Risperidone and Drowsiness: What Users Say (Page 2)

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

Risperidone 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."

• Dav...
• June 18, 2017

Risperidone for Bipolar Disorder "I have been taking this medication for about a year. I started off with 0.5 mg. I was still having some evening anxiety, so I asked to be moved to a 1 mg dosage. I still had occasional anxiety in the evenings, so I asked to be moved to a 1-2 mg dosage. I find that moving up to a 2 mg dosage causes me some drowsy issues, and I am currently tweaking it to where I need it. My anxiety is like nothing I have ever seen or heard anyone experience. I know there are other people out there that have the same issues. I think it helps stabilize my highs and lows. I am more a bipolar type 2 person, which means my depressions are slight and my hypo-mania is somewhat great because I feel I can take on the world."

• jmn...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 2, 2017

For Asperger Syndrome "Used to take 3 mg, but it was too sedating. I currently take 0.75 at bedtime, and it keeps me calm during the day. I only feel a little irritable at times still, but nothing like prior to taking risperidone. Just 10 lbs of weight gain, which I think I needed. I take it in combination with antidepressants, and it works very well."

• The...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 22, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I find Risperidone (2 mg at night) very agreeable and experience no side effects at all. I have been on many meds for bipolar and experienced drowsiness and fogginess on most of them, but with Risperidone, it's almost as if I am taking nothing at all. There might be some slight weight gain, but I started gaining weight when I was previously on Chlorpromazine, so I can't be sure. I am also on 500 mg lithium, half in the morning and half at night. I have been taking Risperidone for the past 6 months, and I hope it prevents relapse, which I have been having almost every two years in the past."

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

Risperidone 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."

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

Risperidone for Schizophrenia "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."

• rav...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 21, 2022

For Schizophrenia "I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 11 years ago. Symptoms completely recovered within 2 weeks: flat emotional affect, low energy, the feeling of the brain swelling, tactile hallucinations, poor appetite, irritability, paranoia, delusions, and an overdrive in fight or flight response. Symptoms greatly improved to a functional level within 1-2 months: auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, cognitive impairment, and poor memory. 1 mg both as a teenager and as an adult. I have been able to function again. Also, my work and social life have recovered. I have had no negative side effects besides minor drowsiness and sedation for the first couple of days taking the medication."

• rav...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 21, 2022

For Schizophrenia "I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 11 years ago. Symptoms completely recovered within 2 weeks: flat emotional affect, low energy, the feeling of the brain swelling, tactile hallucinations, poor appetite, irritability, paranoia, delusions, and an overdrive in fight or flight response. Symptoms greatly improved to a functional level within 1-2 months: auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, cognitive impairment, and poor memory. 1 mg both as a teenager and as an adult. I have been able to function again. Also, my work and social life have recovered. I have had no negative side effects besides minor drowsiness and sedation for the first couple of days taking the medication."

• Jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 13, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been on risperidone for about a week. I started getting chest pain on the second day, but didn't think it was the medication until I was able to see a pattern between taking it and when they would occur. As of day 6 and 7, I am horribly hungry night and day. It also makes me sleepy during the day, which is a pain since I have a young child. My inner anger, which was the main reason I was put on this, has subsided, though, so I'm going to withstand these symptoms a bit longer and see what happens."

• Sel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 7, 2022

For Autism "I was given this at 8 years old for autism, irritability, and hyperactivity. 8 years old. I was a super thin, playful, insanely happy, always pent up with energy little girl, but I disrupted the class by either randomly screaming with excitement, laughing loudly, or having tantrums. In October 2004, I was on this for about 3 weeks. I gained THIRTY freakin' pounds in 3 weeks!!! I was a bottomless pit, very sleepy, lazy, fell asleep randomly. My teachers loved me like that, but at the end of that week, when I was so sleepy I fell and hit my head on a table at lunch at school, my parents immediately discontinued the medication. I took something else, which I forgot, but it was 1000000x better!! I lost all the weight, my personality, and appetite went back to normal."

• Anonymous
• May 23, 2008

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been taking Risperidone for ten years now and have never had any side effects apart from a bit of drowsiness when the dose is too high. I take lithium as well and keep that the same at 1000 mg, and use the Risperidone in varying doses from 1.5 to 4 mg - in telephone consultation with my doctor - to control slight highs. I have not been hospitalized at all while on the drug and have led an active life."

• Min...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 31, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "Within 5 days of taking this medication, I was already gaining so much weight. You'll always feel fatigued, tired, and sleepy, slow thinking/processing thoughts. Your body is suppressed depending on dosage, it slows levels of activity and energy."

• DJe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 25, 2018

Risperidone for Bipolar Disorder "I've been on this med for almost two months. I started on a low dose, but lately I have had to increase the dose to get the most benefits from it. Initially, it will make me tired, but my acute mania would return after a couple of weeks. Been on 4 mg for 3 weeks, but have noticed that weight gain has been an issue for me, but I'll just have to watch what I eat and exercise more. Currently jumped to 5 mg and willing to give it a try. Not too many side effects, like somnolence, anxiety, and fatigue, which go away within two weeks. However, I take other meds, so I'm trying to figure out if I need a mood stabilizer or other meds that I'm taking. Just want to feel better and finish my degree as an adult student without the excessive tiredness. But I've been on Seroquel before, but I got type 2 diabetes from it. For restlessness, I take Cogentin and it works great."

