[but I can guarantee a mood stabilizer is in order. I was wondering if any of you could share what mood stabilizers you are on, that way I cuold do some research on them.
Thanks,
My wife has taken several. Amoung them has been Depakote, Topamax (dopeAmax), Abilfi or Ablify (Spelling), and maybe some more. I also hear that Lithem (salt) is used for mood.
Hope this helps. Be sure to check my spelling. LOL I scare myself sometime with the gross misspllings. :D
Just a few comments/questions about the drug. I started on it 2 weeks ago and for the first week I was elated. :D My mood swings were gone and even when they did arise I could easily ward them off. Then the 2nd week everything went crazy again. The happiness, the rage, and then the tears. All in a matter of minutes. And it is just as bad as it used to be before any of the drugs. Has this happened to anyone else on Risperdal? Was it really working that first week or did I just have more control over myself? Should I try and have the dose increased, or should I suggest getting off the drug completely? Also, has anyone else had a problem with eating while on Risperdal? I've found that I am eating everything in sight. For crying out loud, I've gained 5 lbs. in 2 weeks.
Last time I went to the pdoc he told me that it sounded to him like bipolar. Ofcourse he didn't read the 15+ page journal I had been writing for the 2 weeks prior. (What a waste of time!) I'm not sure if this diagnosis is correct but I can guarantee a mood stabilizer is in order. I was wondering if any of you could share what mood stabilizers you are on, that way I cuold do some research on them.
Thanks,
Inspirations
Hi:
Risperdol is a strong drug. It is technically an anti-psychotic mediaction, and some docs rx it for sleep. Use of if you rally need it, don't if you do not need it. Risperdol, and other drugs like it, can cause rare, but serious side effects, not all of which are temporary...that is why I say that. It is not a mood stabilizer. It is possibile that you felt relief at 1st because it gave you a temporary sedative effect.
As far as mood stabilizers, there are quite a few: lithium, dapakote, tegretol, neurontin, topamax, trileptal. Several of them are ant-seizure meds originally, but are also used for BP. They all affect different people in different ways. My personal experinece has been as follows: can't take litium at all, depakote and tegretol caused a lot of weight gain, neurontin worked well for quite a few years then stopped, am currently on low-dose of tripletal for epilepsy and topamax for bipolar. Topamax gave me side effects for the first few weeks of initiating treatment, but I was fine once I adjutsed.
I hope that helps some, and I hope you get something that helps you out,
I think sometimes people want a place to start off...
Yes and it's so much quicker/easier to ask questions of people who have actually been through it than to have to do the research on your own, starting from scratch. In either case, I will take what I find out and then discuss it with my doctor before making any decisions.
Angie, would you mind a couple more questions about TD? I'm wondering if a family history of it or Parkinson's might increase the risk. Also wondering if there's any history of it in your family.
I'm taking a low dose (5mg) of Risperdal for sleep. I'm not thrilled with the TD risk, however small, but then I'm also not thrilled with the "black box" liver warnings that go with the Depakote (also currently taking) or the risks of addiction with something like Klonopin if that was used instead of Risperdal.
[QUOTE=index.html]Yes and it's so much quicker/easier to ask questions of people who have actually been through it than to have to do the research on your own, starting from scratch. In either case, I will take what I find out and then discuss it with my doctor before making any decisions.
Angie, would you mind a couple more questions about TD? I'm wondering if a family history of it or Parkinson's might increase the risk. Also wondering if there's any history of it in your family.
I'm taking a low dose (5mg) of Risperdal for sleep. I'm not thrilled with the TD risk, however small, but then I'm also not thrilled with the "black box" liver warnings that go with the Depakote (also currently taking) or the risks of addiction with something like Klonopin if that was used instead of Risperdal.
I *REALLY* appreciate your input!
I honestly do not know the answers to some of yor latest questions. I am unsure if having a family member w/another movement disorder would put you at a higher risk or not. I personally do not have another family with a formally diagnosed movement disorder. The reason I say this w/some hemming and hawwing is that my mother, who has fibromyalgia (which I do too), has some high tone and some "mild" muscle spams in her neck that are controlled w/low dose xanax. It isn't TD, but it hasn't exactly been formally diagnosed by a neurologist. My understanding is that kind of myofascial muscle issue can happen w/fibromyalgia. My situation is rather different though as I had full-blown TD years before I had 1 symptom of fibromyalgia.
There is not 1 person in my family w/a case of parkinsons or epilepsy, besides me.
I know what you are saying about drug warning. Naturally if we read every one, and expected to get them all, we would go REALLY insane. And again, I don't think anyone should ever stop taking meds they need without the supervision of their doctor. I also don't think those people who need meds like risperdol to think clearly and function (believe me that I have been there) should stop taking them due to a slight risk of a rare problem. My question is this: if you are taking it just for sleep, have you consdered all the options? It sounds like you are looking into other options.
As far as other meds for sleep go: there are sleeping pills like ambien (fast-acting, last a short time 4-6 hrs), restoril (kicks in slower, lasts longer). More docs rx ambien, restoril is a bit stronger and is a "real" benzo. You are not really supposed to take them every night to avoid dependence. There are meds like klonipin, ativan, and xanax, which are again sedatives. The whole "habit-forming" thing has to do with you. Do you have a history of addiction? If not, I wouldn't necessarily be too concerned. Of course, your doc may not want to write for them, who knows. You won't find out unless you ask. Have you tried trazadone? In relatively small doses, I used to take it for sleep, and it worked ok. When it didn't, my psych doc would add the lower dose of restoril on bad nights. These are just some thoughts. Now I am just on the higher dose of restoril because I get less "hangover", and I have to get up in the a.m. w/my baby, so that is more important than it was before.
These are just some ideas that maybe you can bring to your doc, and you can work together to find something that works for you. I am also sure that your doc can more thoroughly answer some of your TD questions, especially about how rare it is. I can, however, understand your concerns. Remember, if you end up needing one of the newer atypical anti-psychotics, they are unlikely to cause TD.
