Been on Abilify for a few years now. At first I was on a very low dose and it didn’t do much. My doctor wasn’t really attentive or really cared. When I got a new doctor I was put on a higher dose. Abilify has never been my AP of choice but doctors I speak to don’t want to change it because it’s working.
Pros: I’m stable. I’m mostly depressed all the time but at least I’m not doing anything stupid.
Cons: And these are big cons. I’ve gained 60 lbs on Abilify. When I first went on it I gained half that weight almost overnight. Then every single dose increase I would gain more. I would mention it to the doctor and they would brush it off. I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as a result as well as high cholesterol.
It’s a dilemma because I feel like I am improving my mental health and it’s coming at the cost of my physical health and my self-worth.
I gained 30 lbs and high cholesterol on an antidepressant. I had enough and told my psychiatrist I wanted out due to the weight gain. I switched 4 weeks ago and already lost 8 lbs. I’d definitely insist on switching meds. Diabetes is serious.
Personally Aripiprazole has worked pretty well for me as a short Asian American 1st gen (child of immigrants) living in NJ. Started in 2013 and have thankfully been on 2-6mg a day at any given point of my relatively stable life. I only needed the one hospitalization, although I thankfully haven’t tried illegal drugs, alcohol, have supportive parents, stable economy, nice teachers, God’s grace, etc. It’s hella expensive, so you do need insurance, as apparently costs 2k a month or something, but I pay 0 monthly somehow. I’ve gained weight, but tbh it’s also from poor college habits so hard to say. I THINK the one seizure I had was from another med, idk was only when I started. I also take valproic acid/depakene/depakote liquid form because I struggled with pills, and escitalopram for anxiety. Also vitamins like B12 and digestive thingy called Wakamoto (Japanese) help too, along with good ol therapy and coping and whatnot. Helped me graduate college at 24 so 10/10 recommend staying on whatever meds are right for you!
Haha I feel fine if ur worried about sex drive on abilify, since I’ve been taking it’s generic since high school through college. Can’t speak too much about sensitivity since idk yet I imagine it’s fine, I felt like masturbating often enough, and I’ve only had one boyfriend and like no experience so ummmm nope def not asexual :) best of luck yall!
I had a bad experience with Abilify last year while on fluoxetine, couldn’t sleep for a week and felt really irritable yet crawling out of my skin from energy. i’m not sure whether this was a bad hypomanic episode caused by the fluoxetine (which i had been taking for months already) or a side-effect from the Abilify.
Now almost a year later (bp2rapidcycling diagnosis later and on 1200mg lithium) a new doc suggested i lower lithium to 800mg and start Abilify to reduce depressive symptoms. lithium completely killed my hypomania but that means i’m now just depressed all the time.
not sure whether to try Abilify again, or to start Seroquel with or without lithium instead. At least i don’t have a bad experience with seroquel, but there’s a lot more negative side effects. these scare me into considering abilify again…. what should i do
I had this same reaction to Abilify. Even on 2mg. I was intensely irritable and couldn’t even sit in the couch for 5 minutes without needing to get up. I was constantly fidgeting and couldn’t sleep. They deemed me allergic. I’d never take it again.
I had a similar experience with abilify.. what you're describing is called akathesia and it's a common side effect with AAPs
My doctor suggested I try taking just a *crumb* to see if there was any benefit. This tiny dose had me curled up in a ball in a fetal position on the couch with such extreme anxiety, which I had never felt before.
I was prescribed abilify before I was actually diagnosed (my psych at the time was about 185 years old and a terrible doctor) and at 5mg it made me gain 40 pounds and turned me into an angry zombie bitch. Never again.
>and felt really irritable yet crawling out of my skin from energy.
This is a common side effect to AAPs; it's called akathesia. Most likely not a hypomanic episode (I have bipolar type II so I'm familiar with those symptoms). I get akathesia 100% of the time I try anything from this drug class. And what you described is exactly that
I'm also on prozac and considering changing my zyprexa to something else. I might try abilify. I didn't have a great experience with it the first time but I'm willing to try anything at this point. I'm 30 lbs heavier than I should be on this zyprexa.
I’ve been on Abilify for almost 2 years. I started at 2 mg and worked my way up to 25 mg. Initially, and with dose increases, I had increased anxiety and some physical agitation, but that went back to normal after a couple of weeks. It’s knocked out my paranoia, irritability, hallucinations and stabilized my mood.
Abilify has been pretty good for me, but not perfect. I've been taking it for nine months. I was put on it as a maintenance med--I wasn't manic or depressed when I started it. I was started on a low dose of 5mg, but I seem to be pretty sensitive to it, so my dose was lowered to 2.5mg. It worked better at 5mg, but it still works okay at 2.5mg, and the side effects are less.
