Risperdal User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

• Lea...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 29, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I started out on 1 mg and went all the way up to 4 mg, then all the way back down to 1 mg again. Currently staying at 1 mg in order to have semi-normal cognitive function. When I went up to 4 mg, I was catatonic for 6 months until the dose got lowered down to 1 mg. Everyone is different, but it felt like it shut my whole brain down, the bad AND the good. Good luck."

• Sco...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 1, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "Made me 'flat' and apathetic to everything. Also caused hyperprolactinemia, leading to leaking breasts. Also caused me to gain 35 pounds over several months. Only marginally effective at treating the racing thoughts, etc."

• Wha...
• September 26, 2014

For Asperger Syndrome "I was put on this medication as I have suffered from Asperger's Syndrome since I was diagnosed at four years old. This is powerful. At 5 mg, I felt like a zombie. I was constantly sleeping because the effects were strong. It gave me symptoms of paranoia, for example, I was convinced all the time that I was going to throw up every time I ate. It put me off eating heavy food, and as a result, I lost weight. Probably one of the worst antipsychotics I have ever taken. Too strong for a 15-year-old (at the time), and when I came off it, it gave me psychotic symptoms. I heard a constant moaning voice for days, and it scared the crap out of me. Glad I'm off this medication!"

• Jel...
• June 8, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "Have been taking Risperdal for almost a year now. I tried Seroquel before for some months, but it made me super drowsy throughout the day, and I couldn’t function. I take Risperdal for severe depression, mania, and extreme hallucinations. I would see cartoons and things appear before me, hear voices/sounds in my ears, or feel things on me (someone patting my back or grabbing my legs when I’m alone in the room). I started off taking 0.5 mg once a day, then upped it to 1 mg. Was on 1 mg for a while. It worked well for me. I stopped seeing hallucinations, and for the most part, my mania and depression have lessened or gone away. I woke up every day feeling refreshed. Even my period cramps were usually less painful than before. Everything would go downhill when I decided to stop the medication, all the symptoms would come back quickly and badly. I didn’t gain significant weight from the meds, and I’ve had moderate acne. Seems like it’s going to be really hard to leave this medication."

• Anonymous
• July 19, 2009

For Autism "My son has high-functioning autism, and the doctor prescribed this medication for outbursts and agitation. It did the exact opposite. He became more aggressive and physically abusive to the point that he could no longer go to school and learn anything else. It took time to gradually take him off the medication, and once we did, he was so much better. An ADHD medication worked much better."

• BBP...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 21, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "Was only on 2 mg of Risperdal for two months. While it did handle my moods and anger outbursts almost completely, it did nothing to help with insomnia, which should have been my clue that it was too activating for me. A month after starting this med, I started having heart palpitations (I've never had a heart problem) that continued to get worse until I had been to the ER twice, family doctor once, with an appointment scheduled with a cardiologist, legitimately thinking something major was wrong. Two doctors suggested that Risperdal could be causing it, so I began tapering. Two weeks later, I am completely off the Risperdal, back on Zyprexa, and my heart is fine now. Very scary for me."

• Hop...
• December 14, 2016

For Schizophrenia "I don't have schizophrenia, I am undiagnosed. I was having issues with family and certain things in my life. Taking this medication made me feel worse with most of my symptoms. I had moments where I felt over-tranquilized and trouble communicating how I really felt. I know I felt better before the medication. Now that I am off of it, my list of negative side effects is quite large. I wouldn't recommend this medication to anyone, especially if you have an endless diagnosis in the first place. Be careful believing what your doctors say. They get all of their recommendations from pharmaceutical companies. Once I was off of this medication, doctors refused to listen to me. They just recommended I take it again or take other drugs. They refuse to admit their mistakes. They refuse to acknowledge anything."

• ano...
• April 4, 2008

For Bipolar Disorder "My husband takes this to control his anger, and as long as he takes it as prescribed, it works great. If he misses a dose, I can tell pretty quickly. Also, he has to watch not to get overheated because then he has a fainting spell and has had a seizure after fainting as well while on this medicine."

