Risperdal Index | Expanded Brand, Generic & Availability ›
Crazy Meds Comprehensive Risperdal pages

This is our basic overview for Risperdal, and is a brief summary of what we know about it. Clicking on a “Read more…” link will take you to a page with greater detail. The Comprehensive Risperdal pages contain the information from all of the “Read more…” pages.

1.  Brand & Generic Names; Drug Class

US brand name:	Risperdal
Generic name:	risperidone
Drug class:	Antipsychotics

Read more about Risperdal’s brand & generic names, and availability

2.  Approved and off-label uses of Risperdal (risperidone)

2.1  US FDA approved use(s)

Schizophrenia in adults & adolescents; Bipolar 1 in adults, children & adolescents

2.2  Popular off-label uses

Augmenting SSRIs to treat OCD and/or major depression. Panic/Anxiety.

Read more of Risperdal’s approved & off-label uses

3.  Risperdal’s (risperidone’s) Pros and Cons

3.1  Pros

Stops the rage induced by a dysphoric mania or mixed state like nothing else, in anywhere from an hour to the next day, without necessarily having to knock you out.
Other than the fact it’s working you can’t even tell you’re taking it for most applications.

3.2  Cons

While its side effect profile is low at the low dosages, at the dosages required to treat the primary approved applications - schizophrenia and bipolar - it frequently does a number on your hormones. The rates for EPS & TD are higher than some standard antipsychotics.

3.3  Interesting stuff your doctor probably didn’t tell you

Risperdal is one of those drugs where the med you take isn’t the substance that does anything. Risperdal is metabolized by your liver to create the drug that actually does something, and that drug is available as Invega.
Read more of Risperdal’s pros, cons, and interesting stuff

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4.  Risperdal’s (risperidone’s) Side Effects

4.1  Typical side effects

The usual: headache, nausea, dry mouth, constipation, sleepiness and lethargy or insomnia and way too much energy. Most everything of these go away within a couple of weeks, although the sleep & lethargy or insomnia & being wired may take a little longer.

4.2  Uncommon side effects

Loss of libido, other sexual dysfunctions, swollen breasts, unexpected lactation (it’s especially unexpected when it happens to guys) and all sorts of other stuff related to increased prolactin and other hormonal wackiness.
The AP-induced movement disorders, especially tardive dyskinesia (TD) and extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). Risperdal is currently known as the worst AAP, and one of, if not the worst AP in general when it comes to movement disorders.
Those all seem to be dosage-related, so the higher the dosage the more likely / worse they’ll be.
Also heart palpitations, tachycardia and other cardiac weirdness

4.3  Freaky rare side effects

Rabbit Syndrome. Duck syndrome! Rabbit syndrome! Duck syndrome! Sorry.
Plus discolored feces, and increased pigmentation.
Read more of Risperdal’s side effects

5.  How to take and stop taking Risperdal (risperidone)

5.1  How to take Risperdal

For schizophrenia: Ortho-McNeil-Janssen recommends starting at 2mg a day, increasing the dosage by 1–2mg a day until you reach 4mg a day. If needed, keep increasing the dosage until you reach 8mg a day. Once stable you can adjust your dosage as required with a range of 4–16mg a day.
For bipolar disorder: Ortho-McNeil-Janssen recommends starting at 2–3mg a day, increasing the dosage by 1mg a day until you reach the target dosage of 1–6mg a day. Once stable you can adjust your dosage as required with a range of 1–6mg a day.
I don’t think I’m crazy enough to understand their math. The dosages we suggest depend on how crazy you are at the time and if you’re already taking something. If you’re not too crazy and/or taking something, try 0.25 - 0.5mg and increase by 0.25mg every 2–4 days. If very crazy, go with Janssen’s schedule.

5.2  How to stop taking Risperdal

Your doctor should be recommending that you reduce your dosage by 0.25 or 0.5mg a day every 4 to 5 days, if not more slowly than that. Like all antipsychotics, you can stop taking it all at once in an emergency situation (e.g. a life-threatening allergic reaction), but you should do that only under a doctor’s supervision.
Read more about taking and discontinuing Risperdal

6.  When will Risperdal (risperidone) start working?

6.1  How long until Risperdal starts working

Like all antipsychotics you’ll feel something the next day. Within five to six days you’ll know if this med is going to do anything for you. Various studies and trials have shown results in 2 to 7 days.

6.2  Chances of Risperdal working

For schizophrenia excellent for “simple” / “normal” schizophrenia, schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders. That is if you’ve tried a bunch of other meds and they haven’t worked, Risperdal probably won’t either. If Risperdal is your first med, go for it!
Odds it will work for bipolar mania - pretty good as far as antipsychotics go. If you tend to get dysphoric manias and/or mixed states instead of euphoric manias, Risperdal might become your best friend.
Read more about Risperdal’s efficacy & comparisons with other medications

7.  What Risperdal (risperidone) is best known for

Leaky tits. Young or old, male or female, anyone taking Risperdal, especially more than 4mg a day, has a good chance of lactating.
Also having the highest rate of TD & EPS of any atypical antipsychotic (although my money’s on Saphris eventually claiming that title).
Read more of Risperdal’s noted traits, effects, and warnings

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8.  Risperdal’s (risperidone’s) half-life & how long until it clears your system

Half-life: 21 hours clearance: 4 days
Drugs.com’s drug-drug and drug-food interaction checker
Read more about Risperdal’s pharmacokinetics & noted drug-drug & drug-food interactions

9.  How Risperdal (risperidone) works (the best current guess at any rate).

Risperdal is sort of like Haldol on steroids, and is a potent antagonist of the the serotonin 5HT_2A serotonin, D₂ dopamine, alpha-1 and alpha-2a noradrenergic, and H₁ histaminergic receptors. It is also a moderate antagonist for the 5HT1, 5HT5, and 5HT7 serotonin, and the alpha-2b and alpha-2c noradrenergic receptors. The broad swath of serotonin or norepinephrine action helps to explain why Risperdal is helpful for rage. The potent D₂, along with 5HT_2A and norepinephrine/noradrenergic blockades explain why Risperdal will give you porno boobs and make you shake like epileptic marionette.
Read more about Risperdal’s pharmacodynamics

10.  Comments

I love Risperdal, and I miss taking it. I still keep some around for emergencies. And if worse came to worst, I’d take it again, TD be damned. I’d rather permanently look like an owl blinking Morse code, and whose tongue is sending out its own lewd messages, than deal with the crazy I went through in 2002.
Read more comments
Read consumer/patient comments about & experiences with Risperdal

11.  Discussion board, PI sheet and other useful links

Crazy Meds’ Risperdal discussion board
Risperdal’s Full US Prescribing Information / PI Sheet
Useful Links

Risperdal Index | Expanded Brand, Generic & Availability ›
Crazy Meds Comprehensive Risperdal pages

Bibliography

Common and not-so-common misspellings. Because even Google needs help sometimes. And the least we can do is share the creativity expressed by people in their quest for information about neuropsychiatric medications.
risperidal risperidol risperidole resperidol resperidal resperidole resperidone respirodone

Date created Tuesday, 08 March 2011 at 14:08:23 Page Creator: Jerod Poore Last edited by:

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Risperdal Basic Overview is copyright 2011 Jerod Poore

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