I am in the process of lowering my dosage of Risperdal. At one point I was on 4 mg a while back. I went down to 3 mg and stayed at that dose for a long while - months or so. Then I stayed at 2.5 mg for a good long while (good dose for me)
Now I am on 2 mg of Risperdal - been doing so - so at this dose for a while, but yesterday I did not feel so great - I was edgy - pretty paranoid and felt a bit off center. My therapist, who knows a lot about meds reminded me that antipsychotics like Risperdal are not exclusively for psychosis control - they work well for stabilizing mood and anxiety - I now know why my pdoc insists that I stay at a certain dose for 2 months or so. Success is not measured by staying on a low dose of antipsychotic - it all depends on how you are feeling and doing no matter what dose you are on.
I was so focused on lowering my dosage that I ignored how I was really doing compared to a higher dose like 2.5 mg - this seemed to be a very good dose for me at the time.
at 2 mg of Risperdal I still dont have hallucinations or delusions, but it seems like my motivation to go out and do things has diminished, I feel a bit more paranoid and i just feel more off center and anxious- unfocused especially when I am in a store - shopping etc…
I see my psychiatrist in about 2 weeks or so - I am going to ask her a lot of questions about my low motivation and general emotional discomfort - spaciness and paranoia - I have to be honest with myself - I may have to raise the dose back to 2.5 mg it kind of seems - I was not as paranoid and anxious at this dose - I felt more with it -and grounded.
To be honest I am a little dissapointed - but I am not defeated. I was so excited about going very low dose on my antipsychotic that I lost focus of the bigger picture - Success is not measured by how low of a dose you are on.
Its all about how you are doing and feeling at whatever dose you are on.
This post really hit home for me -
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