Risperdal and Weight Gain: What Users Say (Page 2)

• 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."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• 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."

• Obj...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 6, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "I took Risperdal (Risperidone) for about five years. It effectively managed my mania/hypomania and gave me no obvious side effects towards the beginning. Pros - Effectively worked - Helped with hypomania - Helped with mania Cons - Developed hyperprolactinemia - From ^^^ I developed amenorrhea and weight gain - Mental slowness (things were harder to learn and harder to remember). It's a good medication that worked for me, but I had unfortunate side effects. Everyone is different, so don't automatically discount the drug if you are just starting it based on everyone else's experience. It DID work for me the way it was supposed to, but I also had side effects, so I had to switch it. I'm giving it 8 out of 10 because it DID manage my BPD well."

• Mom...
• October 28, 2009

For Bipolar Disorder "My daughter took this medication for about one year. It helped with her mood swings, but the side effects are not worth it. She has a bladder infection, bladder incontinence, weight gain (which upsets her and causes more mood swings!), plus it has slowed her mental processing speed (lower grades in school)."

• Anonymous
• November 10, 2009

For Bipolar Disorder "I am currently taking this new medicine, and it has really helped me control my mood swings better than any other medicine that I have taken in the past. One thing that I do not like is that I have gained weight from this. It makes me eat a lot."

• sho...
• September 15, 2015

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• Cha...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 22, 2018

For Schizophrenia "This medication saved my life. Been taking it for two years following two very difficult psychosis episodes, and my brain is a mess without this medication. Without it, I have very weird and intrusive thoughts about the nature of reality. Paranoid thoughts are all but gone as well. The only side effect I noticed is weight gain, which I honestly don't mind."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 16, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "It definitely helped with my mania. I just feel slightly off on it, but it has helped a lot. I take this and Celexa to help with my obsessing, but the Risperdal made me gain weight. I went from 120-125 to 140. I'm so unhappy about the weight gain. I'm going to try to switch medications and will come back to this if I have to, trying to find something better, but this definitely helped my mania and doesn't make me really tired like Seroquel and Abilify or almost pass out like Geodon."

• SoP...
• November 19, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been taking Risperidone for over four years now. I felt great the first year but had to constantly have my dosage increased. I don't like some of the side effects (anxiety, difficulty concentrating, weight gain, faster heart rate, flu-like symptoms) but have learned to deal with them. Once you start to gain weight, it is virtually impossible to lose the weight, as I have tried everything. It seems you peak at a certain level."

• Nub...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 9, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "I take Risperdal 4 mg with 20 mg Celexa. I was on Invega Sustenna before. Since I changed, I find that I sing a lot and my mood is sometimes loony, sometimes doesn't want to deal with people. I gained so much weight on both Celexa and Risperdal, around 40 lbs. I will talk to my doctor about decreasing the dose and get on a diet. I hope that will lessen the symptoms."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 3, 2018

For Schizophrenia "Was put on Risperdal when first hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Gained about 100 lbs in a year. Felt dull cognitively. Slept the majority of the day. No psychotic symptoms. Delusions and hallucinations gone. No agitation. No anxiety tremors."

• Dar...
• September 14, 2016

For Schizophrenia "I was on this 'medicine' for 4 years (ages 14 to 18). It is honestly one of the worst medicines I have ever taken. It not only sapped me of all of my strength and willpower, but it increased my agitation to unseen levels (I had a pretty bad temper before this, but I had learned to control it). It made me gain over 150 lbs in that 4-year period (I was at 120 lbs when I started it and 375 lbs when I stopped taking it). It also got me to the point I felt nothing but anger, and when I wasn't riled up, I was a blank mask of indifference. Not only that, but I have been off of it for 4 years now, and I still have trouble controlling my anger and weight. Plus, I have this problem where I can't stop moving (mostly my legs and the right side of my neck)."

• Eli...
• May 15, 2018

For Schizophrenia "I was forced into a Canadian mental hospital in the late '90s when I was 13 years old (I'm male, by the way). They woke me up in bed and gave me a cup with pills and told me it was to help me with sleep. It was later on that they told me that the pills were Risperdal. When I was on Risperdal, I gained a lot of weight and was drowsy. I even developed minor gynecomastia that still remained 3 years later. I'm in my 30s now, and the gynecomastia surgery isn't covered by any insurance companies. What was covered was the ultrasound and mammogram. I don't have the money to pay for the glandular breast tissue removal surgery. People notice my male breast growth and tell me that I have breasts. My doctor says my gynecomastia is noticeable when I take my shirt off. People who know me notice breast growth through my T-shirt. Can the Canadian Government cover the cost of breast removal surgery if I am required to take antipsychotics that have side effects that grow breasts?"

• Bri...
• June 16, 2015

For Schizophrenia "I was prescribed Risperdal for schizophrenia ages 12-16 around 10 years ago now, and it's a huge reason as to how I was able to stay in public school. Other people still noticed I was 'different,' but it did wonders for both visual and auditory hallucinations, racing thoughts, and paranoia. It never could fully help my delusions, though. I gained a bit of weight, but what ultimately led me to no longer take the medication was the zombifying effect it had and how I felt it changed my personality. Might be okay for others though."

• Bsf...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I suffer from major depressive disorder and ended up in the psychiatric hospital with thoughts of suicide and extremely bad depression. They prescribed me Risperdal 2 mg. I started off at 140 lbs, since being on the medication, I am 230 lbs, almost double my weight, and have gained puffy, tender breasts. As for the pill working, it works 100% at what it's supposed to do. If you're extremely in need of help and don't care for the side effects, go for it."

• 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."

• Thi...
• April 19, 2014

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• 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."

• Cac...
• December 8, 2015

For Schizophrenia "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."

• Jam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 23, 2024

For Mania "After trying a few SSRIs that did not help me, my mania was horrific, and I decided to try this drug after a family member told me about it. I started with a 0.5 dosage, and after a few months, I am now on 2 mg. It has helped me with my OCD and my mania and just letting go of bad thoughts. I am now able to control my thoughts and help myself be a better person. There was some weight gain, but I just have to keep an eye on myself and keep bad food out of my house. After about 3 months on this drug, things are looking good, and I am not going to ever go off of it if it helps me."

• MrL...
• April 29, 2009

For Bipolar Disorder "This helps me calm down and sleep at night when I'm manic, but I noticed a weight gain of 10 lbs, and I feel sluggish during the day. I also dream more often, which may or may not be a desirable side effect."

• Anonymous
• July 29, 2011

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "Both my boys have been taking Risperdal. My eldest for about 1.5 years and my younger boy for about 6 months. This medication has been excellent to reduce their aggression, however, my biggest concern is that they both have gone from being around the 5th percentile for weight for age (underweight) to the 81st and 93rd percentile for weight (very overweight). This itself has caused problems."