If you take or have taken risperdal, can you please tell me how well it worked for you? What side effects did you have? Did you gain weight? If there is anything you can share, please do. I’m supposed to start it, taking it half an hour before my husband works or before I’m to be left alone for any length of time in order to help keep everything at bay since that’s when I have the most problems. I’d love everyone’s input. I hate starting new meds.
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Risperdal is known for its sexual side affects. Was the case with me too.
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Rispiridal was only bearable for me combined with antidepressants
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@Jonnybegood Please, please tell me it will make me want to get some rather than turn me off of it.
Lol it can mess with your ability to have an orgasm. Male or female.
I want to be done with this, so bad. Like it wasn’t bad enough to gain weight. I’ve gained almost 30 lbs in the past 14 months. It started when my Saphris was increased to 12.5 mg. I had a brief reprieve when I went off Saphris, then it started back up when I restarted it. I didn’t make the association to Saphris at first, but there it is. I’m getting fatter and fatter with nothing to stop me. And now they are putting me on a med that will do this. I’ve always enjoyed sex but went through years with that issue already when I was on an antidepressant. I’ve just gotten that ability back and it’s been so nice… So here we are again. What else will they take away?
I realize that I sound melodramatic and whiney, but I’m just so sick of the meds. Better than being so scared all the time, but sick of them nonetheless.
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I wish u the best of luck @Happy_H
I Have never taken risperdal so I have little knowledge.
Wish I could help u
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It’s worth giving risperdal a try I’m just saying it’s the most common side affect.
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Risperdal is court ordered for me. It does wonders for my positive symptoms. I gained a lot of weight on it. Don’t know if their is a sexual side effect or not. I’ve been on it so long. I now take Risperdal as prn because I start having repeating negative thoughts around 8-9am. It crushes those bad thoughts. My case manager has told me it doesn’t make me gain weight. I told my pdoc about gaining weight and all he said was diet and exercise. I was 300 lbs on Risperdal before. It wasn’t fun.
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I take 4mg of it daily, I think it helped a lot with my intrusive thoughts, higher doses of it makes me very tired,
I also take 200mg of clozapine and 100mg of modafinil daily alongside it,
No sexual side effects on 4mg,
I have had different kinds of side effects on one type of medicine during different times so start it and see what it does for you,
However it has been one of the good meds for me,
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I am on low dose of rispredal. .!!! No sexual dysfunction fOr me…haha. . Take care @Happy_H
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I might have low libido from rispen, it could also be from depakine, I am on both so I don’t know which one is messing with my libido, i am 21… I should be more horny… anyway, rispen for me is the second ap I took and It shut down all symptoms almost completely
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Taking risperdal without cogentin is not a good thing. Learnt hard way.
Risperdal has unwanted side effects for me like sexual dysfunction and some weight gain.
It also helps zonk me out at doses above 3mg.
…But it also is excellent at tampering down positive symptoms.
I call it one of my miracle drugs.
Depakote is the other one.
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That sounds frustrating
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I took 3 mg of Risperdal for several years before recently switching to paliperidone (similar but less side effects).
Risperdal is the only AP that worked for me and kept working for me. Latuda worked for 2 weeks and then stopped working, and zyprexa worked for about a year and then was only useful for helping me sleep.
Risperdal can counter a lot of psychotic symptoms. Give it a chance to work 
Compared to other ap’s you shouldn’t gain nearly as much weight if you stay active.
I chose paliperidone because it has less weight loss and I take one pill every day instead of 3 (Was taking 3 1 mg tabs on risperdal). It’s just easier for me.
It’s definitely not a bad drug, and I wouldn’t worry too much about sexual side effects unless you notice a difference. I was just fine on it, though I don’t date, and sex consists of masturbation for me.
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im on 3mg and sleep about 12 hours. it makes u kinda hungry but im able to stay in shape with exercise. i have no libido.
@Happy_H, Risperdal pills are way different than Risperdal injections. First, I’ll talk about the pills.
Risperdal pills will completely stop your periods, if you are female. And you won’t be pregnant.
They will completely eliminate all your sexual feelings, sex drive, and destroy your ability to orgasm.
They might cause bad akathisia until you get used to them.
Your ability to dance and your rhythm will be totally taken away from you.
You might gain weight and it will be hard to lose this weight.
Men may grow breasts
You will suffer from very bad constipation and things like laxatives and stool softeners will be a fact of life.
Now, the injections:
The constipation is not as bad with the injections as with the pills.
You will still have minimal sex drive and feelings.
The weight gain will be more controllable.
Positive symptoms are more controlled with the shots.
The shots are very painful so be sure and use a lidocaine cream before hand.
The shots will interfere with your performance on a musical instrument. Specifically your technique and creativity.
The shots don’t interfere with a woman’s periods.
Men are not as likely to grow breasts on the shots.
You get less akathisia on the shots.
I was on Risperdal pills for many years and I’ve been on Risperdal Consta injections for many years now too. Hope you find this helpful.
It was my first AP. It eliminated my delusions within a week of being on it in the ward. I was no longer giving the finger to the ceiling lights…you know cameras and such. But it killed my libido and i gained weight very quickly.
I gained weight but the Lyrica made that 60 pounds come. Exercise if possible and cut portions to lose on meds. I’ve lost 13 pounds in 2 months by doing just that. You can eat anything with small portions. Your stomach gets used to less. Just make sure you don’t skip meals or the body goes into starvation mode and holds on to dat.
I was more tired with risperdal pills and enjoyed the shot. It was every two weeks but I have transportation issues so changed to once a month Invega. Mistake!
Risperdal got rid of a lot of my symptoms. No rage. A quieter mind. Less stress. More relaxed and able enjoy life like I never had before getting on an ap.
You can only try. Our experience is not yours. You may feel better like me or worse or no change. Give it a go, try a month, and see where it takes you.