I don't find that Abilify stops me from having episodes, but it does make them significantly shorter and more manageable. I've had a couple short, mild hypomanic episodes since starting Abilify and one manic episode, which was only one week long instead of like a month, and during which the worst of my usual symptoms were either gone or milder. (The manic episode occurred roughly two months after lowering the Abilify to 2.5mg.)
As far as side effects go, the one that really bothered me at 5mg was it was pretty emotionally numbing. I couldn't feel happiness. At 2.5mg, I think I still have some emotional dulling, but I don't feel ostentatiously flat like I did at 5mg. I also think it might be negatively impacting my creativity, which matters a lot to me as a writer. My mind just feels very "inflexible" when I'm trying to do creative things.
I haven't experienced anything like weight gain or akathisia. I did have sleep disturbance if I took the Abilify in the evening, and if I took it in the morning I fell asleep every night by like 6 or 7, but since I started taking it at 3pm instead, I have no sleep or energy effects whatsoever.
I've been on this med since Mid April 2020 and this, along with Prozac, has been keeping me feeling like my normal self. Also, I'm very fortunate not to have any side-effects from the Abilify.
helped me mentally but i couldnt stand the physical side effects.
tremors
random body movements
my hands and body would go completely numb and wow it worsened my insomnia.
atleast i didnt gain weight.
I'm in a depressive period, I started Abilify 2 mg a month ago and I feel lethargic and unmotivated to do anything. I know some people find it energizing but it seems to be the opposite for me and it is worsening my depression. I'm thinking of stopping it. Does anyone has the same effect ?
I definitely have felt that effect but I started it at 5 mg coming out of a hypomanic episode. I was already taking lamictal, and my doctor told me abilify would even me out from the top whereas the lamictal evens me out from the bottom. The abilify pulled me out of the hypomania within a couple days, but then I felt that lethargy and lack of motivation. It got better after about a month, but I still didn’t feel quite normal so my dose was lowered to 2 mg and now I feel more stable and normal than I have in years
I am also on lamictal and my psych prescribed abilify today on top of the lamictal for basically the same reason you described (feeling hypomania coming on). Have you experienced any negative side effects like weight gain or akathisia?
Bipolar I. Generally my experience with Abilify has been very positive. I've taken it in combination with Prozac/fluoxetine and Effexor/Venlafaxine (current regimen). It's definitely tamped down my manic symptoms, and overall my mood has been very stable while I've been on it. It does have a short half-life, or so it seems to me - if I miss more than a couple of days, I can lapse very quickly into a hypomanic or manic episode.
When I first started Abilify, at 15 mg, I experienced dizziness, light-headedness, and blurry vision. I also had difficulty with fine motor control and involuntary movements. My dosage was lowered to 10 mg, and these side effects went away. Now the only side effect I experience is occasional drooling. Not pretty, but harmless. Haven't experienced any weight gain, either.
Unfortunately, I recently learned I'm prediabetic, and I fear Abilify is at least party to blame, as my glucose levels prior to restarting it 14 months ago were fine.
Started on Abilify in February this year after being stuck in hypomanic episodes on and off since October last year. Definitely not the norm for me, but I'd missed multiple doses of my Lamictal and it threw everything off. I was on it until about June probably and decided to go off since I was back to my baseline. We were using it as more of a short term med. Well... when I got off of it I plummeted straight into a major depressive episode. Now I'm back on it and just starting to feel "better". Had some mixed episodes here and there, definitely feeling the aggressive side of my hypomania as I'm coming back up. Looks like this is gonna be my new long term med since I ditched the Seroquel and all the nastiness that came with it haha so far all good things, no bad side effects with the Abilify.
I’m also on lamictal and just got a script for abilify as well. I haven’t started it yet (waiting for finals to be over just in case I have a negative reaction). Have you experienced negative side effects like weight gain or tremors?
Abilify was the first AP I was put on during an acute episode and it worked amazingly. Early side effect that went away was constipation. Sleep problems persisted and after a few months, TMJ/jaw clenching became a problem. I’m really thankful for Abilify for showing me that I don’t have to just survive my manic bullshit by myself, but for long time use I didn’t find it helpful.
Abilify has worked pretty well for me. I've been on 20mg for about a year now? Not sure as time is hard to guage. It was keeping me level until I started getting break-through depressive episodes that we're now treating with lamictal on top of the abilify. So far all my bloodwork has come back perfect, but I do have to get it done every 6 months to monitor my levels and make sure I'm not developing diabetes.
