Aggression - risperidone prescribed - does anyone know about this drug?

[Georgina N]

Hello,
Does anyone have experience of risperidone, my husband has just been prescribed this medication by psychiatrist as he has become more aggressive [ possibly due to TIA ].

Have just had to pay for a new television at the nursing home as he put his fist through the screen the other day.

The day before , he hit another resident and also one of the staff, it is a wonderful home but `I am worried that if this continues he will be at risk of being placed in psychiatric ward!

All this happened when I was away for a much needed break for 5 days......!

 

[Izzy]

Hi there. My mum was prescribed the lowest dose of Risperidone just before Christmas. This was to try to reduce her agitation at around 'sundowning time'. I think it has more or less worked. She isn't agressive normally but due to UTIs she has had two incidents of fairly aggresive behaviour. The respiridone seems to have helped with this. Izzy x

 

[May]

Hi there
My Mum was prescribed risperidone to help with aggression after we asked for her to be taken off Haliperidol eek It worked well and has continued to work for over three years now with no harm or side effects, The doctor does review on a regular basis and she is now on a very low dose which manages the sundowning she still has although she is now in the latter stages of this damn disease.Hope it calms your husband and that he will be more comfortable with himself.
Take care

 

[Canadian Joanne]

My mother was on risperidone for at least a couple of years. We decided to switch her to quetiapine because her blood sugar was rising and she was gaining weight. While she was on it, I found it did help with her agitation and hostility. Just keep an eye on your husband and read up on the med.

Here's a good website with correct info:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a694015.html#side-effects

 

[Nebiroth]

It will probably take a while for beneficial effects to appear - this is usual with anti-psychotic medicines.

It may take a while to find a suitable medication and dosage, not all medications suit everyone and some people require different doses as well.

It is very much a case of "see how this goes" - there are no absolute or certain answers in this area because the individual responses can vary so widely.

As has been suggested read up on the medications but do not worry too much about the warnings; it is a requirement of law that leaflets list all possible side effects, even the ones that are very rare. You may also have heard that there are misgivings about the use of anti-psychotics for people with dementia. This is because it is thought they are sometimes over-used in care homes to sedate patients and also because there is some evidence they can increase the risks of stroke.

However, these things must be weighed up against the potential benefits. Clearly your husband's agression has reached the point where something must be done. If a suitable medication can be found then this will mean avoiding hospitalisation or placement in a new home that specialises in challenging residents.

Ultimately it might be necessary for your husband to enter hospital. It will be a last resort and only done if he is an imminent risk to himself or other people. Try not to worry about it too much - although an unpleasant experience (often worse for loved ones than for the patient) a hospital is sometimes the best place to find the correct treatment. People can leave completely changed and return to the previous care environment.

Have you had a chance to sit down and discuss al this with the psychiatrist? If not, you could try and make an appointment or write to him/her expressing your concerns. Or alternatively, your husband's GP? As spouse you will be counted as "nearest relative" and therefore have a right to be at least involved and informed about care decisions.

 

[Royalslady]

My Mum was prescribed rispiridone for the same reasons last year. This was the second type of drug tried (the first being quetiapine). Both drugs were too active for her - she would fall asleep whilst eating! This was even with very low doses. They did switch her to something else (can't remember the name but began with an 'A') and that did seem better for her - although by that time I think her condition had deteriorated to the point that aggression was the least of her problems.

People react differently to medication so this one may work for your husband - but if not, there are others out there, but you need to give each one a reasonable length of time to get into the system and be adjusted if necessary.

Hope things work out ok.

Pat

 

[Georgina N]

Update

Thanks all of you for your helpful replies. My husband was actually in hospital last year on a section 3 , he was there for nearly three months , I really want to avoid that again so am hoping that this drug will be effective!

So far so good , but he's only been on it for 4 days so a bit soon to judge,
Georgina xx

 

[sully.]

My husband has recently been put on this medication, he is on section 3 now, i am worrying after reading the side effects but he is on a very low dose.

 

[Grannie G]

Hello Sully

If your husband is on a very low dose he should be fine.
My husband was on a very low dose [and still is] of a different drug with similar properties and it really helped him calm down.
I hope you are all right. xx

 

[Sandy]

Hi sully,

This info from the Alzheimer's Society might help you feel a bit less worried:

The two drugs with the best evidence of effectiveness are risperidone and aripiprazole (Ballard and Howard 2006, Schneider et al 2006). Until recently, antipsychotic drug treatments have been used 'off-licence' to treat people with Alzheimer's disease. Now, one of these treatments, risperidone, has been licensed specifically for the treatment of severe and persistent aggression in people with Alzheimer's disease that have not responded to other therapies.

from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=200200&documentID=110

As part of harmonization procedures across Europe, the antipsychotic drug risperidone has been licensed for the treatment of severe aggression that is resulting in marked distress or risk and which has not responded to other treatments. The license only permits short term treatment for a maximum of 6 weeks. The Alzheimer's Society believes that this is a helpful development, as risperidone has a small but important place to play in the treatment of very severe behavioural symptoms.

from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1045

Take care,

 

[sully.]

Thankyou,im hanging in there..

 

[Wolfie]

possible side effect

After only a couple of weeks of Respiridone my husband had trouble going to bed, and getting up as soon as he woke, even if that was in the middle of the night. He's now taking Zopiclone to help his sleeping and we're monitoring the R'done closely for any beneficial effects.

 

[Clairby]

Risperidone...or sectioning...?

Well after admission into a CH a week ago MIL descended day by day into an ever worsening psychotic state for the last 2 days she's had to have 1 to 1 supervision and many things have happened ( she also hasn't slept in 4 days ) but this morning she smashed the fire alarm glass before attacking two other residents and trying to throw herself downstairs a pschogeriatrician made an emergency visit and rather than sectioning her, prescribed Risperidone which she took at 5pm. We had a phone call from the CH at 8pm to say that she appears calm, has eaten and drunk and been chatting happily to another resident. I don't know how long she'll be on it and what the long term (or indeed short term ) side effects will be yet but I shall be looking carefully and quizzing the staff. That said, we have MIL still in the CH and not sectioned. That's all we could want. I also have to say that the CH have handled things brilliantly and after my initial misgivings about it I have to say that although the fixtures and fittings may be shabby, the staff are excellent and above all, CARING ....