HELP!!! PLEASE!!!

[Guest guest]

Our young teen daughter was taken to a psychiatric hospital FIVE days ago and it is 2 1/2 hours away from our home!!! We need help to know how to get her stabilized and home!!! Betty

[Guest guest]

Hi Betty.

We just had our son (age 13) in a partial hospitalization program for 3.5 weeks and in that time they put him on Geodon which caused him to have instant rages. He was litterally irritable the instant he woke up and the littlest thing would set him off. We had NEVER seen him like this before. Thankfully they took him off that med after we PLEADED with them ...that and he gained 6lbs in 7 days on the med.

They then put him on Zyprexa which caused him to gain additional weight and he was still irritable...more than he was before he went in! He gained an additional 7.5 lbs on the Zyprexa in 2.5 weeks. We also found online that Zyprexa can cause diabetes fairly quickly in some people, especially those who gain weight so fast. The PHP felt the drug was a good fit for him but we did not. We contacted our regular behavioral pediatrician and she listened and agreed with us. She helped us with the method to wean him off.

So, my recommendation would be to contact the doctor that put your child on the Risperdal and tell them it is not the drug for your child and you want to know how to wean her off. PERIOD. You don't want to stop the med cold turkey because some people have "rebound" behavior which is worse and it can also cause physical symptoms in some people.

We know our children best and we know what is working and what is not. Talk to the doctor, be polite but firm.

Aj