Hi all! I was going to post this on my other post from a couple of days ago, but I thought this issue deserved a place of its own. I have been taking Risperdal or lately risperidone for sleep and as an adjunct to Lithium for the past few months. Recently--or should I say in almost the past two months that I have been taking either of these two that I have been getting sinus infections and sinusitis. I've had at least three treatments of antibiotics and it seems nothing is shaking this. Mind you, I have a lot of allergies and am susceptible to this stuff, but I get such headaches and blurred vision and sinus pressure I could scream. Well, today I saw the nurse practitioner who looked at the list of meds that I take(not many--only two psych and one for reflux) and the first thing she did was to check the side effects of each and concluded that it's the Risperdal or risperidone that I've been taking and she said it's famous for causing rhinitis which in turns becomes sinusitis. It figures--I just starting sleeping well after stopping smoking and now I'll probably have to stop taking it. I suffer through so many side effects that just never go away & it's frustrating. Today before I saw her I didn't take my morning Lithium or Prilosec and I actually felt better! It was sort of like getting a holiday or reprieve but I know I'll have to get back to my schedule. Has anyone else had a problem with sinusitis from antipsychotics? I would love to chat. Thanks so much--Hopeto--
I don't have any experience with the sinusitis, but just wanted to say that I'm so sorry that you found a med that works and now you have to stop it! I've been there before.
Don't you just love it. We live with this dam* disorder, we struggle to find cocktails that work, we find the meds that work and then can't take them because the side effects make it impossible. Has your GP suggested a preventative antibiotic to take all the time?
My son used to have to do this, because he was born without an immune system, so he was on antibiotics daily for the first 4 years of his life, they would just rotate them every month switching one for another.
Hi LLama & Katlin! The only thing that my nurse practitioner told me was to take Claritin and Nasonex because I can't stop the Risperidone. I beg to differ. I still feel that we can have a disease and follow a regimen and pretty much hope for the best. I also feel, however, that it is counterproductive to keep adding meds to take away the symptoms of the original med. We're in this to feel better, not worse or cause new issues. I will at my next visit on Tuesday discuss this with my therapist who in turn calls the pdoc and all three of us get on the same page. Maybe it was a good thing yesterday(Thursday) to go without meds for nearly a day to see what's up with how I feel. Tonight (it's bedtime) I took my nite dose of Lithium and the risperidone and I can see that I have a little reflux and my eyes bother me a little. I'll play it by ear until Tuesday and make a decision as to what to do. I will keep you folks posted. Thanks so much for caring and I will post very soon--Hopeto--
I have been taking Risperdal or lately risperidone for sleep and as an adjunct to Lithium for the past few months. Recently--or should I say in almost the past two months that I have been taking either of these two that I have been getting sinus infections and sinusitis.
I have year round allergies myself, but have never had sinusitis due to antipsychotics. The last case of sinusitis I had was in 1996, but it was due to strep and an ear infection.
Risperdal is known for causing congestion although I don't know if this includes sinusitis.
I wish I had something helpful to suggest.
I'm sorry you're going through this. I wonder if lowering your Risperdal dose by .5mg will help?
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Last edited by dreams in neon; 04-30-2009 at 09:58 PM.
