risperdal and methylphenidate - Autism Spectrum Message Board

delcy · 02-04-2006, 09:58 AM

My son is 9 years old and has been on risperdal for 3 years now. But i read and hear horror stories about risperdal, he takes 1.5 ml in liquid. He has now started to take methylphenidate for about 2 months now 10 mg. Has anyone else heard any bad things on both of these medications? I have a friend who her son is on concerta 28mg, and he is doing awsome on it . It seemed like the first 2 weeks that he started the methylphenidate he was doing good and now its almost like he's not even on it. The risperdal gives him headaches and he has gained alot of weight. He is a very hyper boy and has a bad temper. The doctor doesn't seem to think its bad for him at all, but now im starting to ask myself questions. If there are any parents out there who can answer some of my questions, i would really appreciate it.
Thanks, Delcy

gigibee · 02-28-2006, 11:43 PM

Hi Delcy,
My son Garrett, who is 26, took Risperdal for a couple of years when he was 17 or 18. He is nonverbal, so it always is hard to tell how a medication affects him. But he did seem rather "drugged up" on Risperdal. Just not himself. I couldn't see that it benefited him, so I stopped it even though the doctor felt it might be helping. (But then they -- doctors -- often seem to think a drug is the magic bullet, it seems to me.)
So for what it's worth, that's our experience with Risperdal. I've never heard of the other medication you mentioned.
Hope this helps at least a little. Georgia

9CatMom · 04-16-2006, 06:05 AM

Delcy and Georgia,

They put me on Ritalin when I was five years old. It didn't work at all for me. It turned me into a zombie. Asperger Syndrome wasn't known about in those days, but I believe I had the characteristics of it all my life. I was mistakenly diagnosed as hyperactive. I know that wasn't the real problem.

marissamm · 04-16-2006, 06:19 AM

hi delcy, my son is 17 dx hfa he was on risperdal for several years he is off it now, because it caused him to gain lots of weight and it raised his prolactin level causing him to have "breast" which isn't in the warning, he is on other meds which is working great for his aggression and it doesn't make him a zombie, as far as his "breast" it will take surgery to remove them i am trying to make the risperdal company pay for it.

madwasper2 · 06-11-2006, 02:57 AM

Hi delcy yes my son was on respidol and he had bad reactions to it one thing he was druged up and could not sleep and another problem was he would get a painfull erection and he was just 7 years old when this happend we took him off ouself the doctor that prescribed it to him wanted us to give him more but we stopted it.She told us their has not been any studies done in young children only adults they shoul not give theses drugs to our kids unless they do studies first. They are just doing trial and error on our children. My son is only takeing paxil right now.It has less side effects.