Does Risperdal kick in immediately?

[Stephanie2]

DS6 woke up raging this morning, still wanting to put DS2 in jail and trying to get him out of the crib to beat him up (full story in the steroid post, in case you are really bored - LOL). We gave him risperdal for the first time and tenex, which we use from time to time. Within 30 minutes he was quite calm and we even sent him to school (with an email to the teacher and I went and talked to the nurse - broke down crying, aye yi yi). The teacher said he was tired, she had him put his head on the desk most of the day. When he came home he was quite reasonable with me, cooperative, tired, even started asking for his brother (who I have out of the house with a sitter to avoid the chaos). He then had a snack and crawled into bed and went to sleep (Halleluia!). I have been told that risperdal takes a couple weeks to kick in. Has anyone had a different experience than that?

[MomWithOCDSon]

We used risperdal briefly before we began treating PANDAS, and yes, it kicked in immediately for our DS, also. Ultimately, we did not like the sonambulence he exhibited when taking it, so we discontinued after just a few days. But if the raging is relentless, I could see using it for a respite for all involved.

 

Now the tenex, I am under the impression that it does take a couple of weeks for THAT to kick in. For a while, our DS was taking Intuniv, which is basically Tenex, and though we saw some small impacts within a couple of days, it definitely took a while to really seem to impact him consistently.

Edited January 14, 2011 by MomWithOCDSon

[pathfinder]

Yes, risperadal takes effect right away ( differ by individuals) but it can take up to 2weeks and more to see its full effect.

[peglem]

For awhile we used risperdal "as needed." We had the M-tabs, the melt under the tongue kind and they worked very quickly-w/in 10 minutes.

[Stephanie2]

For awhile we used risperdal "as needed." We had the M-tabs, the melt under the tongue kind and they worked very quickly-w/in 10 minutes.

 

I didn't know that it could be used as needed. I am seeing now that it can for rages, b/c if what you all are telling me is right, it seems to have knocked out the rages pretty quickly. He also seems more reasonable, but yes his personality is shot and he is tired. He came home and went to bed.

 

I guess this one will be on our "as needed" list, b/c that's usually how we use psych meds anyway. It is much better than ativan from what I can tell. To be honest, usually nothing works as well as activated charcoal, but this time around I suspect there is more going on than just gut stuff.

[peglem]

For awhile we used risperdal "as needed." We had the M-tabs, the melt under the tongue kind and they worked very quickly-w/in 10 minutes.

 

I didn't know that it could be used as needed. I am seeing now that it can for rages, b/c if what you all are telling me is right, it seems to have knocked out the rages pretty quickly. He also seems more reasonable, but yes his personality is shot and he is tired. He came home and went to bed.

 

I guess this one will be on our "as needed" list, b/c that's usually how we use psych meds anyway. It is much better than ativan from what I can tell. To be honest, usually nothing works as well as activated charcoal, but this time around I suspect there is more going on than just gut stuff.

When we used it chronically, with daily dosing, it did not prevent the raging, in fact it became rather ineffective for anything. We used it "as needed" w/ the guidance of a psychiatrist, who informed us when they have emergency psychosis patients, they usually give a cocktail of antipsychotic (risperdal is one), benzos, and I can't remember the other one-

The only thing is, if you use it chronically, you have to withdraw it slowly so they don't crash.

[browneyesmom]

Hey Stephanie, got your email. Risperdal worked in 15-20 minutes for my DD11. I have not seen a single rage since she started taking it about a week and a half ago. I definitely can be used prn, but I would check with a doc on his case to ensure you are using the right dosage.

 

I'm so glad today was calmer for you.

 

Best,

Denise