• sad...
• July 3, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been taking this medication for about 9 months, and I completely lost myself. I gained 40 lbs. I feel unmotivated all the time. I feel sedated, it is not me anymore. I am a perfectionist, and Risperdal is definitely the deadliest medication ever for me. I hate taking it, but I have no other choice. If another medication works for you, just stay away from Risperdal, it is awful."

• 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
• October 11, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "This medicine was prescribed to me for bipolar disorder, along with irritability problems. Serious anger was becoming a problem. I read these reviews after being prescribed, and I can honestly say that I was not one who felt its benefits immediately. This medicine takes 3 to 4 weeks to fully affect you. So far, the main thing I have noticed is that I feel more balanced and have not had an over-the-top anger explosion. This medicine, in combination with my others, seems to be helping overall. Everyone's body is a chemistry set, you just have to try things in combination with others and see if it helps."

• Loo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 1, 2019

For Autism "At 0.5 mg, it made my mood swings and overall irritability a lot less chaotic and more manageable. It made me able to think about what I'm feeling and why. It's not perfect, but it's a huge aid. For me, it had certain drawbacks, like slight weight gain and oversleeping, which made me look for other options."

• DAM...
• June 27, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 8 months ago and placed on Risperdal after ending up in the hospital due to a nervous breakdown, 6 weeks after my diagnosis. I was prescribed 0.5 mg in the morning and 1.0 mg in the evenings, but I felt like a zombie. It did curb the severe mood swings, and I also gained about 10 pounds in the first month. I didn't like feeling disconnected from the world and not being able to focus or concentrate, so I independently reduced my evening dose to 0.75 mg. I immediately felt better. I'm still struggling with a low sex drive, depression, and have a few moments of hypomania (restlessness, agitation, 'geeked up'), so now my doctor wants me to go on Depakote 500 mg twice a day instead."

• Bio...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 19, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "It worked almost immediately! I had my dosage moved to two tablets twice a day and then back down to one tablet twice a day for every twelve hours. The only thing is I have a difficult time with regulating my body temperatures. When I get hot, I get REALLY hot, and it takes a while to cool down. When I get cold, I get REALLY cold, and it gets hard to get warm again, and so on. I've had the twitching of the arms and hands as well, and I have been nauseous. But really, it works! I just still deal with being hot and cold at times."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• November 11, 2009

For Autism "My high-functioning autistic son was placed on this medication to help control his anger and aggression. Instead, it has made him worse. The only positive effect of this medication is that it helps him sleep past 5 a.m. His anger, aggression, and impulsiveness are just out of control. He was then put on Vyvanse to help with ADHD, and there are no changes worth noting."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 5, 2019

For Schizophrenia "This has helped a lot for my daughter's hallucinations. She was not diagnosed with schizophrenia, so her hallucinations are related to either her epilepsy or something else. There have been a couple of times where she stopped taking it because she felt better, but then the hallucinations would come back. She had to go on the highest dose after she stopped taking it the first time, so if you find this works for you or a loved one, just make sure they don't stop abruptly."

• 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!"

• Sco...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 19, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "This stuff literally made me feel life wasn't for me anymore, there were the horrendous side effects, the worst being an uncontrollable need to MOVE somehow (akathisia) and the dark, dark, dark thoughts. I was switched to Seroquel and then to Abilify, but all these gave me the same side effects."

• lho...
• May 22, 2009

For Bipolar Disorder "While taking this medication, I began to experience symptoms similar to Parkinson's syndrome. After a total neurological workup, it was determined that it was Risperdal causing the symptoms, not Parkinson's. Within a week of discontinuing the drug, I was symptom-free."

• Ada...
• January 6, 2010

For Autism "My son took this drug for a few years, and I was told he would have 'mild' weight gain. 40 pounds later, we had to take him off of it because the weight gain was compromising his overall health. I can't really say I noticed a big difference while on it anyway."

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

For Schizoaffective Disorder "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."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• June 21, 2010

For Autism "My son was put on 0.25 mg when he was just 4 years old. It has helped him, but he is weighing 72 lbs (now 7 years old), and his sugar is up. Now we are on the hunt for a replacement. At least it helped us for 3 years. My son has PDD."