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Is Risperdal Good for ADHD?

I looked up my symptoms online and found ADHD to be closely related to them. I also found ASD to be a good descriptor but my (2nd) doctor (psychologist) said I don't have ASD. I do, however, experience tics or stims -- i.e I sometimes clench my hand in weird gestures or visibly murmur to myself, I do this when I'm angry the most. Are these tics? Will they go away with risperdal?
Even though I found myself to be ADHD, most people with ADHD complain about not making to work on time. However, I made it to work on time for every single day, is this a strong indicator of not having ADHD?  
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973741 tn?1342342773
How are you prollyadhd?  Things going any better?  Just checking in on you!
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hi again. i'm back to ask you again about adhd and risperdale. I've spoken to my doctor about my symptoms and she replied with a hint of probably having adhd. after getting on antidepressants i've been getting more and more hyperactive. furthermore, my doctor told me that i'm taking risperdale for my inattentiveness. it was very bad at first but now it is so much better with the help of risperdale. what should i make of this? if risperdale helped me with inattentiveness does this mean that i'm not adhd?
The fact antidepressants make you "hyperactive" doesn't mean you have ADHD, it is a common side effect of many antidepressants.  Only a specialist who talks to you a lot can determine if you have ADHD or not, as I said in your other post all mental illnesses can cause inattentiveness and ADHD is pretty specific.  
my doctor did say it.
My doctor did say that i could have adhd.
Yes, risperdal is commonly added when someone is diagnosed with adhd.  What symptoms did you have prior to the adhd?  What kind of testing did you have? Any issues when ON medication should be brought to the attention of the doctor who prescribed it.  That's really important.  And also letting them know about any other meds you take from any different care providers.  
I had depression and i don't what else cause my doctor doesn't really tell me.  i just see a psychologist i didn't have any tests.
i basically had all the symptoms of adhd before the diagnosis. but I figured since risperdale was doing me good, that means that I just had depression. but then my doctor said that it's not for your depression.
There aren't any "tests" your regular doc can really do.  There are questionnaires but psychologists diagnose by what you tell them about what's going on.  ADHD is a bit different in that it's a controversial diagnosis and is usually associated with kids, though not always.  But the focus of diagnosis tends to be on pediatrics because that's where it shows up most often.  If your psychologist does treat ADHD -- keep in mind that psychologists are like any other medical professional, they treat what they feel like focusing on and feel they are good at treating.  Some focus on relationships.  Some focus on the elderly.  Some focus on the young.  Some focus on issues of sexuality.  Some focus on anxiety.  You want to see one that focuses on what it is that's going on with you, and if you think you have ADHD, again, it's a bit more difficult to diagnose and the treatment would usually begin with uppers.  The drug you're on was developed to treat psychoses, which you don't appear to have, but it is legal to use it for depression or ADHD.  It would usually only be used for those things if the drugs developed to treat those things weren't working.  You need to do what you feel works for you, and if that's what you're doing now, keep at it.  But since you did post here, I assumed you were wondering.  A general doc telling you that you might have ADHD would usually lead to him referring you to someone who specializes in diagnosing it, but some don't do that.  Always, it's up to you, but treatment differs if you have depression and are inattentive because of that than if you have ADHD.  Therapy would be different as well.  Assuming, of course, the people you're seeing know that.  Peace.
Avatar universal
My own advice is, you have a psychologist, who doesn't believe you have what you Googled.  Try working with the psychologist and see if it works.  ADHD is very hard to diagnose, and is considered by many to be way overdiagnosed.  But you are seeing a professional who has training in this that we don't and that professional apparently says you don't fit the criteria, so investigate with the psychologist what it is he or she thinks you do have.  If you don't like this approach after you give it some time, you can try a different approach, perhaps a psychiatrist.  But don't try to prescribe your own drugs -- this is what TV ads try to get us to do and it's quite dangerous.  Let a professional do the diagnosis and the prescribing, at least at first, and then you can research what they suggest and see if it seems to fit.  Best of luck.
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I do have a psychiatrist. I'm taking risperdale which is doing a good job at handling all the depression, reducing tics, and making me more focused. I don't know exactly if the inattention is from the adhd or depression.
973741 tn?1342342773
Risperdal is such an interesting drug and being used for a wide range of things now.  It's an atypical anti psychotic originally used for schizophrenia.  It was a game changer for that disorder.    While risperdal is used off label for things like autism and a lot of people that have autism (anywhere on the spectrum) often have overlapping adhd as a secondary diagnosis, this doesn't mean that the syptoms of adhd will improve with risperdal.  Risperdal seems to help with aggressive behavior and behavior problems in general and likely communication.   with kids on the spectrum.  It seems to help with irritability and aggressiveness.  Because of this, some doctors may use it for adhd if that is how a person presents.  


Now with regards to tics.  My son has tics.  He has two types.  Simple vocal tics which are a hum or throat clearing sound.  Complex vocal tics are words and he's had those previously.  He also has motor tics.  His change in terms of how they present.  He has them more when nervous, anxious, excited or even bored as for a lot of kids with autism, adhd and sensory integration disorder (which is my son's diagnosis), do it to regulate and to stay engaged.  Do you notice any pattern to it?  When my son's anxiety comes down, it's better.  When he has a hand fidget, it's better.  We know this because we began paying attention to its pattern.  

And to answer your last question, risperdal is used by doctors to treat tics and tourettes syndrome.  I would talk to your doctor about this to get input.  because remember, that all drugs also have side effects.  For some, you might even see an increase in tics.  

All of these types of medications can be fantastic but also need to be used with caution in a trial and error fashion to find the best match for you.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3036957/  Personally, I would much rather try a drug for tics like risperdal than the older meds like haldol!  But work with your doctor!
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Will your son's tics every stop?
I think my condition is chronic.
I do have some other symptoms like internal restlessness or restless legs.
I also have to mention that I am getting treated for depression,
because of that I'm not so sure if it's adhd or not.
My son's tics change over time.  They used to be worse.  Yes.  They are signficantly better.  AT home, they aren't frequent or I no longer notice them.  But they do still happen when he is nervous. He consciously has tried to make them less noticeable.  If you place a hand fidget in your hand, does it help with your tics?  
hi again. i'm back to ask you again about adhd and risperdale. I've spoken to my doctor about my symptoms and she replied with a hint of probably having adhd. after getting on antidepressants i've been getting more and more hyperactive. furthermore, my doctor told me that i'm taking risperdale for my inattentiveness. it was very bad at first but now it is so much better with the help of risperdale. what should i make of this? if risperdale helped me with inattentiveness does this mean that i'm not adhd?
It's my understanding that when risperdal is added on to someone's treatment that has adhd, it's often done for aggression?  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257406/  But hyperactivity is also part of what they use it for now. It's rarely the 'main' drug used but an add on.  This article talks about 1 in 5 kids with adhd now have Risperdal added.  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/874722   So times have absolutely changed with Risperdal.  

Are you having issues with it?  The adhd is getting better?  That's the right direction. But you are saying you are getting MORE hyperactive.  When do yo next see your psychiatrist?  I would tell them this to see if this is a dosing issue or a wrong fit regimen.  It's hard to get things 'perfect' but we are looking for improvement.  Not a backslide.  
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