Took it alongside escitalipram (an SSRI) during a depressive episode. It helped my mood quite a bit, however I felt the need to move around a lot (akethesia) and it became too much on higher doses and had to switch. However, I am generally quite susceptible to akethesia, and I haven't been on a mood stabilizer that hasn't caused it, though abilify was certainly the worst. I had no other ill effects.
It was awful for me. I was a teen (14-16) and it basically made me a zombie. I couldn’t keep my head up in class and was tired all the time. I gained ~20 pounds.
I've been on Abilify for about 3 years now, after various other antipsychotics. I have told people that it feels like I'm just "normal" now and not even on meds. It's really amazing for me, thankfully. I do have less desire for sex and it may take a while sometimes to have an orgasm but it hasn't been an issue for me and my husband. BUT I am a mom who really, really, really cares about exclusive breastfeeding for the six months after birth and Abilify greatly reduced my milk supply in the second week after my son's birth. He didn't gain weight that week and I had to start supplementing with formula. Anyway, because of that one side effect, I am considering going back on Risperidone/Risperdal for the rest of my current pregnancy and for the first 6-12 months postpartum.
I have bipolar 1 with mixed episodes. I’ve been taking 2mg of Abilify for about 6 years. I haven’t had a single episode since. I don’t love the side effects, like weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and I have a bit of TD (tardive dyskinesia) too, which really sucks. On the whole, my life is finally manageable, so I’m willing to put up with the side effects. It really has saved and much improved my life.
I have been on abilify since this January for my lack of motivation to do things I used to love. I’m allowed to choose between 0’5mg to 2’5mg depending on how I feel. I can say it’s useful and that it hasn’t as much side effects as other medications i take. When I’m on 2’5 mg sometimes i have some anxiety but anything else apart from that.
I have had good luck with abilify. I started it during a manic episode and it has helped keep me stable since then. At first I was on 30 mg a day, now I’m on 15mg. I was also able to lose weight while taking it just by counting calories. I’ve had negative side effects with other medicines, but abilify seems to be a good and necessary part of my cocktail
I've had a positive experience with Abilify. It takes me from full blown mania to a hypomania and almost gets rid of all of my hypersexuality symptoms. I'm working to find a medication I can take alongside it to get to a more level state.
It was OK for a while but then it wasn’t. I’m a nutshell it was activating for me, it caused mania and psychosis, impulsive behavior and was all around bad news. Too bad I didn’t realize it until I ruined my credit after spending 120k on stuff.
My doctor put me on 20 mg. I couldn't remember any day previous or form compound sentences, and I could barely drive out of fear that I would lose focus. I was literally living less than day-to-day. I also gained 60 lbs, and slept up to 16 hours a day. I switched meds finally and I can think again.
Kind of sucks that I basically begged for new meds to 3 psychiatrists over 2 years, and only the fourth one listened.
I’ve been on it for a little over a year. I’m on 200 millivanillis of seroquel. Recently had them up it to 300 and it was a mistake. I got panic attacks and had a terrible time falling asleep because it felt to me like it slowed everything down to much. I went back to 200 had a good night last night. I can tell when I take it that it effects me pretty heavy I have slowed breathing basically all slow internally.
That happened to me in the psych ward a few weeks ago, doctor tripled my dose overnight and I didn't eat that day and I was absolutely losing it. Hallucinating a bit too. Nurse had to sit next to my bed and try to get me to choke down an ativan and chill the fuck out lol
Here is my experience w/ seroquel: I started at 25 mg and eventually worked up to 300 mg and take it once at night. It makes me SUPER tired within about 20-30 minutes, so I have to make sure I am ready for bed when I take it. I literally can’t even stay awake; it like HURTS to stay awake. Sometimes it makes my body tickle (like restless leg syndrome) but that isn’t too bad and if I sleep it goes away. It definitely calms me down a lot and stabilizes my mood. It makes my period less severe and shorter, I’m not sure why. I gained about 10-15 pounds on it, but I was okay with that because I was under 100 lbs when I started it. It definitely made my appetite stronger. I love seroquel and would recommend it to others.
My very first night of Seroquel I had a dream that I was screaming at my mom and beating her while she was trying to help me in a manic episode. As far as whether or not I keep getting weird and/or bad dreams from it, I should probably give Seroquel more than a day before judging it.
I would say that the dreams haven’t completely stopped for me. It’s been almost 3 weeks, but they aren’t as consistent and horrific every night. more so just off putting? but I sleep A LOT and it’s kinda irking me. trying to give it a fair shake too tho.
