Risperdal - advice

It appears that my wife might actually end up finally taking medication for her smell and 'dry heat' delusions. I'll see in the next few days. Anyway, other than what I see on the internet (with over a million hits), I have no experience with this drug or, actually, any other psychotic type drug. I am wondering if anyone would be able to briefly offer their experience(s) with risperdal and/or advice. It will probably be in pill form at a conservative level to start with (1 or 2 mgs). I am concerned about the side effects. For example, the headaches and weight gain. Have they been significant in your experiences at these dosage levels? To what extent? Thanks for any experience and insight you may be able to offer me.
Unexpected2

my son takes risperdol for his tourettes syndrome.

he did gain weight and we have had to adjust his exercise levels to compensate for this..we also need to make sure he takes it at night as it has him in a deep sleep within an hour. apart from that he hasnt had any other side effects

Jocasey,
Could I ask how much weight he gained in relation to what dosage and over how much time? Thanks, Unexpected2

he takes 0.5mg...he gained 7 pounds in the first month as the drug made his appetite go through the roof..but it settled to around 2 pound a month after the first month. with some adjustments to his diet and exercise we are now managing it easily

When first diagnosed jealous DD, my ex was prescribed Risperdal and had an adverse reaction to it almost immediately. He was suicidally depressed within 24 hours, which he had not been before. I immediately called his doctor who told him to stop taking it and changed his prescription to Zyprexa, which evened him out within the week.
That said, my brother-in-law has taken Risperdal successfully for years. There was a weight gain involved (insatiable appetite) but it seems to me there's another med that's supposed to counteract that side effect, as well as Benedryl or a generic type that counteracts the restlessness some experience.
I'm certainly not trying to scare you away from Risperdal, I'm just saying watch closely the first day or two for mood swings. It was pretty scary for us. Hope this helps.

Here is my 2-cents worth on medications:

Zyprexa: great medicine, but causes glucose intolerance, and weight gain. The makers of this medicine claim that all antipsychotics do that, but it is not true!

Risperdal: Weight gain (about 10-12 lbs for 1mg/day), decreased sexual desire.

Abilify: upset stomach, indigestion and COST.

Thay all cause sleepiness and zombie like facial expression. But these side effects are nothing compared to DD behavior that surfaces if the drug is not taken.

My wife was on the Res shots, once every 2 weeks. I don't know what the equivalent tablets are. She did that for 8 months - gained about 60 to 80 lbs. She has been off of it (unfortunately) for about 4 months. The weight is still there. She was supposed to start the pills but since she wasn't legally "forced" to take them, she didn't.

To be fair, she has always had the tendency to be heavy once past 30 years old - 50 now. During her mental manic times her metabolism was over active and she had lost about 150 lbs in a year, which stayed off for several years until her last hospital stay about a year ago when she was put on the Res.

Another possible factor - she had operations on both knees so her excerise has been limited in the past 10 months.

While on the meds she slept a lot and was docile. Not so now. Since off of the Res her paranoia is slowly coming back. I know she is fighting it. She said she could be sane without meds and is trying to prove it to herself, me, and the rest of the world. I never mentioned that her weight coming back was probably caused by the meds. Maybe one of her stupid psychs mentioned it, or she looked it up on her own.

So far we are still OK together - tolerable - but anything can happen with the right (or wrong) trigger.

Little to no sexual side effects. Cost of the shots were rediculously high. About $200 per shot every 2 weeks. The insurance covered about half. The pills that she bought, but never took, didn't seem too much with insurance paying about 70%.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with risperdal. She took her first 1 mg tablet last night and for the first time in a long time, she slept all the way through the night and did not get up in the middle of the night to rant to herself in the dark in the livingroom about intentional heat in the house, smells, etc. She took another 1mg this morning. I'm watching to see how she reacts. She's supposed to take one at bedtime and one in the morning.
Jocasey - I was just wondering if I understood your message correctly. Your son was gaining weight at about 2 pounds a month but with regular exercise, he is no longer gaining the weight? My wife is a regular at the women's Curves exercise place.
Also, I seem to remember reading some posts (or perhaps it was on the internet) that some individuals took risperdal for awhile and upon getting off of it, didn't have DD problems? (I need to emphasize that I am under no 'delusions' that this will happen in my wife's case - but I was just wondering.)
Does anyone know of someone who took risperdal who did not have weight gain problems - albeit perhaps with other side effects? Thanks for your continued thoughts. Unexpected2

i should add that my son has a hyperactivity disorder so he naturally burns off more calories.

My Hubby took risperdal for about 6 months. No weight gain but he ended up with type 2 diabetes. Still now after more then a year since he has taken risperdal, he has to take glucose medication. Be on the look out for signs of diabetes.