Risperidone and Anxiety: What Users Say

• Jda...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 1, 2020

For Anxiety "Risperidone literally ruined my life. Before taking this drug, I was outgoing and social, but now I can't even talk to people or socialize. It also makes me super depressed and anxious. I wanna know if the side effects go away or is it permanent. P.S.: I wish I never took this drug."

• Jda...
• February 1, 2020

Risperidone "This medication literally ruined my life. I used to be outgoing and social, but now I'm just really silent. It makes me feel really depressed and anxious. I lost passion for the things I love like music and writing. I used to study finance, but now I lost my drive to study. I want to know if the side effects go away or if they are permanent. Does it also make anyone else quiet to the point where it ruins your life?"

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 6, 2018

For Anxiety "I was given risperidone after being admitted to the hospital last week because I couldn't take the anxiety anymore, even though I was already on medication. I couldn't eat, had gag reflexes, and unnatural thoughts. I had terrible morning anxiety and had to take lorazepam. After one night in the hospital, they gave me this drug, and the next morning I woke up calmer and hungry. They sent me home with a 0.5 mg, but the pharmacist made a mistake and gave me 0.25 mg instead. So for the last week, I have been still battling anxiety. Last night, I took the correct dose, and today I was able to stay home by myself and not rush out to be around people. I ate more and got stuff done around the house. Today is my first day back at work. I look forward to better days as I continue on this drug that saved me."

• mar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 23, 2019

For Anxiety "This drug should be the last choice, once you have tried all others. I don't recommend it. I was on 4 mg at night, and it made me sleep and eat better, but when you come off it, it's a nightmare. I'm lucky if I sleep 4 hrs a night, and the anxiety is worse than when I started. I was and am still on it now for 2 and a half years. I'm thankfully down to 1 mg at night. I can't wait to get off it. Slowly my sex drive and emotions are coming back. I don't feel like as much of a zombie. Also, I have more energy."

• Miu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 16, 2020

For Depression "I used to take risperidone when I was in middle school because I was forced. I didn't remember how it made me feel. I took Citalopram with it, so it probably overpowered it. After getting off risperidone when I was 13, I'm now 23, and I am only taking 1 mg of it. After reading more about it, I can see I was misdiagnosed, and the medicine is making me feel extremely numb and anxious. I have a hard time focusing, my memory is foggy, my stomach has had a nervous pit feeling, and I've had slight nausea. I don't recommend this drug if you do not have bipolar or psychotic tendencies. I feel like a shell of my former self. No sex drive, no emotions besides overwhelmed feelings of doom and paranoia. This is a nightmare, and I can feel myself slipping. Be wary of this drug!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 1, 2020

For Schizophrenia "I was put on this about 2 years ago! I was hearing things and seeing things and completely lost my mind and was admitted, and this is what they put me on! At the time, it saved my life and made me feel normal again! But as time went on, I noticed I didn’t get excited about anything anymore, I had no emotions! I gained a lot of weight, I went from 150 to 210 lbs. I stopped having periods. It made me have the worst anxiety ever. I’m currently weaning myself off of it! Come to find out, I had an overactive thyroid and had radiation done and was told I can come off this medicine! So it was my thyroid that made me go crazy and put on this medicine! I’m glad to say I’m coming off of it! I’m ready to enjoy life and have my feelings back! Hope this helps someone!"

• Tee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2020

For Depression "I have never felt mentally ill before taking this medication. It ruined my life for the 3 months I took it, my anxiety was through the roof, my mood was very low every day, crying all the time... just very bad. I am not an anxious person, but this really became some depressed, anxious mess that I did not recognize."

• Kin...
• May 29, 2019

Risperidone for Mania "Couldn't sweat/exercise. I had horrible tardive dyskinesia (flexing my lips all the time), tremors, mood swings, black spots in vision, overheating, overeating, dropped out of college because I could no longer write and even had trouble focusing on simple reading. Then I stopped drinking 6 cups of coffee a day and succumbed to the med, and all it did was put me away for 12+ hours. I couldn't do anything but eat. I thought my life was over. When I came off the drug, even when I tapered, I experienced hallucinations (more black spots, fuzzy vision). A lot of my 'delusions' were fear that I had MS. This phobia ruled my life until all of the Risperdal was out of my system, along with the rebound anxiety with it. Took it for 4 months and gained 70 lbs. I feel like this kind of medication is overprescribed all of the time. I'm back on track with my life now, and I'll never touch another med of this classification again. I feel insulted that someone tried to do this to me."

