Meowsers - The side effects that you are mentioning usually occur at doses higher than 6 mg/day. When Risperdal™ (risperidone) first came out the manufacturer was recommending dosages up to 12 mg/day. When we used these doses at the clinic we saw a lot of movement disorders and drowsiness.

When lower doses are used, I have found this drug to be very effective for stopping ruminating thoughts. We used it quite a bit as a mood stabilizer in people who had anxiety along with depression. When the docs started with doses of 0.5 mg to 2 mg daily, we did see some initial drowsiness, but this went away within a week or two.

Sometimes the docs would slowly increase the dose every 3 or 4 days if necessary. This slow upward titration of the dose did help to minimize drowsiness. We also gave the Risperdal at bedtime, so the drowsiness was even less an issue.

As for blood pressure problems caused by the drug; I can say that I only remember it being an issue in one or two people, and again, these people were taking larger doses than the docs prescribe today.

As far as mood stabilizers go, Risperdal is one of the better ones, and it's side effects are minimal and if you do initially experience them, they do fade rather rapidly over a week or two.

I hope that this is of some help. - Cam