Risperidone Alternatives Compared

For Bipolar Disorder: I have Bi-Polar II and I have been taking 0.5 mg 1x a day of Risperidone. It has calmed my irritability and my thinking seems more organized. I definitely noticed an immediate difference. It addressed not mood as much as thinking and perception. For mood, I take Lamictal and started taking Topamax also JUST to combat the weight gain from the Risperidone. The weight gain is miserable and THAT depresses me. (I was originally on Lithium but that affected my thyroid adversely and although it had a good effect otherwise, it also "flattened out" my mood to such an extent that I felt really blah).

For Bipolar Disorder: I have been on this medication for about a month now. It has greatly helped with my paranoia and irritability. There are a few bad things though. It has caused my bladder to go by itself if I do not go as soon as possible and also my thought at times is a little slow. I have not noticed any weight gain and the bad that comes with it can make life a little difficult. It is the only medicine that has even remotely helped with my manic symptoms.

For Bipolar Disorder: I have taken many different medications and this is the best and cleanest mood stabilizer. I was on 200mg. I do recommend it to people who are manic and unstable. It will help you get back on your feet and function in life. You will likely notice your mood is flatlined, but if your life is in the dumps then having a flatlined emotion is worth it. You will not get upset over things that made you upset in the past. Disclaimer: It gave me some short term memory loss, and pounding headaches with hazy vision if I did not take the medicine at the same time everyday. Be careful with alcohol because the hangovers are extreme on this medication.

For Bipolar Disorder: First I want to thank you all for your helpful reviews. It helped me to do my own research so I can suggest my choice of treatment to my psychiatrist, rather than just trusting the one he suggests. After being diagnosed bipolar 2, he suggested another med. I strongly advocated for Lamictal. I tapered up to 200mg, on a conservative schedule. I've had good results over the past 9 months. It definitely has lowered the instances of hypomania, or at least deescalated the intensity. It's done little to address the depression or anxiety, so we've agreed to add anti-depressant. Again, he suggested Cymbalta, which I opposed due to the all the information regarding withdrawal syndrome. We agreed on a low dose of Prozac which is going well so far.

For Bipolar Disorder: Lamotrigine has been pretty good along with lithium (bipolar). Have been on 200Mg for 3 years and lithium for 15. I decided to ramp up lamotrigine to 400 mg and I had more energy and zest and best moods but also had more anxiety, math/memory issues, and a touch of hypomania. However, I did have incredible orgasms!!! Back down to 300mg and I am experiencing a bit more depression but seem to be pretty level. Lamotrigine seems to lessen the severity of my depressive episodes but does not eliminate them. It helps me enough to stay on it.

For Bipolar Disorder: I started taking 25 MG of lamotrigine in early November 2019, after about 2 weeks I started feeling better, less tense and hypomanic. I have been continuing to increase my dosage (I just upped to 400 MG) last week. From my experience, the first 2 weeks after upping your dosage (or starting the medicine) my symptoms got much worse; high anxiety, feeling more tense and hypomanic, however I felt much better after those 2 weeks. I have been upping my dosage since I haven’t yet reached my optimal point but still doing well.