Re: Risperdal allergy : an instructive tale of woe

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you since so

many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have just had a

bizarre experience with it.

Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three years with no

problems. She takes it primarily for tics, but also to augment her Lexapro.

It made all the difference in the world in treating her OCD/ADHD/TS. A week ago

Thursday we saw her psychiatrist and Annie complained about the tics getting

worse again. The doc thought we could increase the Risperdal another .25 mg,

making her daily dose a whopping 1 MG (.5 in the a.m., .5 in the p.m.) Annie is

on a gymnastics team and gets very sore after hard workouts, so none of us

payed any attention when she mentioned being really sore on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday and all following days she complained about her neck being sore,

then her ribs, etc. She is such a hypochondriac that I pretty much ignored it.

But on Thursday, a holiday, she was crying about her knees and hips hurting so

much. She also had an itchy rash all over her body. She skipped gymnastics

and I assumed she was getting the flu or some weird virus. On Friday morning she

was so much worse that I finally put my mind to it and thought that it might

be the Risperdal increase, since drug allergies can cause that kind of joint

pain. Her psych. had experienced the same thing once so she agreed it might be

that, but was also worried that it might be meningitis. She said to hold the

Risperdal, watch her like a hawk and we'd know by Sat. noon whether she was

better. If she was better, she said to reintroduce a very small dose of

Risperdal

and then we'd have our answer for sure. Sure enough, Sat. afternoon she was

fine, except that her hands and feet itched insanely. Worse yet, she had such

bad tics that she was beside herself. She cleared her throat until it was very

painful and she couldn't eat, her whole stomach was sore from abdominal tics,

etc. I debated for a long time, but gave in to her begging and gave her .25 mg

Risperdal. The tics slowed down and she went to sleep. And she woke up this

morning in extreme pain and the full rash is back. So now we know . No more

Risperdal.

The weird part of this is that the reaction took a full seven days to

turn into anything really noticeable, and that was after three years of taking

it. Also, if I hadn't known that drugs can cause such painful joints, I would

never have linked it to the Risperdal. And it was a very tiny increase.

The worst part of this is that Annie has been having the best fall of her

life - first semester of middle school and she is getting straight A's,

having a ball at school, helping to teach in a classroom of autistic students

and

has a wonderful social life, for the first time in years. Now she refuses to

consider going to school tomorrow because of the tics and is very depressed. She

realizes the tics are particularly bad because of the rebound effect, but if

we can't use Risperdal then we may have to use Tenex and switch all her meds

around... Aaack. And she knows well what that means.

Sorry this is so long, but perhaps it will save someone else a week of

worry sometime.

in NV

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you since so

many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have just had a

bizarre experience with it.

Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three years with no

problems. She takes it primarily for tics, but also to augment her Lexapro.

It made all the difference in the world in treating her OCD/ADHD/TS. A week ago

Thursday we saw her psychiatrist and Annie complained about the tics getting

worse again. The doc thought we could increase the Risperdal another .25 mg,

making her daily dose a whopping 1 MG (.5 in the a.m., .5 in the p.m.) Annie is

on a gymnastics team and gets very sore after hard workouts, so none of us

payed any attention when she mentioned being really sore on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday and all following days she complained about her neck being sore,

then her ribs, etc. She is such a hypochondriac that I pretty much ignored it.

But on Thursday, a holiday, she was crying about her knees and hips hurting so

much. She also had an itchy rash all over her body. She skipped gymnastics

and I assumed she was getting the flu or some weird virus. On Friday morning she

was so much worse that I finally put my mind to it and thought that it might

be the Risperdal increase, since drug allergies can cause that kind of joint

pain. Her psych. had experienced the same thing once so she agreed it might be

that, but was also worried that it might be meningitis. She said to hold the

Risperdal, watch her like a hawk and we'd know by Sat. noon whether she was

better. If she was better, she said to reintroduce a very small dose of

Risperdal

and then we'd have our answer for sure. Sure enough, Sat. afternoon she was

fine, except that her hands and feet itched insanely. Worse yet, she had such

bad tics that she was beside herself. She cleared her throat until it was very

painful and she couldn't eat, her whole stomach was sore from abdominal tics,

etc. I debated for a long time, but gave in to her begging and gave her .25 mg

Risperdal. The tics slowed down and she went to sleep. And she woke up this

morning in extreme pain and the full rash is back. So now we know . No more

Risperdal.

