Risperdal/Aggression

[dimples74]

Anybody have a child on risp? Does anybody know anyone who is on it or know something about it? Does anyone have a child with aggression who takes something else and if so, what?

[bugsmom]

Dimples...My son was on Risperdal for almost a year and a half when he was going through a very difficult school peroid. He actually had extreme anxiety that manifested into aggression because he couldn't contain his anxiety. Anyway, at the time, the Risperdal was a God send. It really calmed him down and his anxiety was under control, hense the aggression went away. I was so leary about putting him on this med, but as I look back now, it was so helpful to him.

Once we got these issues under control, we had him in therapy once a week to work on other ways to control his anxiety so he could go off the Risperdal. This took a year and a half. He matured, knew his triggers, and was able with age, to recognize the signs of his anxiety and use the tools that he had learned. Now, he is not aggressive at all. The aggression was just a defense for his anxiety. He is no longer on the Risperdal.

With that being said, the down side of this medication is HUGE weight gain. They warned us of this and really, I didn't think he could gain that much weight....WRONG! He was always under weight from the stims, so I wasn't really worried. Well, by the time he went off the Risperdal, he had gained almost 26 pounds! He's pretty tall for his age, but he was definately over weight. It's been almost a year since he went off the med and he is just now losing the weight. He's super hyper and super active and it still wouldn't come off. But in the last month or so, he has dropped over 10 pounds.

So my advice to you is if you choose this drug, really watch the food intake. Your son will crave carbs like there's no tomorrow. You need to watch sugar levels too, because of the constant craving of carbs. We had a slight scare with this, but everything was ok.

Hope this helps a little. All in all it was a good choice for us at the time. It really helped Josh, but I'm so glad we don't have to use it anymore.

[dimples74]

Do you remember how long it took to see a difference? It has been a month and I am not really seeing a change. He is the best kid in the class at school, but as soon as he walks in the door, he lets it all out!!!!

[bugsmom]

Dimples...I seen a difference within 3 to 4 days. My son was taking .25mg at night to start. Then we added 1/2 of .25 mg in the morning also.

What dosage is your son taking?

Letting it all out at home is pretty typical for our kids. Especially if they are trying really hard to keep it together all day at school. Be thankful that his behavior is great at school. I'd love to hear that from my son's teachers. Hee Hee. Mines pretty hyper, school or no school. Gets him in a lot of trouble sometimes.

[katiekat]

Sean has never taken Risperdal but he did take Depakote and that did not help with the aggression.
He is currently taking Abilify and we have had amazing results with that.

[dimples74]

We give him .50 around 7:00 pm. I give him a Melatonin at 8:00 pm to help him rest. It is 9:07 here and he has been in bed for half an hour. We were giving him Clonodine to sleep at night, but the Resp and Mel are doing the job. Before med's Noah jumped, flapped, paced, made strange noises, would not stay at task, and stayed in his own little world. He still tends to annoy his friends with his blabbering about nothing, but he is one of the best behaved students in his class. When the teacher put the whole class on blue today (blue is bad behavior), one of the little boys said, "Even Noah?" Imagine that! I thought about starting to give it to him right after school, but I feared him getting too sleepy. Doc says to give him Adderall after school, then Resp and Clonodine at night, then the Vyvanse in the am. HE IS ONLY 5! I am not doing all that. 2 is enough for now. He doesn't hit his friends, just me, Luke, and DH and when he loses it, he loses it! It gets UUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGLY.

[dimples74]

..........oh, and I have to add that this winter when it was real cold and he would get all crazy, I would put him on the back porch in the cold until he calmed himself down. Once again, let's be clear that it was not snowing, raining, or otherwise. It was just like in the 30's outside and I wouldn't leave him out there but just a few minutes. It actually worked about 50% of the time. Something about the cool air without a coat, I guess motivated him to chill out......A lot of times, I just send him to his room..

[misty]

Apr 30, 2008 20:22:38 GMT -5 dimples74 said:

Something about the cool air without a coat, I guess motivated him to chill out......A lot of times, I just send him to his room..

Was this before the meds? Have you noticed since starting meds that you need to do things like this less often? Because he seems to be doing well in school with the Vyvanse, from your other posts. Maybe just a booster of something in the afternoon would help.

Look at it from his point of view.... out there in the freezing cold, wondering why someone he loved made him go out there with no coat. Worrying if he'll freeze before the door opens to let him back in.

Not only that, but if a neighbor or someone just passing by sees him out there, they'd have no idea you just left him there for a few minutes & the next thing you know, Child Services could be at your door.

[dimples74]

:DNeither the Vyvanse or the Adderall (which he was taking before) has made a difference with his afternoon/evening aggression. Yes, he needs something in the afternoon just to calm it down for about 4 hours------school or no school, the hours between 4-8 are tough.

****************************************************As far as the neighbors are concerned, we are all close and they think that the cool air thing is a great idea. It is not going to hurt him to spend 2-3 minutes on the deck when it is about 40 degrees. He knows he can come back in as soon as he calms down.
I had a child advocate nurse who came for regular home visits until Noah turned 5. I also had a parenting program representative come to my home. Both were very impressed with my creative forms of discipline, my patience, and they were very supportive. They assured me to do whatever it took to calm him down and that no form of discipline have I ever used has fallen into the line of abuse or neglect. Sometimes he just needs that little break to think and calm himself down. The reason he goes to Resource is not because of his learning issues, it is because of the break. When I was a kid, I was drug by my hair, spanked with a belt, a wooden paddle, or twigs off a tree (which we call a hickory switch) and I am OK. Those aren't the things the family did to me that have affected me emotionally.
****************************************************
Back to Risp.....Any drug suggestions? I think he is too young for Abilify. Would you stop giving it to him at this point? It has been 4 weeks and no relief with the afternoon aggression. We have an appt for therapy. A lot of the aggression did not start until Luke was born. Luke turned 3 in Feb. I am wondering if splitting up his dose instead of giving it all at once, would make a difference.

[bugsmom]

Dimples...how long has Noah been on medication? Did this aggression between 4-8 start after he started meds? I know you said it started after Luke was born, but did it get worse after he started meds? I ask because it sounds a lot like he's having trouble with rebound.

My son had a terrible time with rebound in the late afternoon/evening. In fact we stopped using any type of stims because of it. He takes strattera now and we don't see too much of it at all.

Rebound can be pretty ugly. Our house was a nightmare during these times, so I can imagine what its like for you. If you don't think the Risperdal is working at all, I would talk to your doc about stopping it. Theres no reason to take something if its not effective. I don't know what your doc might suggest besides the Abilify. I understand your caution with Noah being so young. My heart goes out to you.