Risperidone dose

[HaNNaH]

hi everyone here, to be honest, I was thinking about posting this thread for quite a while now, however I just couldn't as I was not in the right frame of mind for a good while now and I didn't wanted to post some bull sh*t while I was in that mind. since it seems that I am better now, I wanted to share with you this… I mean, my situation, and here it is:

 

my doctor has prescribed me 0.5 mg of the risperidone, this has been exactly 2 months ago, and by putting me on this medication he was trying to reduce my 'irritability' to go along with hopefully reducing the anxiety too. I've started to take it and been taking it religiously but still, I could not feel/ see any difference or at least surely nothing noticeable, so it surely didn't worked for me and we had something to do…. after approximately one month and a half of being on this dosage with nearly no changes at all, my psychiatrist has taken the decision to dramatically increase my dosage over 3 weeks. I mean, he wanted me to take a 4 x time bigger dosage than the one I was taking… I mean, from the 0.5 mg I was to 2 mg in the evening. of course, such a change should make a noticeable difference.

 

so well… I've been at 1.5 mg for one week now and to be honest with you, I am truly feeling much less irritable as well as I'm able to feel that I feel slightly less anxious in situations I have previously been quite anxious either. and so, the reason why I am here sharing my story is to make you understand what's going on with me and I want to get a bit of your help if that's possible… I have this question… do you think that I should talk to the shrink and maybe hold at the 1.5 mg since I am feeling how I feel, or in your opinion it is going to be a good idea to go ahead and to get my dosage higher to 2 mg and to check what kind of effect this is going to have on me… but yeah, I also should note here the side effects ('cuz  they are extremely important when talking about the dosages of a drug, isn't it?) - so about them I can tell that except from the occasional lightheaded feeling that I get from time to time, there are absolutely no noticeable negative side effects that I have got (again, even if they are there, I don’t know because they are not noticeable). either way, I am currently just wondering what recommendations you guys might have for me and my situation… I guess I ask this because browsing through this forum I have noticed that there are a lot of people who have been through the process of getting their dosages right and so I do know that it can take some time and also practice, experiments and so on and so forth.

 

so thank you very much in advance, I hope I will get some advices.

 

[Symone]

hey there OP, first off I want to say that it is really amazing that the medication you are taking is now working well for you and that the increased dosage does make a difference in making you feel better and not as it used to work as it did with 0.5 mg. also what's amazing is that you've succeeded in raising up your dosage to make it more effective but the side effects still keeping at bay, so an medication that works and is still not giving you any side effects that's an really good medication that IMO, you should stick with. but even so, even if the medication do seem to work well without noticeable side effects, I still should say that from my personal experience… it is typically the best thing to keep (especially that type of medication) at the lowest possible dosage as long as you are doing fine. it depends on how you feel. if you feel that you can continue on living and functioning with the dosage you are currently on then I don't see why you would want to raise up your dosage. if you feel alright, there's no reason to make a change. but again, it depends on how you feel. anyway, I do think that it is perfectly acceptable if you are going to go and talk with your psychaitrist who has put you on this medication and to ask him (or her) if you could hold at this dosage you are currently on for one more week or so and re assess. I mean, if I would be you then I guess this is what I would personally do and msotly because you can always and at any moment increase the dosage that you are currently on, in case it turns out that it is not being effective or it is not as effective as you want it to be to be functional.

 

again, that's only a thing to consider as I am not you and I am not sure how exactly this current dosage is working for you. in the end, I really hope very much that this medication (and even current dosage) is going to continue on working well for you… however, what you should consider yourself is: should your anxiety remain only a little bit improved, or you may want to consider to try to increase the dosage that you are now on so the anxiety would get improved even more. and again, I do not want to tell you that you should or you should not change the dosages, but there are always changes that a further increase in dosage is not going to work and the anxiety levels would still continue to be only 'slightly' improved while the side effects might get bigger and severer. or it might be vice versa. there's always a chance for anything to happen. in the end of it all, you do know your body the best, so just listen to your body. I wish you good luck and I hope this is going to be helpful to ya.

 

[Ardsomal]

I've read this part

but even so, even if the medication do seem to work well without noticeable side effects, I still should say that from my personal experience… it is typically the best thing to keep (especially that type of medication) at the lowest possible dosage as long as you are doing fine. it depends on how you feel. 

