Risperidone and Weight Gain

[MunchkinMommy537]

Does anyone have experience with risperidone (commonly known as Risperdal)? My son was moved from Abilify to Risperdal a few weeks ago, and while I think it’s helping him manage his emotions, he’s gaining a noticeable amount of weight. Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this.

[ha11]

Hi dear for what main reason doctor prescribe risperidone to ur son????iis it helping .

Well my son using Risperidone for 4months no noticeqble weight gain as he is very active busy in jumping and running.

But now doc put him on concerta as my son have focus problems especially in study time and social problems

[MunchkinMommy537 in reply to ha11]

He’s on Prozac for anxiety and Risperdal for mood stabilization. It seems to be helping better than the Abilify did, but he was on such a low dose that the psychiatrist didn’t think it was doing much of anything. Now that his mood is more stable (he’s not blowing up at us correcting his behavior) they tried him on Vyvance (a narcotic stimulant). He was on that for 2 days and was all over the place. If anything it made him even less attentive because he was bouncing from one thing to another, all over the place. We also see a psychologist, and it was in his office that we really noticed how antsy he was. We stopped that medication before he had to go back to school, and have another psychiatrist appointment on Saturday.

[ha11 in reply to MunchkinMommy537]

Best of luck I pray for your son get use to it and get benefits 🙂

but no weight gain really i seen in my son .

[AndreaD011312108]

My son took this med weight gain is a side affect of it he gained so much weight to fast and we had to take him off of it

[Pajamasam36]

My son was on risprodol and the weight gain was significant so we switch him to ability which lasts longer with less doses. He is I. 5 mg I am Consdering I creasing this during his teenage years.

However if I can manage his behaviors without I creadi gbit this summer then I will keep him on 5mg so he can learn behavior techniques through behavior herapy therapy. He had therapy 3!times a week one for his behavior at home and school then he attends a social skills group at his psychologists office. Finally he has tic reversal therapy called cbit on thursdays. All this herapy has been helping! We shall see this summer!

Good luck deciding what will work for your child. I hope this helps!

[BVBE]

My son''s doctor would not put him on it because of the side effects of weight gain.

[jgrau]

One of my son's doctors has recommended Risperidone to help curb his wildness and defiance. He is 12 years old, has severe ADHD and takes stimulant medication. What dosage did you give your son? And what type of mood problem did Risperidone help to stabilize?

[MunchkinMommy537]

He’s currently on 1 mg. Risperdol and Abilify are mood stabilizers, and for us they help him not have such ferocious outbursts. He still gets mad, but not as much and not as frequently. I’m very concerned about the weight gain (some kids are starting to call him fat), and am considering switching him back to Abilify.

[seller]

One of most common side effects from risperidone is weight gain. In fact, most of the atypical antipsychotics are called "fat drugs" by many mental health workers. Many patients gain large amounts of weight and some also develop Type 2 diabetes. I would be very careful when adding an antipsychotic medication. Abilify can also have the same effect, but it is less likely to cause the weight gain. There is no question that your son will be much calmer on risperidone, but I would try a very small dose. There are also other side effects like movement disorders and hormonal problems, which cause breast enlargement and nipple leakage in males. Personally, after working as a psychiatric nurse for years, I would try everything else before I put my son on an antipsychotic. I would also like to say that Vyvanse is not a "narcotic". It is also a stimulant medication for ADHD, in the dexedrine family, as opposed to methylfenidate (like Concerta). Vyvanse can work very well for ADHD, but like the others, you may need to find the right dose. It is very doubtful that your son will be able to manage his behavior through "behavior therapy". Our kids' brains are just not mature enough to do this. Prozac is an antidepressant, but can help with anxiety. Please do some research on these medications, ask the office nurse if you have questions, and think about other alternatives to the risperidone.

[MunchkinMommy537 in reply to seller]

Ah, yes, I don’t know why I said it was a narcotic 🤷🏼‍♀️. He has another appointment a week from Saturday and we’re going to discuss his medications. He was switched to Risperdol to both help stabilize his mood and help him sleep, but I don’t know how much it’s helping him sleep. His weight seems to have stabilized, but he’s still 73 lbs at close to 6 years old. His father and I both have weight problems, so I don’t want to put him at even more of a disadvantage with his weight.

[seller]

I would get him off the risperidone. There are other things that can help with sleep and he's too young to be taking this type of medication. Being overweight as a child can really cause additional problems and he seems to be one of those unfortunate people who gain lots of weight on this drug. If you haven't tried other stimulants, I would investigate and consider something else. Prozac can also cause restlessness in some patients, so this might not be the best choice for your son. However, many of the antidepressants and other psychiatric meds are not prescribed for kids under 12.

[anirush]

Risperidone is the only medication that has kept my grandson's anger under control. Got so tired of him breaking stuff and hitting people before he was on it. Every time he tries to take him off the anger returns.

Vyvanse and Concerta both made him crazy too. He is on Strattera for his ADHD. He gained a small amount of weight but he seems to have leveled off. His psychiatrist says the risperidone itself does not make you gain weight it makes you crave sweets and carbs which make you put on weight. We are working on getting him to eat food that is good for you when he feels like he's hungry

[Mfeltner]

I was on Risperdol in high school and I personally didn't experience weight gain however I did have excessive bleeding (from small cuts etc) and severe sun burn. It also made me like zombie level tired.