Risperidone

Does anyone take this anti-psychotic.I've been taking Olanzapine along with Venlafaxone for 2 1/2yrs now and recently my new psych. gave me a choice,to either increase the Olanz. or try Risperidone. Well, of course I went for the Risp on 260104(Monday).

What a disaster.......I have had all the 'common' side effects,headaches,hypotension and well, my sex drive when taking this was non-existent.Last night (without doc's consent) I changed back to Olanz. as I just couldn't take this medication (will let the doc know on monday).

Does anyone have any experiences of Risperidone and if you've used Olanzapine how would you compare the 2 ?

Cheers,Gemini

Gemini,

I've never taken Risperdone (I take it you mean it as in the brand name Risperdal) but I have taken Olanzipine (Zyprexa). Frankly, I hate Zyprexa. It works great for me mentally, but physically it's terrible. No one warned me about the severe weight gain that comes with it - I gained 20 pounds of pure fat in a month, which I am just now getting rid of, it makes me sleepy all the time, so I kept dozing off at work and no matter how much sleep I got, I'd still be a zombie. I want to switch to Geodan, which doesn't have the same mental effectiveness as Zyprexa, but as long as I take care of myself I tend to stay pretty stable. I'm glad it works for you, though! And I definitely understand why you'd back off the Risperdone - I would too. Yech. Where does it say that mentally stable means "drugged out"?

some of it's magic
some of it's tragic
but i had a good life all the way......
~jimmy buffett

Hi FearsomeAnna,

I wrote a nice long letter to post but it didn't post for some reason and because I'm impatient this one going to be shorter.Agree with you on sleeping all the time on Olanz.and I also put on one hell of alot of weight (20 kg's).The thing that put me off Risperdal was that some of my old horrible symptoms came back so I was (in my mind) left with no choice but to go back on to the Olanz.At least I can sort of deal with Olanz. side effects.

Good luck if you end up using the new meds and please let me know how things go.

Can you recommend a good diet, I've tried Atkins but it made me even more depressed.Do you know how the South Beach diet works??

Cheers ,Gemini

Gemini,

The South Beach diet works by restricting your carb intake but in a much more sensible manner than Atkins. Fact of the matter is that you NEED carbs for energy, which would explain why a diet like Atkins made you feel sluggish and depressed. The first two weeks of the diet are strict like Atkins and then you gradually start adding carbs back in. Or you could do what I do, which is don't worry about that Atkins beginning and just limit your intake of white rice, potatoes and bleached pasta (whole wheat is good). It's helped me lose that 20 pounds from the Zyprexa and I know that both my parents have lost about 20 pounds on it too without any real hardship. Works great!

Anna

some of it's magic
some of it's tragic
but i had a good life all the way......
~jimmy buffett

Thanks Anna,

Will look into this diet story abit more.I have joined a gym recently so maybe I should actually go (costs enough!).I suppose I could just eat sensibly but then Im looking for drastic results(me being impatient again).

Thanks for your help,
Gemini

P.S. seeing my new doc tomorrow,am I nervous or what !!

Gemini - Different people respond differently to medications. As a general rule (or IMHO, or not so humble opinion ) I find that Zyprexa™ (olanzapine) is a more powerful mood modifier than Risperdal™ (risperidone), but at the same time Zyprexa's side effects, at clinically effective doses, are more pronounced and bothersome.

I find Zyprexa is faster acting and can be used in emergency room situations, such as in manic episodes or psychotic breaks, where an effect is needed in a hurry. Zyprexa avoids many of the problems seen with high dose Haldol™ (haloperidol), the usual drug used in these situation.

Over the long term, Zyprexa is more likely to cause weight gain and it's associated problems (eg. hypertension, increased "bad" cholesterol [LDL], etc.) than Risperdal. Also, Zyprexa, in a significant number of cases, results in the development of Type-II diabetes; this is seen with or without an accompanying weight gain. Sedation is another effect of Zyprexa that is not seen as often with Risperdal. That being said, aside from Clozaril™ (clozapine), Zyprexa is the best mood modifier / antipsychotic that we have.

Risperdal has it's own set of problems, most of which arose because when it was introduced the dosages being used were much too high. At first, target doses for Risperdal in psychosis were in the range of 8mg to 12mg. Now we know that needing doses above 6mg per day means that perhaps a change in medications is needed. The main complaint of the older, "traditional" antipsychotics was that they commonly caused movement disorders called extrapyramidal syndrome, or EPS. Over time this could evolve to a permanent condition called tardive dykinesia. EPS could be controlled by using a class of medications called anticholinergics, which had their own set of problems. Risperdal, at doses above 6mg/day, also caused EPS in many people, where Zyprexa rarely causes EPS at any dose. I believe that Risperdal doses should remain under 6mg/day, but there are cases where higher doses are needed.

Another side effect of Risperdal is hyperprolactemia This is an excessive production of prolactin in a non-pregnant woman. Hyperprolactemia can cause a variety of reproductive problems; including irregular or absent menstrual cycles and inadequate production of progesterone during the luteal phase of the cycle. Galactorrhea is a common side affect of hyperprolactemia. This is an excessive production of milk (in non-pregnant women, and yes, sometimes in men), which can be secreted from the nipple by itself or with gentle expression of the nipple. Hyperprolactemia can also cause ejaculation problems in men. I can't remember if hyperprolactemia from Risperdal is totally dose-related, but I do remember that I saw it in people that were taking higher doses.

As I said at the outset, everyone is different and a medication that is a god-send for one person is another's private hell. I like to say that if a med works, stick with it, even if it means the occasional dose increase. In other words, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

One more or less reassuring fact with Zyprexa is that the increase in weight from it usually peaks after about a year on the medication, and any dose increase after this does one seldom see more weight gain.

I could probably go on for quite a while, but I have to move on. Sorry - Cam

Hi Cam,

You certainly know your stuff ! I didn't know about the diabetes link with Olanz. I have been eating a hell of alot of sweet things over the last year (mostly chocolate) and I do have high blood pressure so I think I should get my G.P. to check this out too.Probably jumping the gun (not a hypochondriac yet!) but it can do no harm.

Olanz. has helped to an extent over the last year so I dont know why I wanted to change to Risperdal.I certainly agree that certain meds work for certain people so I must just accept that Olanz. is for me and move on.

Thanks for your help and keep up the good work.
Gemini