Hi everyone,
 Just today my doc switched me from Lexapro to Zoloft and Risperdal. I was debating the switch, but Lex did nothing for my ocd and anger problems i seem to get on ssri's. He told me the risperdal would balance my severe aggitation and bouts of bordeline rage....extreme irritability! Obviously I'm concerned with starting Risperdal. I'm sure Zoloft will help my ocd better than Lex and hopefully this nightmare will soon subside. I just wondered if any of you can help me understand the benefits of both these drugs together. Thankyou and I hope to hear from you. With gratitude, Marie.

Marie,

I don't have personal experience with this combination, so I'm not sure how much help I can be.  Hopefully some other folks can share their experiences.  I have had clients who I worked with who used risperdal for the calming and rage-reducing properties.  I know at least one of these folks also took an AD, but I don't remember which one.

I have heard that lexapro/celexa is often used for OCD, but if it didn't work for you hopefully zoloft will.  Zoloft and paxil tend to help anxiety along with depression, so maybe the z. together with the risperdal will work together for depression, anxiety (which you must have at times, from what I've read of your posts), and also help your agitation and rage.

Are you going straight from lex to z, or are you on a taper-down/taper-up type of plan?  Just wondering...

You might want to speak with your pharmacist for more info about how the two of these meds work together, and maybe also check out our "other meds" room.

Let us know how this combo is working for you, okay?

Karen

Ados,
   My doc said to cut my 10mgs of lex in half and start with 50mgs of Z.  I wondered if I should start low at 25mgs of Z for one week and then raise it up. I was worried about the combination at first. I took the half of lex this morning and haven't yet taken my z yet......I'm obsessing right now. I'm suppose to do this for one week and stop lex completely. He wants me to taper off the Klonopin for one week and then just continue with Risperdal at bedtime. Today I really feel apprehensive about all these changes. I always think I'm going to spiral down into a manic phase and flip out. I wish there were others that had information about this. Thanks for helping me with my worries. Love, Marie