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 14 y/o DD was hospitalized for the third time this year, a week ago, at our local children's crisis stabilization unit.  She has been there once for bulimia and twice, including this time, for severe depression.  For 2 1/2 years she has been in therapy and on Prozac and Abilify which seemed to work very well.  Yes, she has had 3 brief hospitalizations, but each stay has gotten shorter and this time, for the first time, she actually came to me about her depression - major progress!  Then the psych at the behavioral center changed her from the P and A, to Risperdal the day she was admitted.  She had some issues with sleepiness for a day or so, but it got better.  Then on Tuesday we had a major meltdown like none other!  Over a very minor issue she started texting me that she hated me, didn't want to live with us, was going to live with a her friend S and we could list her as a runaway and she was not getting in the car when I came to get her from school.  DH and I were in panic mode.  Again, very unusual behavior for her.  She has since done much better, but still doesn't seem to be doing as well as she did on P and A.  Is this common?  We saw therapist yesterday who talked with her doctor (her psych) and she said to give it another week.  Does it get better with this drug over time?  Shouldn't she also be on an anti-depressant if she has depression as a diagnosis?  Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi, BioAdoptMom3 

I'm sorry that I have no experience with Risperdal (my son has been on almost every anti-depressant invented--currently it's Pristiq, which is working very well--but never Risperdal). I just wanted to let you know that it is great to see you posting, and I'm glad to see your updates, though sorry that your daughter is having trouble with her meds. Maybe the Psych Dr. is right, and just a bit more time will show that this is the right med for her... .I truly hope so!


It does sound like she has been taking some baby steps in the right direction, and progress has been made... .I hope that once this medication situation is rectified, that progress can continue. Other than the med problem, is therapy going well for her? Does using Validation, S.E.T., Radical Acceptance, Boundaries--everything you've learned--make a difference in your relationship with her, and with your family? In the end, I think she'll come through this... .and so will you 

Bio

My daughter was on this drug for a short time but we didn't see any improvement and her P didn't like it. I think the side effects are not great. I feel for you right now... .I think changing meds is the worst time for our kids. My dd has behaved like nothing I have seen before when going from one med to another so try to keep that in mind. Once she is at full dosage is when you will see real improvements. It is getting there that is the tricky part.

Dear Bio  My d now 21 was on risperdal for years it made her so tired and we would give it to her when she was really out of control per the docs orders.  One time I took it by mistake I felt exhausted for days and it was the smallest dose .  She is off of it now because she will not take it the only thing it did for her was to help her sleep and calm down and she would be so tired in the morning and sluggish like I said I took it by mistake and the feeling was terrible .  Not sure if this helped but that was our  experience .

Hi BioAdoptMom3,

I think it's a good idea to take the therapist's advice and stick to the medication for another week. It takes a while for the medication to start working so give it time. If it's still not working, then have a conversation with your daughter's psychiatrist about your concerns.

I read on another post of yours that your daughter had been diagnosed with BPD traits. That makes sense as she's only 14 and psychiatrists don't usually diagnose BPD until the person is over 18 because personality isn't full developed until adulthood (or that's what the theory says anyways).

I was thinking that your daughter had some BPD traits or was at least exhibiting mood swings from what you've posted. I'm guessing that her therapist has witnessed her mood swings so I think that's why her medication was switched-deal with the mood swings first... try to stabilize your daughter and reduce/eliminate the hospitalizations. You say that the length of the hospitalizations are getting shorter. That makes sense as hospitalization isn't really recommended for borderlines-they can become dependent on staff and start to regress instead of progressing. Hospitalization isn't the answer in the long-term... it's fine as a crisis/short-term solution but over the long term, people are much better off being treated in the community... living in the outside world and popping into therapy/psychiatrist/doctor as required.

I was on risperdal for mood swings as a teenager for a few months. I didn't find it effective at all. Looking back, I can recognize that therapy was going very badly at the time. I had an antagonistic relationship with the therapist (I don't think it was all her fault... I definitely made her job challenging). I changed therapists and found a therapist that was more validating as opposed to pushing change on me all the time and that's when I started to make progress. I realized by myself that I need to work on my anger-the anger was causing the mood swings in the first place. I had to learn how to de-stress, how to communicate better etc. My moods are pretty normal now but I still need to watch them at times-if I have PMS, then I can be snappy. I was told by my psychiatrist that it was just growing pains... that I would grow out of it. I'm really glad I did grow out of it because I hated being on mood stabilizers. They made me feel drowsy too at times.

Have to share my dd's experience with risperdal, not to help anyone out, but to hopefully add a smile to your face.  DD is 16.  She was on risperdal about a year ago, but dr. changed the med because dd was lactating (common side effect we were told) and dd's breasts became very sore.  Meds were changed to abilify and she was doing well.  Recently dd has been off and on meds at her choice over the last few months.  Had dr appt last week in an attempt to get dd back on her meds.  While at the dr appt, dd asked to go back on risperdal instead of abilify as "it helps me more".  Dr. said ok and wrote out the script.  Away we go and stop to fill scripts.  Daughter starts taking meds as prescribed and is a happy camper.  Finally found out the wish to change to risperdal... .DD came to me a few days after restarting risperdal and excitedly said she was glad she would have her big boobs back cause being on the risperdal gave her such nice boobs and all of the boys liked them.  Once again I was at a loss for words, but had a good laugh once dd left the room :).  So, risperdal works for each person in a different manner.  Have a wonderful day.

Thank you all very much!  Patience is NOT one of my personality traits and waiting has been hard, but she does seem some better now  :).  And Muffetbuffet, thanks for the laugh  :)!  I needed that tonight!