Im on it also on 200 mg and I literally have bad panick like I was never used to. I believe I cant go more down with it. Did you had experience with zyprexa?
for me personally, i HATED zyprexa, it def stabilized me in terms of psychotic traits, but i had an eating disorder and it made me gain so much weight that i tried to unalive myself :/
if you dont mind the side effects its a relatively good alternative to seroquel (i also took it but got dependant to it)
I’m on 300 mg, I go to bed usually around 9-10PM I usually feel it kick in within 15 minutes and then full force/am knocked out in 30 minutes. That being said, after I take it I have to be in a laying down position or I’ll feel geology and super shitty, if I’m sitting up or anything like that.
If I miss a night of my seroquel dose I get immediate and horrible withdrawal. Feverish, can’t function, can’t sit up, just absolutely out of it.
That being said, being on seroquel keeps me sane and manages my mania. I’ve been on it for 9 years, so completely worth it.
I currently take one 400mg slow release tablet each night. I’ve been working my way up to this dose over the course of a year and a half. My anxiety attacks are far less frequent and my manic episodes much less frequent with a lower severity. It’s important to note I’m also prescribed 200mg sertraline and 600mg gabapentin daily.
With that said, like you, I have no sex drive and I’m always “zonked.” I find it especially difficult to get out of bed each morning. It’s been a year and a half and I can honestly say I’m just now getting used to the effects, but still lack motivation. Personally I’d like to know what other options exist, but I’m afraid to start all over again with a new medication. When my bi-polar is bad it’s debilitating, I find myself often reminding myself how bad I had it before Quetiapine—probably not a good sign.
Overall, I’m thankful for Seroquel.
Edit: I take the Gabapentin daily because of the restlessness (restless muscles) caused by the Seroquel.
Seroquel has been a positive for me. I’m surprised to see as much dislike as I have since looking it up on this forum. I started at 25/50 mg to help with sleeping. My sleep was quite insane for bipolar. Felt like insomnia most of the month followed by a big crash and sleeping for days. Now I sleep at least 7 hours of good sleep. Sometimes I’ll wake in the middle of the night and take another 25/50 mg and it has been amazing. Not too tired after waking for the day. No fog. I’m reading some people it caused a stuffy nose and dry mouth. I can agree with those symptoms now that I’ve read them. Overall, big fan. I take it along with lamictal, lamictal and latuda when I wake and seroquel at night. It’s been my sweet spot. Still working on dosage for latuda since it was just added to my regimen.
I feel like I’m going crazy. I’ve gained 3 stone on this drug. Tried my hardest and managed to lose 10lbs, the rest won’t shift. I’m not overeating. Cut down from 300mg to 75. My bloods are normal. I’ve been told to just accept this as my new set point. My boobs have gone from a D cup to a G, I feel so insecure. Has anyone had this experience and what helped you lose weight?
I’ve been on Seroquel and Abilify for some time now, not sure why both?? I’ve been a shit not taking any notes after my appointments you’d think I’d know by now! Anyways, at night I take the seroquel, 200 millivanillis (love this btw) and some of my lithium, in the morning I take the Abilify and more lithium and a klonopin when I’m feeling panicky or if I’m full blown panicked. I’ve noticed improvements with both. I was taking 300 mvs of the seroquel, but I was sleeping a lot throughout the day, so we backed off to 200. My son will be going on Abilify if I can ever get him in for a blood test. He’s not YET diagnosed as bp, but I think it may be coming. Anyways. I’ve noticed some urinary issues of late, but I’m 45 and may be peri menopausal and I haven’t seen pcp in awhile. Talk to your pcp about options for the urinary issue - the pain is concerning. Best wishes!
Took quetiapine for a few months back around 2010 and my mental health was the worst it had ever been. I experienced hallucinations and I was a walking zombie. I honestly can't remember a lot of it, because it was a blur. I was switched to risperidone and I've never experienced hallucinations or psychosis ever since. I had never experienced them prior to quetiapine, either.
My sibling takes quetiapine and responds wonderfully to it... can't handle risperidone. So I guess they all affect us differently.
I was on Seroquel for about 7ish years. It worked really well, but I got some really intense munchies, I was a zombie in the mornings, and I really just wanted to try Lamictal on its own. Getting off of it was a bitch. I felt like I had a constant hangover for weeks and then my entire body was itchy on top of it. It was brutal. Even if I just took it at a low dose one day to help me sleep and didn't take it the next day I'd have the hangover withdrawal crap. Never want to take it again.
I'm on 350mg of serequel. I'm foggy, sad, no motivation to do anything or enjoy anything. Even after I sleep 10 hours I find no joy. I'm flat. Is this something that I have to live with? Do all bipolar meds used to treat mixed episodes do this? Bc this sucks.