The weird part of this is that the reaction took a full seven days to

turn into anything really noticeable, and that was after three years of taking

it. Also, if I hadn't known that drugs can cause such painful joints, I would

never have linked it to the Risperdal. And it was a very tiny increase.

The worst part of this is that Annie has been having the best fall of her

life - first semester of middle school and she is getting straight A's,

having a ball at school, helping to teach in a classroom of autistic students

and

has a wonderful social life, for the first time in years. Now she refuses to

consider going to school tomorrow because of the tics and is very depressed. She

realizes the tics are particularly bad because of the rebound effect, but if

we can't use Risperdal then we may have to use Tenex and switch all her meds

around... Aaack. And she knows well what that means.

Sorry this is so long, but perhaps it will save someone else a week of

worry sometime.

in NV

[Guest guest]

Wow, , what a bummer! Hugs to you and Annie - it must be so

hard to have this complication flare up in the midst of such a great

year...life seems so unfair and cruel sometimes. You sure were

astute to pick up on the possible drug allergy. I hope that the new

medication 'mix' for Annie will go as smoothly as possible, and

that - perhaps - she will feel well enough to attend school

tomorrow. Please let her know that she is in our thoughts and

prayers...and please let us know how things progress.

(Ohio) and another Anne

[Guest guest]

Oh , give Annie a big hug for me!

Glad you shared this, I didn't know meds could affect the joints like

that! I would have just said it was growing pains or worried about

the flu/joint ache, etc.

Just how can one become allergic to a higher dose of medication, such

a small increase? You can't just go back down on it? I hate you all

have to work on switching meds, I truly hope all goes smoothly! Do

you think the increased tics will die down a bit, maybe the increase

is just a " first part " of decreasing/stopping Risperdal and they'll

decrease?

Again, (((hugs))) to Annie and to you/family, I know you'll keep us

updated!

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you

since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have

just had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three

years with no

[Guest guest]

Oh , give Annie a big hug for me!

Glad you shared this, I didn't know meds could affect the joints like

that! I would have just said it was growing pains or worried about

the flu/joint ache, etc.

Just how can one become allergic to a higher dose of medication, such

a small increase? You can't just go back down on it? I hate you all

have to work on switching meds, I truly hope all goes smoothly! Do

you think the increased tics will die down a bit, maybe the increase

is just a " first part " of decreasing/stopping Risperdal and they'll

decrease?

Again, (((hugs))) to Annie and to you/family, I know you'll keep us

updated!

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you

since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have

just had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three

years with no

[Guest guest]

Oh , give Annie a big hug for me!

Glad you shared this, I didn't know meds could affect the joints like

that! I would have just said it was growing pains or worried about

the flu/joint ache, etc.

Just how can one become allergic to a higher dose of medication, such

a small increase? You can't just go back down on it? I hate you all

have to work on switching meds, I truly hope all goes smoothly! Do

you think the increased tics will die down a bit, maybe the increase

is just a " first part " of decreasing/stopping Risperdal and they'll

decrease?

Again, (((hugs))) to Annie and to you/family, I know you'll keep us

updated!

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you

since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have

just had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three

years with no

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I am so sorry! I hope that the tics calm down soon and that the meds issue

gets straightened out real soon, too. I wish I had great words of wisdom to

help you both. Just know that another OCD mom is thinking of you, praying,

and hoping for the best.

Sincerely,

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I am so sorry! I hope that the tics calm down soon and that the meds issue

gets straightened out real soon, too. I wish I had great words of wisdom to

help you both. Just know that another OCD mom is thinking of you, praying,

and hoping for the best.

Sincerely,

[Guest guest]

Hello , good catch on your part to realize it could be the Risperdal.

