I have been on Risperdal for over 6 years - I had no problems tolerating it at my maximum dose of 4 mg.
I previously tolerated well at lower doses of 2mg - 3.5 mg doses.
The problem started when I lowered the doses below 2 mg, down to sub therapeutic levels - the lowest dose I was on was at 1.5 mg - when my symptoms starting to come back, I raised it back up to 3 mg and higher, this was when I became agitated on it and experienced a fast heart beat, increased anxiety, maybe some added Akathisia as well.
I am really concerned that at doses above 2.5 mg its starting to affect my heart rate - I basically freaked out when my heart was pounding out of my chest at a fast pace!
The thing is that I probably need to go a bit higher, 2.5 mg is not quite controlling my mood symptoms completely.
I am going to talk to my pdoc about my concerns - She mentioned Invega, but it is basically an extended release form of Risperdal - thinking this wont help my case too much.
Anyone else have their Antipsychotic turn on them like this?
I find it a bit odd that I am no longer tolerating my med after years of having no problems with it in the past
I am taking Klonopin everyday - its working fine for me.
Increased anxiety is just part of it - I will get restlessness/ agitation and increased heart rate (this concerns me the most)
I need to talk to my pdoc, I see her next week.
She may suggest that I go on another antipsychotic - like I said before, I need to be able to go higher on my dose, and I am not going to suffer for it.
She needs to understand the gravity of it all
Do you smoke at all? Risperadone used to make my heart race about once or twice a month but it doesn’t happen anymore since I quit smoking. I know for sure that it was the combination of the nicotine and the Risperdal and any overload of anxiety that would always set it of. The doctor also prescribed Artane to help with the muscle tight jawing that was really bad and it damaged some parts of my jaw inside on one side , so the trihexyphenidyl (Artane) works well and might help with your heart racing. So quit smoking if you do and ask for some artane from your doctor for it is mainly prescribed for old folks who have Parkinson’s disease.
Risperdal risperidone is (for many pts) notoriously dose specific compared to the other atypical anti-Ps. For many pts, flexing the dose levels seem to cause problems once the pts are habituated to a stable dose level.
If your prescriber is resistant to swapping that particular anti-P for one of several other newer anti-Ps – all known to have less sfx issues than Risperdal – I’d get a second opinion.
I have seen a good ten pts “hit the wall” with Risperdal after many years on the med. I’d work with a board certified psychopharmacologist to look into alternatives.
@Comatose - Although I was experiencing some anxiety, the fast heart rate was a separate issue and was caused by certain doses of Risperdal - its a known side effect of this drug, it was not anxiety causing the pounding fast heart beat, I am sure of it.
@Mmister - I dont know if I will go back on Invega, it is basically the same thing as Risperdal, side effect wise
@tobornottob12b - I used to be a smoker, I no longer smoke - I am not willing to take Artane or Cogentin - I feel as if I take enough meds
@notmoses - My psychiatrist who is an excellent psychopharmacologist is open to prescribing me another antipsychotic, the problem is that the newer AP s like Abilify, Latuda, Saphris have some pretty potent antidepressant properties, I usually do not respond well to these stimulating drugs - Abilify was a fiasco for me.
I have a lot of anxiety in trying new drugs, I am very nervous of the side effects - but I may have to make that leap.
I can no longer remain on a drug that affects my heart rate to this degree
Wave i dont think its the same. I had restless legs on risperdal i dont on invega. I was always sleepy on risperdal im not on ivega,…so.
I do have problems with blocked nose i had this on risperdal and invega.
But Seroquel quetiapine does not (at least not for the vast majority of people who take the stuff). And using it may make it possible for you to get off Klonopin clonazepam because it pretty much accomplishes the same things when used sub-therapeutic PRN. It did for me, and I have seen the same thing many, many times in others.
Then you have the Russian roulette game of switching to another anti psychotic. I nearly died on seroquel and I wince whenever I see it mentioned here as a result.
I was on quetiapine before, it was great for quelling down my anxiety, but unfortunately gave me Hypothyroidism and increased my blood glucose levels too high - I had to get off of it
It sounds like you’re having some hormonal or blood sugar problems, vigorous exercise might miraculously cure you along with supplements that release growth hormone such as l-glutamine or l-arginine. You definiently need to do something about this because it might keep getting worse.