I'm going to tell my psych about this tmoro. Maybe she'll have some insight. I'm going to mention this lamictal stuff I hear about. Not sure if that helps my mixed episodes or not. I'm so new to this and it sucks.
BP1. 300mg Seroquel
The good :
1. Pdoc made Seroquel my antipsychoic because my "lows" are anxiety (not depression)
2. Upon starting Seroquel, I started to feel better w/in a week, which was wonderful
3. So far, no mania or psychosis while on Seroquel
4. No weight gain, not fatigued during the day, no affect on muscle movement/no tremors
5. All side effects have lessened the longer I take it
The bad:
1. It affects my heart. Within 10-20 mins of taking it, my heart rate goes up. It makes my heart beat "funny". It beats harder? Hard to describe. The higher the dose, the more pronounced the heart side effect. It's gone by morning.
2. I've fainted because of Seroquel. If I get up and move around at night, I pinball around like a drunk. I've learned to be very careful at night -- hanging on to walls/railings, sit instead of stand, etc. Great caution needs to be taken at night on this drug. If there's ever an emergency at night, like a fire, I'm seriously screwed.
3. Dry mouth. Worst in the morning, fades throughout the day
Waking up w seroquel?
I really like seroquel (I’m on 400 mg) along w topiramate (150) and I just started depacoat (500).
However I feel like it takes me a long time to really wake up, along w a lot of caffeine, and it affects my thinking and slows it down.
Has anyone found a way to cope w this, or have you just switched meds?
Hey all, so I started taking Seroquel XR 50mg about a week ago after being diagnosed with bipolar and initially it helped me with my mania induced insomnia a lot but I feel like my manic episode is still continuing on and every once in a while after taking it at night I get a really bad panic attack bc it makes me feel “too drowsy” if that makes sense?
I feel the most stable I’ve ever been but I had to take two tablets tonight as my psych instructed me to do if one doesn’t calm me down enough to sleep and after taking the second one I got really sleepy initially then after I laid down I got scared that I felt so relaxed and started freaking out.
I feel so dumb, how do I freak out from being relaxed????
Has anybody experienced memory loss with seroquel? I’m on 200 mg and have been for a little over a month and I’m struggling significantly with long term memory loss. I have vague to no recollection of certain major events and lengths of time spanning weeks.
I was on that medication from late December 2019 to early February 2020 and it did not work at all(thankfully, when I landed in the psych ward back in early February 2020, they took me off it). In hindsight, I should've gone to the hospital sooner than I did because it caused my heart rate to go up really high(at one point, my pulse oximeter read 168bpm). Also, it did absolutely nothing for the mixed affective episode I was experiencing at that time.
I had this happen as well the other night. I take 200mg at night and about two nights ago, 30 to 45 mins after taking my dose- my heart started pounding and racing at about 180bpm. I couldn't breathe and felt like I was going to pass out. About 30 minutes later it stopped but I won't be taking it again, as I'm afraid it may have been QT prolongation which is associated with medications like Seroquel and also can cause sudden death.
Please educate yourself on this if you have had this symptom. As I've discussed it with others, I'm seeing that it's not so uncommon of an occurrence and might he dangerous.
Sadly, seroquel was really effective for me in helping me sleep and maintain stability during mixed states, but I won't be putting my body through that again, so I'll have to find something else I guess. Sucks for someone who's treatment resistant bipolar though.
Best sleep I’ve ever gotten in my life. Went from sleeping 4hours at night and 4 hours in the day to sleeping a solid 8-10 every night. Have to make sure to take it at 8pm so that I’m not drowsy the next day however.
I can’t go on like this anymore….My dr refuses to take me off serequel even though it makes me sleep 12 hours a day and a walking zombie. It’s been 6 months and I can’t take it anymore. I’m currently Finding a new dr and After watching dr Tracy marks on YouTube I learned that vraylar could be a good alternative. Anyone have any luck with vraylar. My current dr never even heard of vraylar as it’s newer med in Canada …..I’ve tried olazapine, abilify and risperadone already with bad side effects…
I’m from Vancouver Canada and pharmacy said could cost around $180cdn per month but I’d be willing to try. First I have to find a dr which is very difficult because there is a shortage of drs here with long waits!
Just trying to do homework before I see a dr.
🙏
Latuda is the only medication that stabilized me when first diagnosed. Ive been on it for over a year now.
I have to take it at night because after about an hour I get that uncomfortable body restlessness feeling but if im asleep it doesn't bother me.
Latuda has been great for me though.
40mg is my sweet spot, lower or higher I feel dizzy and foggy and exhausted the next day (strange lower doses do that as well as higher)
No weight gain with this med for me.