<br />and I should add here that this is an indeed an amazing recommendation that I would take in consideration! resperidone it is one of the worst offenders with the regards to the extra pyramidal side effects of the most unpleasant types like for exactly the restless leg syndrome (which is a form of the partial akathisia) and even to the full blown akathisia as well which it is the downright terrible if you do not have temazepam or some other really potent and really quick acting benzodiazepine handy to use if you do start feeling anything like that. exactly as a lot of cops out there (or maybe all, I am not sure) that are being forced to be zapped just so they do know what this is feeling like… I would recommend that absolutely all of the psychiatrsts out there to be forced to experience one akathisia attack (which by the way, is really possible because it can be very easily induced by the Haldol medication) and then be left to ask (or better said, beg and pled) for an Ativan drug during the next 10 to 15 minutes or even more (as there are people having that attack for more than 15 minutes). if such (agree with you that they are barbarian but I still think - helpful) method would be applies then I do think that in this way, those psychiatrists are going to think twice and even thrice about exposing anybody to that thing… when they are going to remember about that living hell that can last for even one entire day… that's when the 15 minutes would be enough for them to think about it more..</p>

 

[Scouned]

well… look… is bang on the money with this one. I had planned to go back to college earlier  in that year until my best friend has died in a car crash… I guess I shouldn't explain how I was feeling and how in general I was myself… so I have went to the psychiatrist and have explained her everything, I have told her that I am not able to concentrate on anything, that I am not able to cope with it, I can't care the whole lot and that generally I am miserable. well, I have counted and from as much as I can remember (believe me or not) I have been put on 71 (yeah, seventy one) of different medications and I still have not been able to cope well with most of them and mostly because of the panic disoder I had, because of the extreme nervousness as well as anxiety and so on and so forth… and so, then later she has decided to put me on this drug you are talking about respirone (which is also known as respeva here) saying that this might be a good stuff for me. and so, I did have started to use this one… I do see that you were specifically asking for the respirone right dosage, and unfortunately I am not really able to remember what has been the dosage I was on it, however what I can remember is that after a day or 2 akathisis, nervous as well as then some. I have been boxing for some time, however I have chosen to body build later and power lift, as I have found some years ago it has decreased my depression a little bit.

 

I remember very well that day when I have got home from my work and it has been the squat and the dead lift day. I have warmed up and I have stood under the squat rack for my first set of 140 kg… I have simply knocked out my ten reps and then reracked. that is something that you never forget… that's because it felt like the gates of the hell has wide opened and the forces from the inner hell put their hands on me… that's because what has followed has been a torture… it was something that I never experienced and I hope nobody ever would. my breathing has ceased, and not from being winded but just I simply could not breathe in our out. I have then ran out outside in order to get myself some fresh air and then slowly and slowly been gasping and gasping for air. and it wasn't that kind when you get out and everything is fine, this thing has lasted for approximately an hour or so on and off. trust me I am not exaggerating but I have been thinking that I am dying… really. as simple as that I was thinking that I am now dying !!! that's what I was thinking assuming how I was feeling.

 

now, to make the long story short (as it seems that I've already made a too big post), I have went back to her and she has given me the kemadrin (which is a Parkinson drug - google it if you want) in order to help me with those horrible SIDE EFFECTS that I was getting through. then later one week later, it has been getting even worse and I have finally stopped on using it… it has taken approximately 2 months (but I remember that it took even more than 2 months) to recover from the trauma that this tablet has put me through when I should have been grieving the loss of such a good friend… (as I said, my best friend, best mate!).

 

either way, what I was trying to tell you guys that you've got to be very and very careful with this thing as it really can be dangerous if not used properly. so I hope very much that you're not going to experience what I've got, OP and that your experience with this medication is going to be a lot much better than what I had. good luck to you all!

 

[Ardsomal]

umm… are you sure that you were given kemadrin? I mean, I am sorry, I don't want to say that you don't know what are you talking about, however I just try to say that giving kemadrin to somebody in order to treat akathisia it is pretty much the same as to give to somebody morphine in attempt to treat an opiate overdose… that's because the kemadrin it is producing the extra pyramidal activity itself so you said that later you noticed that you were in and even worse condition so that doesn't shock me at all! in fact, that's something normal - it would have shocked me if you said that it actually helped you. it just can't help with that! I have no idea how that doc. gave it to you in your condition… it really does appears that psychiatrists are the only physicians that are not aware of this and that's even though it need to be at least intuitive for anybody who is having at least some basic biochemistry knowledge, like for example the med school students that they once have been, of course. so I just can't explain how it happened - I just find it to be so so strange.

 

[Morne1985]

well, I wouldn't recommend risperidone to anybody but since I am not a doctor or medical professional, I wouldn't say that you should listen to me instead of your doctor or anybody else who is licensed. either way, the reason why I wouldn't recommend risperidone it is because it has given me seizures… I have been treated for the myoclonic as well as absence seizures in the time that I have been on that medication… since I was still a minor during that time, there were nobody out there who would listen to my theory that this drug has been responsible for that and it was the one that caused it all. I imagine how my neurologist was feeling when he found out that I, being a minor, was right and he was not… that's because I still find it funny that as soon as I have been taken off this medication, my neurologist has suddenly agreed with me! anyhow… now I just need to lit it as a medical allergy… I am pretty sure that this is not going to be the case fire for you, however I still would be aware that there IS a possibility! and also, please, just in case you do find yourself to have seizure kind of symptoms then please, see about to get an EEG, please! (that is what has confirmed mine, beyond the existed extra pyramidal movements as well). so please, if you do take this drug, be extremely careful and also, I do agree with whoever said that the best way is to take the lowest effective dosage!