It's worth trying. For me the benefits came very quickly... the psychosis settled down, and for the first time in years all my paranoid thoughts, and most of the hallucinations settled down. It was as though a huge weight had come off me, that I hadn't even realised I'd been carrying.

On the other hand, I gained weight, got shaky and weak, and then I started lactating. Because I was feeling wobbly I just wasn't up to excercising, which will have contributed to the weight gain. Plus, I was always desperately hungry. At one point I ate so much that I actually physically couldn't fit it in my stomach, and I puked. That was dreadfully depressing, and brought home to me how out of control my appetite was. Amongst other things, my pineal gland went up the wall. Some people just can't tolerate this drug, and unfortunately I'm one of them. I remember how devastated I felt when I had to come off it... the bad feelings started coming back, just as I had feared.

Fortunately the doctor then described seroquel XL (she picked the slow release one because she knew I wasn't organised enough at that point to take seroquel regularly through the day.) The benefits of seroquel equaled that of rispiridone, the psychosis is under control, and I lost a stone in weight. (I'm working at losing the rest, and it's coming off.)

I would say if it works for you, it's a very good drug. But if you start getting side effects talk to your doctor immediately. I do know someone who is on it, and is doing absolutely fine. So don't let my story scare you off... just be aware of the possible consequences.