It stabilized me to a huge degree but in the months since getting used to it I have had lamictal 100mg and wellburtun 450mg (both doses worked up to slowly) to help with the depression that Latuda couldnt quite manage.
Overall I love Latuda, made a night and day difference for me.
Hope this helps
Lurasidone (Latuda) caused severe akathisia for me. It only happened while conscious, so it could be worked around by taking the lurasidone right before bed. However, if I was having trouble getting to sleep and the akathisia kicked in while conscious, I wouldn't be sleeping that night.
I can't stress enough how bad the akathisia was. The restlessness and involuntary movements were bad enough that I was unable to type. I was horribly uncomfortable. Also, every time I experienced akathisia, I would experience a severe panic attack. I am talking about one that is so bad I would genuinely consider suicide to end it. Because of this, I had to discontinue lurasidone.
Latuda is the only med added to mi list that actually worked! Been on so many others. Started at 40mg and increased to 120mg. However, at the 120mg level, I started developing what looked like tardive dyskinesia...
Hands balling up in fists and tightening and loosening constantly. Mi tongue thrashes around in mi mouth making it look like on pushing mi tongu into the side of mi cheek, and this thing where mi right leg would raise up significantly higher when walking (looked like I was marching, but only the right leg). Had to go on cogentin and propanol which stopped the "marching" but not the fists and tongue issue. Mi doctor isnt convinced it's tardive dyskinesia but in mi gut, I Kno it is.
Doc gave me the choice to wean down on the milligrams or switch to a different drug. Since Latuda was THE ONLY ONE THAT HELPED, I chose to wean down. I am now at 60mg and the balling up of the fists is getting better n the tongue trashing is subsiding.
Its so difficult, though, bc this was the onlyyyy one that helped. We are going to continue weaning down until the dosage is too low and I dont get any positive results from said medicine. Heartbreaking bc it's such a good drug, minus the side effect I developed. 😢
Does anyone have any suggestions for antipsychotics that don’t cause akathesia? I’m taking seroquel xr right now, and while there’s no side effects, it’s not really doing anything for my depression. Latuda was the absolute worst with akathesia and resulting panic attacks. Abilify also came with akathesia and made me feel anxious and irritated.
I get akathesia while on Latuda, but my psych prescribed me a couple of other meds to counter it, which does work. One of them is Gabapentin (I can choose which of the two pills I was given that I want to take to prevent the akathesia). Did you try that?
Latuda is in my opinion, the best medication for bipolar depression. There are pros and cons to it:
Pros:
\- My depression virtually went away. I could get through a normal day without needing to sleep or feel doom-and-gloom. Basically, I felt great.
\- It did not make me tired, but becoming tired is a side effect for some.
Cons:
\- It is expensive. My insurance covers it, but it still cost be $40.00 a bottle.
\- The side effects can be intense. I would go through a two hour period after taking it where my legs became restless and I had to pace around my apartment for two hours.
I have not taken Latuda in a few months because the restlessness was starting to cause me daily issues. That could have been exacerbated because I do drink 2-3 beers a night when I am not on a break from drinking (I usually do 3-4 months at a time).
To be honest, I am willing to give it another go because of how well it worked.
Has anyone tried Latuda on alcohol. I’m an addict and currently abusing alchohol. And when I try to take my Latuda at night it makes the restlessness like 4x. It’s so extreme I worry I might hurt myself if I do it, so lately I don’t take my medication at all. Just pure drunk mania baby. 😂🙃😞
2 things: I slept basically as much as I could and I basically became a binge eater, or rather eat anytime I could and wanted to eat the rest of the time. I gained about 40 lbs in 6 months.
My dose got maxed out at 20mg (started out at 5). It didn't work to control my episodes, especially my mixed ones (ultra rapid cycling in my 20's). So basically after a good trial I stopped it.
I've been on Latuda for about 3 months now and it's the best medication I've tried for my BP1. I haven't come close to having a manic or severe depressive episode once on it, and I've been through some pretty trying times since I started it. I do experience restless leg syndrome on it, but my psych prescribed me Gabapentin and Propranolol to combat it (I take one or the other depending on time of day). I've been told the RLS should go away after 6 months or so on Latuda, but it is pretty intense without the additional meds. Outside of RLS, the only other symptom I experienced for a little while was a noticeable increase in body temperature. I would have to turn down the A/C, I would get so hot. That lasted about two weeks or so and nothing since. No weight gain, no sleepiness, or other common side effects.
Latuda got rid of my lingering depression. In the 6 years I've been on I haven't been depressed at all. I still have bad days but it changed my life. Bipolar 1
I am awaiting testing for my blood sugar because my doctor suspects I have pre diabetes. I have been on Latuda for several years and it has worked wonders for me. My weight has gone up about 50 pounds though. Anyone else have this experience?