My daughter took all different doses, usually .25mg " maintenance " and up to

1 mg when her tics were bad/bothersome, after awhile a med taken long term

fades into the background for me. I don't know that I would have picked

that up.

Is there any chance after a time off Risperdal, she'll be able to take it

again? It's heart-tugging that she begs for it. Maybe another similar med

will help her tics without a reaction?

My daughter is having an upswing in tics, some are loud and one involves

gasping that after a few days is giving her a sore throat. I've talked to

her about the Risperdal, that it's here and she can go back on it if needed.

She remembers though that she felt tired and low energy on it. So far she

doesn't want to start back on it, she's trying to wait this out since

frequently enough, the tics abruptly abate.

(((Hugs))) to you both Monday morning, I hope Annie marches off to school

just like always.

Kathy R. in Indiana

p.s. I thought of Annie this weekend. Kel was in a play and one of the

cast members apparently had the flu. During the performance she'd go on and

do her scene, come offstage and barf, go back on. Of course this got Kel

going, resurrected her vomit obsession from K and 1st grade, but we did

imaginal exposures off and on the next day until her call, and she did fine.

As my daughter gets older I am more and more a fan of the imaginal

exposures, they really seem to work well for her and quickly too.

----- Original Message -----

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have just

had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three years with

no

> problems. She takes it primarily for tics, but also to augment her

Lexapro.

> It made all the difference in the world in treating her OCD/ADHD/TS. A

week ago

> Thursday we saw her psychiatrist and Annie complained about the tics

getting

> worse again. The doc thought we could increase the Risperdal another .25

mg,

> making her daily dose a whopping 1 MG (.5 in the a.m., .5 in the p.m.)

Annie is

> on a gymnastics team and gets very sore after hard workouts, so none of us

> payed any attention when she mentioned being really sore on Saturday and

Sunday.

> On Monday and all following days she complained about her neck being sore,

> then her ribs, etc. She is such a hypochondriac that I pretty much ignored

it.

> But on Thursday, a holiday, she was crying about her knees and hips

hurting so

> much. She also had an itchy rash all over her body. She skipped gymnastics

> and I assumed she was getting the flu or some weird virus. On Friday

morning she

> was so much worse that I finally put my mind to it and thought that it

might

> be the Risperdal increase, since drug allergies can cause that kind of

joint

> pain. Her psych. had experienced the same thing once so she agreed it

might be

> that, but was also worried that it might be meningitis. She said to hold

the

> Risperdal, watch her like a hawk and we'd know by Sat. noon whether she

was

> better. If she was better, she said to reintroduce a very small dose of

Risperdal

> and then we'd have our answer for sure. Sure enough, Sat. afternoon she

was

> fine, except that her hands and feet itched insanely. Worse yet, she had

such

> bad tics that she was beside herself. She cleared her throat until it was

very

> painful and she couldn't eat, her whole stomach was sore from abdominal

tics,

> etc. I debated for a long time, but gave in to her begging and gave her

..25 mg

> Risperdal. The tics slowed down and she went to sleep. And she woke up

this

> morning in extreme pain and the full rash is back. So now we know . No

more

> Risperdal.

> The weird part of this is that the reaction took a full seven days to

> turn into anything really noticeable, and that was after three years of

taking

> it. Also, if I hadn't known that drugs can cause such painful joints, I

would

> never have linked it to the Risperdal. And it was a very tiny increase.

> The worst part of this is that Annie has been having the best fall of

her

> life - first semester of middle school and she is getting straight A's,

> having a ball at school, helping to teach in a classroom of autistic

students and

> has a wonderful social life, for the first time in years. Now she refuses

to

> consider going to school tomorrow because of the tics and is very

depressed. She

> realizes the tics are particularly bad because of the rebound effect, but

if

> we can't use Risperdal then we may have to use Tenex and switch all her

meds

> around... Aaack. And she knows well what that means.

> Sorry this is so long, but perhaps it will save someone else a week of

> worry sometime.

> in NV

[Guest guest]

Hello , good catch on your part to realize it could be the Risperdal.

