Which one of my psych meds is the culprit of no menstrual cycle?

I haven't had my period in over a year now. About 6 months ago, my OB did labs and my hormone levels came back all normal...so wtf? He says its from stopping birth control but for this long?! Come on! I don't want kids now but someday. I have a feeling it's from psych meds. Seroquel 300mg at night, trileptal 1800mgs a day, klonopin.5 mgs PRN, and the one I think is causing this...risperdal prn. My pdoc wants me to take risperdal twice a day but I lied and I'm only taking it PRN because I'm scared of the side effects. A friend of mine was on it and it stopped her period too. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving not having to stock up on feminine products and ruining underwear once a month.

Anyone who else have this issue? How long? If I give up risperdal, how long till my body goes back to normal. I've heard this is a pretty common problem for risp.

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My period is like yours erratic.... Mines have always been up and down but more so since being on meds. I have just got mines after 4 months free of period. I take Depakote and Serequol

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I'm 3 weeks overdue on my period and I'm nearly certain it's from Risperidal. I still have cramps and other menstral issues (lots of pain) but no bleeding. I plan to talk with my doctor about this.

Keep in mind, depending on how old you are, you could also be experiencing signs of peri menopause which can start really anywhere from about 4-8 years before menopause hits.

Yeah it's risperdal. I was on 9 mgs in I went into that psychosis. Eventually went down to 3. It took me about 3 months after coming off it to start having my period again.

How often do you take it, and what dose do you take?

From the February 2001 issue of Psychiatric Times:

Antipsychotic Treatment and Menstrual Irregularity

This study by Ruta M. Nonacs, M.D., et al. (New Research 694) assessed the impact of treatment with typical or atypical neuroleptic medications on female menstrual and sexual functioning. The 30 female patients in this study were treated with either risperidone (Risperdal) (dosage range 2.5 mg/day to 3 mg/day), olanzapine (5 mg/day to 25 mg/day) or a typical neuroleptic. For four months, data regarding their menstrual cycles, sexual functioning and hormone levels were collected.

The results showed that menstrual irregularities occurred in 33.3% of women on risperidone and 16.7% of women on traditional antipsychotic medication. Women on olanzapine did not experience irregularity. These findings showed that menstrual irregularities are commonly associated with high prolactin levels and frequently occur in women treated with risperidone. Further study is needed to determine the extent to which these changes in menstrual function reflect risk for end organ sequelae.

It's a common side effect of risperdal. It can't be perimenopause, because that would show up it your blood tests (from your FSH = follicle stimulating hormone levels). But I would ask for a bone density scan, called a DEXA scan, to make sure you won't get osteoporosis when you get older.

Didn't you say you had a touch of aneroxica? Having low weight can keep you from mensturating. Sorry if I've gotten you mixed up with someone else.

I take about 2-4 mgs twice a week now. When I was put on it over a year ago I was taking it regularly.

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Yes but I've put on some weight and am doing, eating much better. Still struggling with bulimia and I do have a low BMI.

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Yeah that would do it. There are meds like metformin that will counter the side effect. You could ask your Dr about that. Good luck.

I definitely blame risperidone. My period was like clockwork until they put me on it. I was on a high dose daily. I haven't had a period since and I've been off it almost 2 weeks. I can feel my period brewing though so I hope it comes soon. I'm in agony. Are you still having any pain and cramping, just no bleeding? I'm sorry this is happening for you. I'd want to get the the bottom of it. I'd insist they agree it's the risperidone causing it.

No cramping, breast pain, nothing . Not complaining since I don't miss buying tampons but I still want to be healthy enough to have a kid someday. I just turned 29 so the clock is ticking lol

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Risperdal. I'm on Invega (the newer for of risperdal) and I haven't had my period since February 14. And before that in the fall I missed it for three months. I'm going to get lab work done to see if my prolactin is raised but I'm honestly not concerned if it is. I'm not planning on having any more children and from what I've researched it doesn't elevate your risk for cancer or anything like that (though I could be wrong). I'd much rather stay on the Invega. It works so well.

I had early onset menopause and some extremely bad periods that began in my early 30s. I saw a gyn at a big research hospital and while I did have physical issues that explained some of the symptoms (abnormal bleeding and pain) the gyn was very interesting because she talked about how years of being on depakote and APs could have caused all sorts of damage to my hormones that were impossible to know because there is very little research about the long-term effects of heavy-duty psychotropics on women's health. She was really interested in what theoretically could be the cause although we never really knew. I had a uterine polyp that was removed and I had a Mirena IUD placed which was hopefully to stop my periods until I made it through menopause. Instead the Mirena made my bipolar cycle wildly until it was removed as a last resort. 2 days later I was improving and not suicidal as I had been for 9 months. 3 months after that I had a hysterectomy and the pathology found that my tubes were deformed so that eggs couldn't pass through without getting caught which was, obviously, quite painful and in the "never seen that before" class of issues. No clue if the meds/hormonal effects were involved in that or not.

I just thought it was so interesting that they have done so little research in this area. My pdoc is at the same hospital and so she and my gyn emailed about the Mirena thing. Nobody had heard of it but as soon as it was so clear with me they found a few other cases almost immediately and now if a woman is bipolar and has a Mirena and moods can't be controlled at that hospital they are much more likely to pull the Mirena. It took 9 months to do that because everyone thought that the teeny dose of hormones was too small to cause problems but now we know that teeny may vary for women with bipolar.

When I was on oral contraceptives I stopped having periods, or had them every 3 months or so after while. I stopped oral contraception in 2013, it took a few months for my period to return but then it became fairly regular although the cycle is long, like up to 47 days. It went on like this until a few months ago, they stopped completley. I had bloods done almost 2 weeks ago & haven't heard back which means they're normal. I thought it might have been the stelazine but my prolactin must be normal. I am somewhat underweight now, lowest I've ever been actually, my BMI is like 18.7 so it may be that I'm simply underweight.