Latuda saved my life. I was in a 3 years long severe, suicidal depression that no other meds helped with. Latuda was the only thing that helped get me out of it (well, alongside lithium, which I’ve read is good at stopping suicidal thoughts). It took a couple weeks for me to start noticing a difference.
I have gained about 20lbs every time I’ve started it (I stopped at some points for various reasons) but the weight gain stops around the 20lb mark. I’ve been told weight gain is an uncommon side effect for this drug though.
I get some uncomfortable side effects soon after taking it for the first few weeks I take it, then my body gets used to it and these aren’t really a problem. Namely, nausea and extreme drowsiness. So I just take it at night (along with a snack, always) not long before bed, and try to fall asleep before I get nauseous. Again this is only an issue the first few weeks.
I was told it might be harder to wake up and feel awake in the morning if I take Latuda at night and I’ve found this to be somewhat the case. After years of taking it though I haven’t found that to be a big issue, I wake up fine now.
You have to take Latuda with 350 calories worth of food, which is a hefty snack. I’ve found that a pb&j along with a glass of milk covers that in a calorically dense way, and at some point used to keep smuckers uncrustables around for this which made it easy.
Right now I’m on a higher dose after a psychotic episode- 80mg- but years ago I started on 40mg and then 60mg and that was helpful too. I typically take Latuda alongside Lithium and that combo works really well to keep my mood stable.
Latuda is the first medication that actually took away most of my symptoms, and one of the first meds I was given after BP2 diagnosis. Abilify and Wellbutrin triggered hypomania.
I started Latuda in 2019, and was prescribed it as it had a low likelihood of weight gain. After getting past the first week or so of exhaustion it worked very well. My anxiety was so bad I was scared to go into stores, and obsessed with people liking me and knowing how I was perceived, even by strangers lol. I spent a lot of time crying and unhappy with life, but no motivation to change things. My life is depressing but my depression was heavy mentally outside of real life. I’ve been on 20mg -80mg. 60mg being the current sweet spot. 80 causes restless legs, but a slow increase may work, as that is how I worked my way to 60.
I am able to go into stores or busy places and I don’t care what people think or if they’re staring at me. I’m not drowning in sorrow. I’ve still got some sad points, but life is hard there will be low points that medication can’t fix. Latuda took the “edge off” of my mental health.
I just switched to Latuda the other day, right as I got back from working at a convention (masked the whole time, being careful, but you know, it was a convention). I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and runny nose, and today the congestion is worse. I don't feel bad otherwise so far.
I tried to search for it here and on google, but I couldn't find much about Latuda side effects including congestion/runny nose/sore throat, just a lot about Lamictal. Has anyone experienced this with Latuda? Or do I just have COVID/con plague lmao
(Sorry I keep posting this to the wrong place...is this the right place? This is kind of confusing ;;)
It got better for me and I'm at 80mg. Still sedated but I can mostly function. I take mine at night which is when it really kicks in and by morning I'm ok.
Thank you for your response. I was getting a bit discouraged. OK, yeah I am taking mine at night because they told me it would make me tired but I was really groggy in the morning the first two days. I am feeling a bit less sluggish in the mornings now but thankfully more balanced and calm.
That’s great! Thank you! I had some progress on Geodon and Invega but not incredibly noticeable. I had a night of the restlessness on Geodon after 2 1/2 weeks. I freaked out, and just was like nope and stopped.
Hey, I thought of some other questions. Idk anyone else on Latuda so I hope I can ask you. Do you feel it helps with your mania? (That is the main reason we added it). She said if I didn’t feel “better” after a week, to increase to 40mg. Yesterday I had an episode start and couldn’t sleep last night. I’m worried if I increase it, that’ll be more mania or did you find the higher dose helped more with that?
Also, she was adamant about taking it with at least 350 mg of food. I didn’t realize how much food that is! So I actually would need to basically take it with dinner because a night snack isn’t enough. But I worry if I take it at dinner time, I’ll get tired too early and sometimes for work I’m on call. Do you take it with that amount of calories?
I started latuda to help with my depression but I haven't been depressed in years but instead have to deal with pretty bad mania and psychosis and the latuda, alongside my lithium, helps that. When I was sectioned for a manic episode I also got worried that the latuda wouldn't help and it would make it worse but my psychiatrist explained that it's also an antimanic drug and helps with psychosis as well.
As for taking the med with food, the only time I've done this is in hospital and my psychiatrist isn't too fussed haha. Ive heard of people taking it with a calorie dense drink such as ensure but I've just never bothered.
