Talk:Risperidone

How it'll propably make you feel and why?

Risperidone is a very strong dopamine blocker (antagonist) that is to say it inhibits functioning of dopamine receptors. It reaches peak plasma levels quickly regardless of wheter it is administered as a liquid or pills. The strong dopamine-blocking reaction is known to make some people feel nauseous if you do anything that normally triggers the dopamine reward, such as eat a good meal or have sex. Risperidone is metabolised fairly quickly so this potential for nauseation subsides usually in two to three hours.

• This will not happen in every case, and if these side effects do occur in an individual they can just as easily be produced by any other anti-psychotic as they are all dopamine blockers! I am quite familiar with this medication as I take it, the only undesireable side effects it has ever produced for me are muscle stiffness/pain and weight gain. Both of which can easily be handled (stiffness by reducing the dose and weight gain by watching the things one eats more carefully). -- RTC 08:11 Apr 10, 2003 (UTC)

• If you want to include this comment someplace, put it in the article on antipsychotics, not here. -- RTC 23:11 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)

• • I concur to this. Most the side effects I experienced with Risperidone passed after the first to days of taking it. I am however interested (and cannot find anything) in the side effects that occur when going off the drug. I have decided to go off the medication and these withdrawl symptoms are of my curiousity. I however cannot find anything on the subject.

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But this _is_ specific to Risperidone, since it has such a fast attack and it's such a strong dopamine blocker. Sure if you start with 0,5mg and after a week go to 1mg and after a week go to 2mg, which is the clinical dosage in these parts of the world at least, your neural nets will get adjusted as you go along.

If you think dopamine blockers are essential for your well being you should consult your phycician about getting on Olanzapine (expensive but works really nicely for most ppl) or if you're feeling suicidal or otherwise totally chaotic then Clozapine might work well. Also might want to consider googleing for "DHA fatty acids and scitthhzophreniernia or whatever the whitecoats diagnosed you with this time" There is propably something on this combo in the Lancet archive, but I'm too busy to dig it up now. Fatty fishes contain a good dosage of DHA. Happy healing. Tzuhou 10:45 Apr 15, 2003 (UTC)

I have Bipolar disorder and take Depakote and Risperdal. I am hyper-sensitive to most antipsychotics and actually had to reduce my dosage of Risperdal from 1mg to 1/3mg (I went completely stiff and had severe pain at the slightest movement at 1mg. Even 1/2mg causes stiffness and pain after a couple days). When they tried Stelazine once I had bad akathisia at all dosages they tried. One 2mg tablet of Trilaphon was all I could tolerate. The Risperdal works very well, and I like the side effect of more dreaming that I get from it.

I made a few wording changes and a spelling correction. I'll leave it the way it is for now... -- RTC 23:32 Apr 15, 2003 (UTC)

Thanks for the edits, it's much better now. I'm totally schitzo. I've been through DSM-IV-TR (though ICD is the authority in this part of the world) playing white and black coat at the same time and I have to say that I've found numerous combinations to diagnose myself schitzo without even lying as playing white ;) but hey, that's life. Last time I was in the loonie bin they put me on valproic acid too, but I didn't like it much. It made me really apathic. Perphenazine is fun: you never know what is it this time, if you know what I mean ;) I used to play chess with this old guy that went to the ward once a month to get a 1mg injection of perphenazine. It's an amazing pharmaceutical *grin*. I take 16mg nowerdays and it actually works :) --Tzuhou 00:06 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

I'm not completely satisfied with the article, but it no longer says the things that bothered me most. I'll let others nitpick it more if they want to.

Fortunately for me, the valproic acid was the first mood stabilizer they tried on me, and it started working within the first week (I take 1500mg of it). Anything over 2mg of perphenazine however gave me akathisia almost as bad as the Stelazine did, but it worked OK for the about 5 years that I took it... however it seems to have given me a bit of Tardive dyskinesia (which showed up in the first few weeks after switching from it to Risperdal)

Hope things work out... -- RTC 00:22 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

Yup. Valproic acid is good for cutting off the worst (or best, depends on how you look at it) mania.

Well, it was a severe Manic psychosis and needed to be cut off quick! -- RTC 01:57 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

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BTW, I looked up Olanzapine and it is a dopamine blocker (as well as a blocker of several other neurotransmitters). -- RTC 00:37 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

Sure, but it's much more mellow. Levels in plasma stay pretty constant due to slow biological absorbation (even as velotab, which is amazing, because it dissolves in a second when you put it in your mouth) and slow exit. I think it blocks serotonin too, though I'm not sure.

Right, serotonin and several others. -- RTC 01:57 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

I just remembered that Olanzapine has this fairly unique property that the parts of human brain that are most dopamine ruled are really good at compensating for the blocking reaction of the drug. This is researched info.

Do know of some good online pharmacology catalog that's freely accessible? akathisia? what's that?

Akathisia usually manifests as a total inability to sit still. The person is always pacing. If forced to stay still usually the person gets very nervous and anxious. I sure did. One guy I know got it so bad once that he smashed a hole in the wall with his head before they realized what was happening and gave him a large dose of Benydrl as an antidote. -- RTC 01:57 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

Maybe you should write an article on Akathisia?

OK, done. -- RTC 03:02 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)

I once talked with this girl who is a dementia nurse and she told me that no elderly patients ever get risperidone, which is good to hear. <POV>Subjectively I think that the drug a form of neurochemical violence.</POV>

They have to be careful with any antipsychotic and the elderly. -- RTC 03:02 Apr 16, 2003 (UTC)