• Tim...
• October 14, 2021

For Anxiety "Was given risperidone for anxiety, took it for a week, and it increased my anxiety and also caused paranoia. Stopped it immediately after a week, and it took a few days to feel normal again. Would not recommend."

• Che...
• September 22, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "This is my first time taking risperidone 0.5g for bipolar schizoaffective disorder, and it's my first week. I have always been 100% against medication, but it came to the point where I could no longer suffer alone. My mind has now changed about medication. I was concerned with bad side effects, but all I had was a feeling of slight anxiety and heightened senses days 4 and 5 only, but I pushed through and I'm fine. Although it's early days yet, I am very happy! My mind has stopped racing, I am not thinking people are judging or talking behind my back, I feel relaxed, can handle crowds, and I'm not angry or have raging irritability, and better sleep. I'll give a new review within a month, but I should have done this sooner."

• Gre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 26, 2020

For Autism "My son is 9, he is suspected ASD high functioning/Asperger's. Possible ADHD. Is off school due to anxiety. He started on 0.5 mg dose of risperidone twice a day. Has had little effect, today increased to 1 mg twice a day. First thing he said after first larger dose is he noticed he couldn’t make himself think (like he’d normally do before bed, effectively force himself to think to prevent sleep). Hope it works out well, we are desperate for him to be able to return to school without anxiety."

• Ano...
• November 2, 2013

Risperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "I'm taking this after a few antipsychotics didn't work, and I was hospitalized a few times for the first time in my life. My bipolar diagnosis changed to schizoaffective disorder, then schizophrenia. The delusions and paranoia were very scary. I was on 2 mg for a while with Ativan and Celexa, and I gained weight over the course of all the medicines, but it needed it. Weight gain stopped when I stopped Celexa. No paranoia. Now I'm taking 1 1/2 mg and have less anxiety, on a day I went back to 2 mg, I had more. I still have anxiety and will ask my doctor to increase my Ativan from 2 back to 3 mg or lower my Risperdal down to 1 mg. I am also on lithium and have hand tremors from that and Risperdal, but feel stable. It's so worth it. I'm staying on it."

• Met...
• October 15, 2018

Risperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "Absolutely horrible drug! I had worsened serious depression and severe akathisia from it. Agitation, irritability, anxiety, aggression also came into play. I have tried many antipsychotics on the market, and this one is by far the worst (now on Quetiapine and Abilify - much better!). No redeeming qualities whatsoever."

• spu...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 12, 2018

For Anxiety "This medication is terrible, it made me so slow. I lost all of my friends and became agitated at even the slightest remark and anxious. It took me 7 years to complete a 4-year college course. I also lost all interest in girls, and I felt like I suffered brain damage. Avoid at all costs."

• Anonymous
• April 8, 2012

For Severe Mood Dysregulation "First off, this medication made me lactate and not be able to lose weight, which was disturbing and frustrating. However, it really helped me sleep. It definitely mellowed me out and made me less anxious and irritable. I stopped it because I started to lose interest in life, but it may have been because 3 mg was too much for me; I believe this is a good medicine for psychosis and mood disorders."

• Phi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 18, 2017

For Anxiety "I had a crisis of anxiety and some paranoid thoughts when I was 15 years old. I then took Risperdal, and it helped me a lot. By 19, I switched to Invega, and I got more anxious. Now, by 20, I returned to Risperdal (only 2 mg), and I'm a lot better. When taken in small doses, it's great for anxiety and racing thoughts :)"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2019

For Depression "This drug ruined my life. I was depressed before taking it, but when I was on it I had terrible suicidal thoughts that I didn't use to have before this. I couldn't sleep and developed terrible anxiety attacks. Another side effect that I experienced was high prolactin levels, which led to amenorrhea and a full face full of horrible acne (I'm not exaggerating). This, of course, made me more depressed and socially anxious. Coming off of it was as bad as being on the drug. Two weeks off of it, I am still experiencing the side effects of this drug, although I can at least sleep now. I'm absolutely miserable thanks to risperidone. Stay away from this drug!!"

• She...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2019

Risperidone for Bipolar Disorder "After some months on Risperdal, I developed swallowing problems, which led to anxiety. Lowering the dose improved but did not eliminate the problem. Later, I noticed that I was very tense all the time. I would notice it and make myself relax, and then in a few seconds, I realized I was all tensed up again. I developed frozen muscles in my forehead. It felt like they had very little feeling. I don't know what you call it, but I saw it was listed as a side effect once I looked it up. It went away when I stopped the med. When I stopped this medication, I discovered I had a problem with my tongue. It is like it's too thick or something and doesn't form words as well, so I have a very mild speech impediment now. It is more difficult to speak, and I have to be very deliberate in speaking in order to speak clearly and without a lisp."

