As some of you know, I’m starting to taper off risperidone; it has helped me but it’s also played a part in my gaining a substantial amount of weight in the two years I’ve been on it and as I’m no longer experiencing positive symptoms I thought I’d see how I get on without it.
I was venting to my friend the other day after receiving some bad health news related to my weight and we got to talking about risperidone. Now, neither of us has a degree in psychiatry, but she brought up how her friend gained weight on the drug and said friend’s research on it led to her discovering that it’s sometimes given to anorexics to help stimulate their appetite so they’ll eat more and gain weight.
I was underweight at the time of admission to the psych hospital where I was first given risperidone, and I’m pretty sure some of my delusions at the time were about people discovering what I’m certain was an unspecified eating disorder I was struggling with at the time - I was barely eating and overdoing it with physical work at work on purpose in order to burn more calories.
I’m curious if I was given risperidone specifically and not a more weight neutral drug because I was so thin at the time. My friend suggested I call my doctor/nurse practitioner for my medical records so I can see if I was ever formally diagnosed with an eating disorder.
This doesn’t really change anything, I guess; just something I’ve been wondering about ever since the matter was brought up.
Thanks for reading. 