My daughter took all different doses, usually .25mg " maintenance " and up to

1 mg when her tics were bad/bothersome, after awhile a med taken long term

fades into the background for me. I don't know that I would have picked

that up.

Is there any chance after a time off Risperdal, she'll be able to take it

again? It's heart-tugging that she begs for it. Maybe another similar med

will help her tics without a reaction?

My daughter is having an upswing in tics, some are loud and one involves

gasping that after a few days is giving her a sore throat. I've talked to

her about the Risperdal, that it's here and she can go back on it if needed.

She remembers though that she felt tired and low energy on it. So far she

doesn't want to start back on it, she's trying to wait this out since

frequently enough, the tics abruptly abate.

(((Hugs))) to you both Monday morning, I hope Annie marches off to school

just like always.

Kathy R. in Indiana

p.s. I thought of Annie this weekend. Kel was in a play and one of the

cast members apparently had the flu. During the performance she'd go on and

do her scene, come offstage and barf, go back on. Of course this got Kel

going, resurrected her vomit obsession from K and 1st grade, but we did

imaginal exposures off and on the next day until her call, and she did fine.

As my daughter gets older I am more and more a fan of the imaginal

exposures, they really seem to work well for her and quickly too.

----- Original Message -----

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have just

had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three years with

no

> problems. She takes it primarily for tics, but also to augment her

Lexapro.

> It made all the difference in the world in treating her OCD/ADHD/TS. A

week ago

> Thursday we saw her psychiatrist and Annie complained about the tics

getting

> worse again. The doc thought we could increase the Risperdal another .25

mg,

> making her daily dose a whopping 1 MG (.5 in the a.m., .5 in the p.m.)

Annie is

> on a gymnastics team and gets very sore after hard workouts, so none of us

> payed any attention when she mentioned being really sore on Saturday and

Sunday.

> On Monday and all following days she complained about her neck being sore,

> then her ribs, etc. She is such a hypochondriac that I pretty much ignored

it.

> But on Thursday, a holiday, she was crying about her knees and hips

hurting so

> much. She also had an itchy rash all over her body. She skipped gymnastics

> and I assumed she was getting the flu or some weird virus. On Friday

morning she

> was so much worse that I finally put my mind to it and thought that it

might

> be the Risperdal increase, since drug allergies can cause that kind of

joint

> pain. Her psych. had experienced the same thing once so she agreed it

might be

> that, but was also worried that it might be meningitis. She said to hold

the

> Risperdal, watch her like a hawk and we'd know by Sat. noon whether she

was

> better. If she was better, she said to reintroduce a very small dose of

Risperdal

> and then we'd have our answer for sure. Sure enough, Sat. afternoon she

was

> fine, except that her hands and feet itched insanely. Worse yet, she had

such

> bad tics that she was beside herself. She cleared her throat until it was

very

> painful and she couldn't eat, her whole stomach was sore from abdominal

tics,

> etc. I debated for a long time, but gave in to her begging and gave her

..25 mg

> Risperdal. The tics slowed down and she went to sleep. And she woke up

this

> morning in extreme pain and the full rash is back. So now we know . No

more

> Risperdal.

> The weird part of this is that the reaction took a full seven days to

> turn into anything really noticeable, and that was after three years of

taking

> it. Also, if I hadn't known that drugs can cause such painful joints, I

would

> never have linked it to the Risperdal. And it was a very tiny increase.

> The worst part of this is that Annie has been having the best fall of

her

> life - first semester of middle school and she is getting straight A's,

> having a ball at school, helping to teach in a classroom of autistic

students and

> has a wonderful social life, for the first time in years. Now she refuses

to

> consider going to school tomorrow because of the tics and is very

depressed. She

> realizes the tics are particularly bad because of the rebound effect, but

if

> we can't use Risperdal then we may have to use Tenex and switch all her

meds

> around... Aaack. And she knows well what that means.

> Sorry this is so long, but perhaps it will save someone else a week of

> worry sometime.

> in NV

[Guest guest]

Hello , good catch on your part to realize it could be the Risperdal.

My daughter took all different doses, usually .25mg " maintenance " and up to

1 mg when her tics were bad/bothersome, after awhile a med taken long term

fades into the background for me. I don't know that I would have picked

that up.

