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My son was on Risperdal for a year and a half. It is not meant to be a permanent medication... and should be used in conjunction with actual behavior modification therapy... as in not as the only therapy being used. He was on two other medications prior to this one... and neither of them helped. This was our last hope before we found an outpatient day treatment.
We saw an improvement pretty much right away... in the span of time, after the 6 weeks it took for the medication to build up in his system. He stopped picking at himself in anxiety, he went to sleep at night faster, he wasn't all over the place out of control anymore.
He went on it when he was 8 1/2 and has been off of it since December. He's not as aggressive in his stance, not as moody, and is able to hold himself together much more now. I am especially grateful that he no longers picks his hands and face in anxiety.
No matter what you read on *any* medication that doctor's want to prescribe to children... hardly any of it is going to be recommended by the USDA, because they don't do clinical trials on children with the meds. So, just because a med says, not recommended by USDA... doesn't mean it isn't given or doesn't work for children. Dr's are to do labs on a yearly basis, checking glucose, lipids, and cholesterol.
Two major side effects that could happen, is heat stroke and diabetes. It is matter of making sure the child is always hydrated, doesn't overheat.. and the food intake. My son's appetite increased.. I didn't realize how emaciated my son was until after he went on this med. It took me looking at and comparing school photos. In his first couple of months, he went up to his paternal grandmother's house for 4 weeks and came back 30lbs heavier.
Deciding to put one's child on medication isn't always an easy decision... it was hard for me to agree to it. I knew that what was being done wasn't working and we needed to be a bit more aggressive. The field of psychology is still a relatively new science.. and is not always completely understood... what works for one child/ person in behavior/ talk therapy or medicinal therapy may not work for another person. It may not always be easy or rosy and sometimes it requires trying different medication combinations out to get what does work.
Good Luck to you!
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