"i was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 8 months ago and placed on risperdal after ending up in the hospital due to a nervous breakdown, 6 weeks after my diagnosis. i was prescribed 0.5 mg in the morning and 1.0 mg in the evenings, but i felt like a zombie. it did curb the severe mood swings, and i also gained about 10 pounds in the first month. i didn&#039;t like feeling disconnected from the world and not being able to focus or concentrate, so i independently reduced my evening dose to 0.75 mg. i immediately felt better. i&#039;m still struggling with a low sex drive, depression and have a few moments of hypomania (restlessness, agitation, &quot;geeked up&quot;), so now my doctor wants me to go on depakote 500 mg twice a day instead."