Posted by SLS on October 12, 2001, at 10:20:14
In reply to Problems stopping Risperdal, posted by Daisy on October 9, 2001, at 9:06:13
> Hi,
>
> Has anyone had problems with stopping Risperdal? I've been taking a low dose (0.5 mg/day) for about a year now and would like to get off it because I've gained 15 pounds while taking it. But whenever I try to drop the dose to .25 mg, I get extremely irritable and angry within a day or so. I've persisted with it for up to a week with no improvement in the irritability before giving in and going back to my usual dose. I've also tried replacing it with another AP (Seroquel) with the result that I was exhausted, sleeping 18-20 hours a day, and extremely irritable.
>
> Anyone else had this happen? Is it withdrawal? I'd suspect that it was related to hypomania except that it also happened when I switched to Seroquel. Any input would be very much appreciated...
Hi Daisy.One possibility is that a depression is emerging that had previously been kept in check by the antidepressant properties of Risperdal. Very often, anger and irritability appear before depressed mood.
I couldn't guess as to what are the chances that this explains your experience. You might look at your case history as an index of probability. There are alternative explanations, but this is one worth keeping in mind.
Good luck.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:80737
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011007/msgs/81105.html