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lynnjd said:
I know that the common uses for Risperdal are for Bi-Polar and Schizophrenia, but has anyone been prescribed this for any other reason? I am going through a pretty rough patch of depression and was presribed in the past a 1/2 mg per day with 150 mg of Zoloft the last time I was depressed. I was told that it helps block the dopamine, which was not helping with my obsessive thoughts regarding my appearance and it also helps the Zoloft, or provides relief until the Zoloft starts to work.

Anyone else have experience with Risperdal being prescribed for different reasons? I'm going through a rough patch again and am starting to think I may need to get back on this combination since it helped last time (so that I could actually make my one on one therapy work).

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Hello Lynn!

Risperdal is used "off-label" for depression - especially treatment-resistant depression. It's also used for anxiety and insomnia. The usual starting dose is .5mg at bedtime. It can take up to a week to achieve a steady amount in your blood. If no improvement, usually doctors slowly increase the dose by .5mg every 7 days.

Risperdal works by effecting certain types of dopamine receptors and certain types of serotonin receptors - both type that are associated with decreasing anxiety. Zoloft effects mostly serotonin receptors.

Hope this helps!

Jerry