• Tha...
• May 18, 2019

For Depression "I don’t like and I do like risperidone. It helped me with some anxiety and some depression, but I would always be drowsy and normally completely emotionless. But I hated feeling sleepy, so I stopped taking them, and my body didn’t like having to naturally deal with emotions and depression. So then I went into a deep depression, but natural remedies for depression are a lot better than risperidone."

• tik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2020

For Schizophrenia "Risperidone reduced delusional thoughts by 50%. Still had rampant hallucinations and paranoia. At least it made me able to walk into public. Turns you into a log, though, with that zombie metal heavy sedation."

• Edg...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2022

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I've been on 4 mg risperidone for a month now, and I cannot believe how much it has helped me. I'm also diagnosed with PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and possible autism. I sleep better, and I can socially interact adequately. The only side effects I have are a tremor, some restlessness, and some minor drowsiness. Lifesaver."

• Rad...
• June 7, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "I was on this drug for 6 years. I experienced some serious side effects, such as somnolence and vivid nightmares, which at the beginning I wrote off as getting adjusted to the medications I was taking and coming to terms with everything that happened before my diagnosis (Bipolar II). Years went on, and it didn't get better. About 3 years in, I started developing a tic. I went to my doctor to discuss coming off the medication, I started sliding back into a full relapse. My doctor advised that I should go back on the medication, which I did. Back in February of this year (2017), I was completely fed up with never feeling like I slept long enough, the nightmares, and the tic, and came off of it. I haven't felt better in a long time."

• Asi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 2, 2022

For Schizophrenia "So I started taking the medication 2 years ago. In the beginning, it helps well with hallucinations, paranoid thoughts, and delusions. But it changes your whole brain chemistry. Well, I have always been emotionless, but now I really don’t care about anything. It causes me to feel like a zombie and causes me to be tired. My sex drive is normal. It causes breast milk and weight gain, but I exercise now, so the 40 pounds I gained are gone. And I’m sad because I wanted to gain weight. It causes anxiety, tremors, and causes me to move around a lot. I am different, I used to be so happy, now I’m not at all. It also makes me drowsy. I think about the past a lot and feel as if life is passing me by because of the brain fog. I am 21 and hope to get off of it by the time I’m 23. But the withdrawal effects make me worrisome. I also don’t want the psychosis to come back, but I think I’m good and can control and recognize it. I miss the old me so much, man. I’d give anything to go back."

• Som...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 6, 2016

For Asperger Syndrome "I took this a couple years back when I had recently been diagnosed. Somewhere down the line, I had complained enough about sleep problems to drive my parents to get a new med for AS - oh, look, high chance of drowsiness. Let's put her on these. Don't remember how effective it was, but I guess it did the job well enough. Stopped because it apparently caused bloating."

• jim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2023

Risperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "Risperdal helps me the most out of all the medications I tried. Invega was a nightmare for me and made me feel constant fear. Risperdal, even though it's incredible for my mood. It makes me sleep a lot, like I can sleep 11 hours and still wake up tired."

• lea...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 1, 2024

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I don't quite remember what my dose was, but I remember it being my first medication for schizoaffective disorder. It calmed the voices and the visions. I was on it for 2 years. After my second year with it, I started noticing involuntary movements. I am grateful for the medication. It was the first step to my sanity. Side effects I experienced were sleepiness and the uncontrolled movements. The other downside was getting the injection in my stomach."

• Rod...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 1, 2022

For Schizophrenia "Definitely contributed to stopping an ongoing psychosis in my case. So that is good. However, the doses have a significant sedative effect that can easily change your life. Potentially, the appetite increase that lasts for the first month can also cause some problems with weight gain. The worst was the drug did contribute to temporary sterilization (zero secretion of absolutely anything during orgasm, apparently as a result of the effect on my prolactin levels, this lasted until I switched meds)."

• moa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 7, 2018

For Schizoaffective Disorder "Definitely worked as a PRN, got heavily sedated. I slept through a whole day, but apart from the sedation, I had no other effect. I initially started on 0.5 mg, and that did nothing, so we tried it a second time, and I got up to 4 mg. Did nothing for the depression and only made the voices a little bit quieter. Quite a bit of weight gain, tremors, permanent prolactin increase, and the sedation messed with my schedule. I would say not worth it, but it works really well for some people."

• sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 6, 2019

For Anxiety "I weight gain and groggy in the morning. Side effects are not great. I'm already overweight and gained 15 in a month."

• Mot...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2018

For Schizophrenia "Made the voices (audible hallucinations) go away after 4 weeks, which returned my life back to normal. But it made it impossible to get an erection. Also made me more sleepy and tired than usual."