and made me gain 30 lbs. This medication slapped the heart right out of me, and I was a zombie, devoid of any emotion for months. I wouldn't slip this to my worst enemy."

• For...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 2, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "I took Risperdal for three years for my bipolar, and it seemed to work really well, and that is why I stayed on it for so long. But I eventually started to gain weight very rapidly. I was 190 lbs (I am a 5'4" female), and I was completely lethargic all the time. I wasn't necessarily depressed, but just apathetic and cold. My psychiatrist helped wean me off it (it is not addictive, it just causes withdrawal symptoms), and even before I was completely off it, I had lost 15 lbs. I am now 40 pounds lighter, and it's been about two months. My friends and family say my emotions are much more 'colorful,' and I seem more emotionally engaged. I know that it has worked for many people, though, and it helped me a lot when the symptoms started appearing."

• 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."

• 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."

• Tir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 24, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "After going through my third manic episode, I was prescribed 6 mg of Risperdal, which immediately made me feel like an absolute zombie. I couldn't think clearly, was extremely tired all of the time, and was unhappy. Through the course of about 4 months, my dosage is now 1 mg, and I don't feel the severe side effects. Good medicine in controlling the mania, but in high dosages, will make you feel like a zombie."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

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

For Schizophrenia "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."

• rus...
• February 10, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "Terrible choice by my PA to put me on this stuff. I was only on 0.25 mg, and the first day I was on it, I had to leave work early because I was so confused, felt drained, exhausted. Sleep was absolutely horrible. Couldn't stay asleep. It only got worse as the first full week I was on it, I had zero focus, energy, felt confused at work. I missed the better part of two days of going to work. Went that same Friday, and my PA took me off of it and put me back on a lower dose of Latuda, and I've never felt better."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 26, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "At the beginning of taking this medication, I was on 0.5 mg twice a day. Now my doctor upped it to 1.0 mg twice a day...and boy, do I feel drowsy all day long! I even took a pregnancy test because I was so tired. But no, it's the increase in the dosage. If I didn't have 2 young children dependent on me, I would have never gotten out of bed since yesterday. I feel that exhausted. I will go back to the doctor ASAP, I can't walk around like a zombie. I don't know what feeling is worse."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 26, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "At the beginning of taking this medication, I was on 0.5 mg twice a day. Now my doctor upped it to 1.0 mg twice a day...and boy, do I feel drowsy all day long! I even took a pregnancy test because I was so tired. But no, it's the increase in the dosage. If I didn't have 2 young children dependent on me, I would have never gotten out of bed since yesterday. I feel that exhausted. I will go back to the doctor ASAP, I can't walk around like a zombie. I don't know what feeling is worse."

• 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."