Is there any chance after a time off Risperdal, she'll be able to take it

again? It's heart-tugging that she begs for it. Maybe another similar med

will help her tics without a reaction?

My daughter is having an upswing in tics, some are loud and one involves

gasping that after a few days is giving her a sore throat. I've talked to

her about the Risperdal, that it's here and she can go back on it if needed.

She remembers though that she felt tired and low energy on it. So far she

doesn't want to start back on it, she's trying to wait this out since

frequently enough, the tics abruptly abate.

(((Hugs))) to you both Monday morning, I hope Annie marches off to school

just like always.

Kathy R. in Indiana

p.s. I thought of Annie this weekend. Kel was in a play and one of the

cast members apparently had the flu. During the performance she'd go on and

do her scene, come offstage and barf, go back on. Of course this got Kel

going, resurrected her vomit obsession from K and 1st grade, but we did

imaginal exposures off and on the next day until her call, and she did fine.

As my daughter gets older I am more and more a fan of the imaginal

exposures, they really seem to work well for her and quickly too.

----- Original Message -----

> Hello everyone,

> I feel that I should share our latest chapter with all of you since so

> many of our kids take Risperdal along with their SSRI, and we have just

had a

> bizarre experience with it.

> Annie has been taking a small amount of Risperdal for three years with

no

> problems. She takes it primarily for tics, but also to augment her

Lexapro.

> It made all the difference in the world in treating her OCD/ADHD/TS. A

week ago

> Thursday we saw her psychiatrist and Annie complained about the tics

getting

> worse again. The doc thought we could increase the Risperdal another .25

mg,

> making her daily dose a whopping 1 MG (.5 in the a.m., .5 in the p.m.)

Annie is

> on a gymnastics team and gets very sore after hard workouts, so none of us

> payed any attention when she mentioned being really sore on Saturday and

Sunday.

> On Monday and all following days she complained about her neck being sore,

> then her ribs, etc. She is such a hypochondriac that I pretty much ignored

it.

> But on Thursday, a holiday, she was crying about her knees and hips

hurting so

> much. She also had an itchy rash all over her body. She skipped gymnastics

> and I assumed she was getting the flu or some weird virus. On Friday

morning she

> was so much worse that I finally put my mind to it and thought that it

might

> be the Risperdal increase, since drug allergies can cause that kind of

joint

> pain. Her psych. had experienced the same thing once so she agreed it

might be

> that, but was also worried that it might be meningitis. She said to hold

the

> Risperdal, watch her like a hawk and we'd know by Sat. noon whether she

was

> better. If she was better, she said to reintroduce a very small dose of

Risperdal

> and then we'd have our answer for sure. Sure enough, Sat. afternoon she

was

> fine, except that her hands and feet itched insanely. Worse yet, she had

such

> bad tics that she was beside herself. She cleared her throat until it was

very

> painful and she couldn't eat, her whole stomach was sore from abdominal

tics,

> etc. I debated for a long time, but gave in to her begging and gave her

..25 mg

> Risperdal. The tics slowed down and she went to sleep. And she woke up

this

> morning in extreme pain and the full rash is back. So now we know . No

more

> Risperdal.

> The weird part of this is that the reaction took a full seven days to

> turn into anything really noticeable, and that was after three years of

taking

> it. Also, if I hadn't known that drugs can cause such painful joints, I

would

> never have linked it to the Risperdal. And it was a very tiny increase.

> The worst part of this is that Annie has been having the best fall of

her

> life - first semester of middle school and she is getting straight A's,

> having a ball at school, helping to teach in a classroom of autistic

students and

> has a wonderful social life, for the first time in years. Now she refuses

to

> consider going to school tomorrow because of the tics and is very

depressed. She

> realizes the tics are particularly bad because of the rebound effect, but

if

> we can't use Risperdal then we may have to use Tenex and switch all her

meds

> around... Aaack. And she knows well what that means.

> Sorry this is so long, but perhaps it will save someone else a week of

> worry sometime.

> in NV