Because my husband's behaviour in his care home has become unmanageable, his psychiatrist has now prescribed risperedon. I've been looking at the side effects and they are terrible. As he is unable to communicate, I'm desperately worried that he will suffer and nobody will know. I know that the care home would be able to cope if he had one-to-one care but that would need extra funding and it's already costing £50,000 a year. Does anyone have experience of risperedon or of getting funding for one-to-one care?
risperedon
- Thread starter Snowedunder
- Start date
I was in a similar situation with my husband. The care home unable to manage. 1:1 was put in place, but it made him worse, because he felt trapped; he couldn't relate to the people. He too couldn't communicate, but I knew from his reactions whether he is contented or not. He wasn't he was very agitated, and I found that distressing for him.
He was put on to Risperidone, something I was against, and would still prefer him not to have. However, it has made such a difference. He is calm and contented; what more could I ask? He laughs and tries to join in with conversations. The risks still exist, but I would rather he spent his days feeling positive and contented.
I find everything is a balancing act, but whatever decisions I make, I want him to be settled and contented.
This is just my view, but I hope it helps.
My husband has been taking it without any side affects. His behaviour was so bad that to be honest we would have tried anything, but so far he has had no trouble. It's worth a try as they can perform miracles in there behaviour.
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Thank you
Thank you so much for your encouraging reply. I've been so desperate since reading about all the dreadful side-effects. I'm just hoping that we have a positive experience too.
Thank you so much for your encouraging reply. I've been so desperate since reading about all the dreadful side-effects. I'm just hoping that we have a positive experience too.
Thanks for the encouragement
Hello Angiebails . After reading all the info on the internet, it's a great relief to read something positive about the effect of the drug. Thank you for that.
Hello Angiebails . After reading all the info on the internet, it's a great relief to read something positive about the effect of the drug. Thank you for that.
Dear Snowedunder, Be very wary of antipsychotic drugs, My husband was on Risperidone, and then later on Clopixol. I fought very hard to get him off these drugs because they were doing him no favours. In fact I am sure that they were responsible for taking the feet from him, he started dragging his feet and stooping almost as soon as he was given them. If you read about them on this site you will see that the government have guidelines about getting dementia patients taken off antipsychotic drugs, they were never meant for patients with this illness. It clearly says that they should only be used for 12 weeks, it took me a lot longer than that to get him taken of this horrendous drug. The difference in him was very evident almost as soon as they were stopped, he started to smile again, I could see some of the old George back, he always had such a pleasant personality, when he was well. It is my personal opinion that the damage they did was irreversible. Please do not let them keep him on this drug for too long, it is your right to have them stopped.
Everybody reacts differently to medication. Naturally I had to weigh up the pros and cons of Risperidone, and looked out for any negative effects. One of my choices is that he leads a happy shorter life, than an unsettled long life.
He was always a gentle person, so to see him being aggressive, tells me all was not well for him. To see Roger laughing and "chatty" makes it all worthwhile.
He was always a gentle person, so to see him being aggressive, tells me all was not well for him. To see Roger laughing and "chatty" makes it all worthwhile.
I am glad that Roger responded well to Risperidone. Has he been on it long? It obviously calmed him down and he can still laughand is chatty. Sadly it had the reverse effect on George and he was still aggressive even when on the drug, especially when they doubled the dose, which made me so mad, because it seemed to take the life right out of him. He is much better now, he has been off it for a year now, and I could not be happier.
I am sorry to hear that George reacted badly to Risperidone. Roger was on it, then it was stopped for a time, but he's back on it again now.
I hate the idea of him being on it but if it brings him peace, who am I to argue.
when I say he's chatty he can only really say yes and no and they are often the wrong answer too! It may well be that Roger is further on than George
I hate the idea of him being on it but if it brings him peace, who am I to argue.
when I say he's chatty he can only really say yes and no and they are often the wrong answer too! It may well be that Roger is further on than GeorgeMy Dad was on risperidone for a while, it helped calm him and had no side effects.......I must admit I was terrified how he would react at first but he was fine.
I agree with other posts, when things get so bad you have to way up the pro,s and cons, I would rather Dad was calm rather than difficult, agitated and aggressive as that was just not Dad.
I also think if you read all possible side effects for any medication including paracetamol it looks scary, hope all goes well x
I agree with other posts, when things get so bad you have to way up the pro,s and cons, I would rather Dad was calm rather than difficult, agitated and aggressive as that was just not Dad.
I also think if you read all possible side effects for any medication including paracetamol it looks scary, hope all goes well x
My husband has been on Risperidone since 2011. He was put on it because of the horrific hallucinations & paranoid delusions he was suffering from. He was literally living in a 24 hour nightmare from which neither he nor we could escape. His consultant was reluctant to use anti-psychotics because of the risks, but eventually had exhausted all other avenues, and felt that William was also under significant risk because of the stress he was under - and that things were becoming very dangerous for us because of his delusions.
Starting him on the Risperidone was like flipping a switch to turn off the paranoia and hallucinations. No more hearing voices screaming at him, no more seeing evil children in the trees throwing things at him, no more "men" living in the house/garden/attic etc. The consultant tried a few times to reduce the dose, but each time the hallucinations came straight back. Thankfully, William has suffered no ill-effects from the drug.
As with all medications, the list of side effects given are for the side effects that people may suffer. Not everyone does. But like all medications, you have to weight up the pros and cons. For us, the risks of the possible side effects were well worth it for the quality of life it gave William. It meant that he had two good years at home, when he was happy and contented, before the natural progression of his dementia meant he needed more care than I could give him on my own, and he entered full time care in September.
Starting him on the Risperidone was like flipping a switch to turn off the paranoia and hallucinations. No more hearing voices screaming at him, no more seeing evil children in the trees throwing things at him, no more "men" living in the house/garden/attic etc. The consultant tried a few times to reduce the dose, but each time the hallucinations came straight back. Thankfully, William has suffered no ill-effects from the drug.
As with all medications, the list of side effects given are for the side effects that people may suffer. Not everyone does. But like all medications, you have to weight up the pros and cons. For us, the risks of the possible side effects were well worth it for the quality of life it gave William. It meant that he had two good years at home, when he was happy and contented, before the natural progression of his dementia meant he needed more care than I could give him on my own, and he entered full time care in September.
