Mama, I was on Risparadol along with a LONG string of other meds at his age- some including ridilin, natriptolin, Prozac, and risparadol- I was a zombie and also wet the bed quite alot, the meds caused me night terrors (so I was told) THAT doc was med happy, I had no life at all, I was either a zombie or compleatly lost in psychosis-
My mom eventually wend me off all meds except risparadol and i did tons better, though, the bed wetting didnt stop until I was about 9 or 10

I would never judge a parent for medicating or not medicating if the child has been dx'd - My then 5 year old went without medication or a formal dx until she was 18 and I do wish in a way that had been different. Her younger sister was dx'd at 11 with ADHD - I medicated for 2 years and then decided to try it no meds . At 15 she was dx'd BP2 and put on Rispardol - She was miserable for 2 years. She was so out of it that when she gained her freedom at 17 she promptly tossed the bottle and to this day remains med free - not a good thing in her case.

If I had to do it all over again I think I would have taken them both in as children - I am BP1 it is heriditary, their fucked up sperm donor is dx'd sociopath and my brother is too. I would have had them do cognitive therapy and go from there

I took this drug it made me like zombie what it really did was make me not care about anything . IM a mature adult its up to you how you medicvcate your child I respect that. Just letting you know what it did to me it took a few months before i came back . after stopping it

I don't know what to tell you honey. I had heard that Risperdal was not supposed to be given to children. My friend's grandaughter was on it and it made her worse- she has autism. needless to say, my friend took her off of the med and she improved. Maybe you could ask if y'all could try a different med. I'm not gonna tell you what to do. but I will say a prayer for you and your son.
Gentle hugs
Andrea

Honestly I would wonder about it, I think it is normal to.. Why not ask about it and see what he says? The only thing I would really be worried about is the fact that risperdal increases prolactin (it makes women lactate) so what does that do to a growing boy? You may want to bring it up and sit down and have a big discussion about that.. :hugs: Have they done sleep studies on him?

I have a friend whose mother was bipolar way back in the 1940-50's before they knew what to do. My friend is ADD, but anyway, she wet the bed until she was about 15 because of her mother yelling at her. My friend, SCC says that she liked it when a friend invited her over for the night and placed her on the couch with a sheet. This somehow broke SCC from bedwetting because she felt the coldness of the wet against her skin.

Rhisperadol-I can't comment on that part of it.

If one must medicate, then what about a mild form of anti convulsant and lots and lots of constructive talk and play therapy with a highly constructed and pleasant schedule at home?

Ignore this if it sounds babbly.

Always good to get a 2nd opinion from another doc. Best of luck.

One thing I will say is to have hope. Medication is okay if used properly and not too much, and tender ages are really difficult to judge about. On some forums, it is considered criminal to medicate a child. But, I'd say that the best medicine is a good, solid compassionate therapist who sees the strengths of the child, a good therapy group for play or adolescent therapy and supportive, solid, low key people in the life of the child. When I was little, Mr. Hawks would take me horseback riding. I was a kid with severe ADHD and undiagnosed bipolar with borderline tendencies. The horseback riding was one of those things that saved my life.

Mistakes are going to be made. This is inevitable. What cannot be given up is hope and endurance, to keep climbing. I can tell you of countless former drug addicts and crazy folk from my family and home-town who broke the curse with meds, therapists and positive, non eugenic people who cared. You want people who think outside the box. I have an example, but it is mental retardation, not mental illness, but it gives and example of people who empowered their son.

"Kevin" lives near Ole Miss. He is a dishwasher. He reads on a 6th grade level. His parents bought him a little condo near to the Union. He walks about a mile to work. The parents take his check and pay his bills for him, but his house is HIS. Then, he also has a girlfriend. The GS is slightly below "Kevin." "Kevin" is about at 75 or 70 and his gf is at about 50, but anyway, they are both (you know-unfortunately sterile) but they enjoy each other in a relationship. She also lives in a subsidized housing project with well built, cute apartments with little places to sit and lots of cool landscaping.

Support structure, compassion, the design of living, vocational and lifeskills training, intense therapy, and forward thinking teams of mental health and social work people can MOVE MOUNTAINS. BUT-THEY HAVE TO CARE and that's what is often missing in programs.

And genetics isn't everything. Every single person in my family is crazy-every single one. During the winter of 1993, MS was in an ice storm. Christopher says that the burn of wanting another drink was in his blood and on his lips. He--went--out--with a chainsaw and CUT DOWN DOWNED TREES AND MOVED THEM OFF THE ROAD, AND HE DID THIS TO AVOID A DRINK. He kept going to AA until he got it right.

The whole family is crazy. Alcoholism, bipolar, learning disabilityes, ADHD, conduct disorders, possible PDD-NOS and the fringes of autism. We are collectively:

--part time organists
--map sales clerks
--Executive Assistant/Program Directors
--Hydrologists
--Burger flippers
--Draftsmen
--Artists who work with stained glass
--Dancers who dance in the Gay Olympics
--Lawyers graduated from Columbia who work at Hughes Hubbard and Reed
--Phd's
--Teachers, instructors and professors
--Civil Engineers
--players of strategic games

We are crazy and when I mean crazy, I mean super-duper-nutty crazy wacko. It has been the sheer will and the use of the psychiatric system and God that we are still here. We see hallucinations, too, but because dad is part Cherokee, we don't allow the hallucinations to bother hin.


My hugs and love go out to you. Keep trucking. Keep finding solutions. Research on how to help stop the urination stuff. There might be meds to help with urniation as well, or catheters which are portable or adult comfort diapers--lots of cool stuff out there to help out bed wetting and other issues. Don't give up.

Don't give up.
Don't give up.
Don't give up.

Today, someone called me a freak. I said to myself:

Don't give up.
Don't give up.


Every day that I live is an act of rebellion.