• SoP...
• November 19, 2015

Risperidone for Bipolar Disorder "I have been taking Risperidone for over four years now. I felt great the first year but had to constantly have my dosage increased. I don't like some of the side effects (anxiety, difficulty concentrating, weight gain, faster heart rate, flu-like symptoms) but have learned to deal with them. Once you start to gain weight, it is virtually impossible to lose the weight, as I have tried everything. It seems you peak at a certain level."

• Anonymous
• September 9, 2011

Risperidone for Schizoaffective Disorder "I started taking risperidone when I was 15. It does take away the delusions and mood swings, but it leaves me with anxiety and dulls me out to the point where I don't feel like really socializing at all. I've tried other medicines like Zyprexa and Geodon, and they either do the same thing or have another bad effect on me. I'm 20 now and still haven't really found a medicine that works. I think whatever they put in antipsychotics just doesn't agree with me."

• Tin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2023

For Schizophrenia "I started taking Risperdal after being hospitalized unexpectedly after stopping Abilify, which I was taking for about 6 years. Aripiprazole made me quite nervous, irritable, and obsessed with food, shopping, negativism. And after that, risperidone feels like a blessing. It is a bit sedating at 3 mg a day, but I feel sweet inside. It’s like I am again feeling safe, calm, capable, and genuinely happy with myself and with the world. I process a lot through my head and my body (I can be hypervigilant and stressed easily), and Risperdal seems to make this so much easier for me. Also, I gave away my scale because I was only obsessed with numbers on it, and I am now capable of listening to my body more. So far, no weight gain - I drink a lot of water and don’t eat between 13-15 hours per day to give my body much-needed rest - it simply feels right, and therefore, no special weight gain in the first 2 months for me."

• Tin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2023

For Schizophrenia "I started taking Risperdal after being hospitalized unexpectedly after stopping Abilify, which I was taking for about 6 years. Aripiprazole made me quite nervous, irritable, and obsessed with food, shopping, negativism. And after that, risperidone feels like a blessing. It is a bit sedating at 3 mg a day, but I feel sweet inside. It’s like I am again feeling safe, calm, capable, and genuinely happy with myself and with the world. I process a lot through my head and my body (I can be hypervigilant and stressed easily), and Risperdal seems to make this so much easier for me. Also, I gave away my scale because I was only obsessed with numbers on it, and I am now capable of listening to my body more. So far, no weight gain - I drink a lot of water and don’t eat between 13-15 hours per day to give my body much-needed rest - it simply feels right, and therefore, no special weight gain in the first 2 months for me."

• Mik...
• May 21, 2017

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "I switched from Seroquel to risperidone 6 months ago. I had gained 100 lbs over 10 years on Seroquel and have lost about 20 lbs so far since switching. My constant rage and aggression are gone, it's great not to be furiously psychotic all day. On the minus side, I can't get enough sleep, I have no motivation or energy, and depression has spiked. I may try an antidepressant along with risperidone and a smaller dose (I started on 2 mg, just cut to 1.5 and would like to get to 1 mg or under). I tried going from 2 mg to 1 mg previously on my own, and it was hell - massive anxiety and depression."

• Jaz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 19, 2019

For Depression "This drug made me develop depression, which I didn’t have prior, just really bad anxiety. Also gave me intrusive thoughts, had me very suicidal. My doctor took me off after 1 month and 2 weeks of using it. Tonight is my first night taking something different. I pray it works for me!"

• Bir...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 8, 2017

For Agitation "Back in my early 20s, I started experiencing severe agitation, anxiety, mood swings, and couldn't think straight, along with OCD, etc. I finally went to see a psychiatrist. He put me on Paxil, Klonopin, and Risperdal. When I first started this combo of drugs, I felt very good, very clear-headed. It almost seemed like I was myself again. After a few years, the side effects started brewing. My anxiety returned in full force, my thoughts were disorganized once again, and I began itching all over my body, especially my legs and feet. My bladder went bad. Gained weight. From the get-go, Risperdal made me EXTREMELY ANXIOUS upon taking it. It was the culprit behind my itchy skin and bladder issues too. BE CAREFUL. Caused SEVERE INNER RESTLESSNESS!"