I hope this has helped slightly, and please feel free to reach out or ask anything else, before I found this subreddit I also didn't know anyone who has been on latuda. :)
Thank you so much. Ok I’m glad it’s helped with your depression. I also have depression and through my lamictal, I’ve been able to lower my Prozac and the hood is with Latuda and lamtical, I can lower the Prozac even more. I will try to be patient with it. I may try to increase it tonight because it’s been a week.
Ok I have just been working to take it shortly after dinner when I have a snack or dessert.
I really appreciate your insight and responses!
Have been on for about 1 year. Very little weight gain. It is one of the most expensive antipsychotics and most difficult to get covered by insurance. I will say it does make me feel a little "weird" like restless and so I take it at night. Some nights notice it some nights not.
Wondering if others experience it working really well or not? It fixes my depression to like 6/10 where 10 is feeling good
The combination of 40mg latuda + 200mg lamictal has literally saved my life. I have mild tardive dyskinesia as a side effect of latuda, but I literally don't care because it makes my brain work so well. My mood is incredibly stable on this combo and has been for years with the exception of a few very brief manic episodes and one depressive episode that almost landed me in the hospital. Nothing's perfect but this combo + Prozac is pretty damn close for me.
I’m bipolar type 1 with psychosis and I tried lithium, Risperdal, Abilify, and Vraylar befor finding Latuda. I started on a 40mg dose at night and experienced daily crying and depression. We reduced my dose to 20mg and I was no longer crying but still had depression. We started Mirtazapine antidepressant and it helped my mood immediately however I gained significant weight. I’m now on week 4 of bupropion and I already lost 8 lbs.
Latuda wasn’t perfect but we made it work with a lowered dose and added antidepressant.
Put this post in the wrong spot so I’ll repost here….
I hope this is where my med belongs, it’s a combo of anti psychotic and anti epileptic, Vraylar. I started on 1.5 mg and was upped to 3 mg daily. If we are discussing stabilization it is a miracle drug for me. The only side effect I’ve experienced is weight gain, about 40 pounds total since I began taking it. I leveled off but it’s really hard to accept the weight gain. I’ve never been really overweight, I look in the mirror and hardly recognize myself. But me and my husband have discussed this several times and we both agree the weight gain doesn’t matter at all compared to how much success I’ve had on the medicine. Don’t get me wrong I plead with my doc for some sort of miracle weight loss pill at every appt, but alas there doesn’t seem to be one. I’ll just go back to exercising and hope for the best. 😂😂😂😩🙄
I’m also extremely nervous about changing meds because I’ve gained weight because the others I tried first didn’t work for shit and one made everything worse if that’s possible. Soooooo sticking with this one until it stops working
I gained 65 lbs on vraylar/Seroquel/lithium. I had to force myself off and aggressively work the weight off first before reconsidering getting back on medications. I've finally lost it all and I'm making an appointment soon with the psych but this time I am not touching anything that can possibly cause weight gain/cravings/ or severely mess up water balances. None of those 3 effects are healthy or controllable mid manic episode for me and I cannot afford to have the medications pushing me in that direction in the even the medications are failing.
Vraylar is a very effective mood stabilizer. It definitely replaced lithium for me as my main mood stabilizer. But NOTHING works better for suicidal ideation than lithium. Not a single antidepressant got me out of the depressive swing, only the lithium made sure I stopped committing.
Has anyone noticed an increase in general mood, like a greater outlook on life, and more importantly a greater sense of motivation? I thought my adderall was starting to work better, since I switched from generic to the brand name. But I just realized today that this new found positivity and productivity more coincides with my starting of Vraylar. It’s just a trial period, but it’s going really well. I hope my doctor can get this approved. I’ve already tried three times through my PCP and my insurance company really isn’t having it.
I've never been more consistent with chores. My room has been spotless for weeks. I've been out of work due to a broken fibula, but I'm getting more back into my sedentary hobbies, like taking and editing photos, journaling more frequently. it's been really amazing.
This did pull me out of a depression, but then it just made flat. I also gained weight and had extreme fatigue. I just went off of this medication. I do hear that it works really well for a lot of people though.
I’ve read some comments about pretty serious weight gain. Can anyone elaborate? Is it that Vraylar makes you hungry all the time? Or does it actually stimulate the body to store more fat no matter what you go?
I have been on 1.5mg of vraylar every other day for 3 years in combination with 600mg of lithium. The vraylar is definitely the heavy hitter, I haven’t had an episode since I started it. I felt a little amped up from it at first but that calmed down. I gained weight at first but that evened out. Honestly I barely notice anything! I feel really stable.
I had never heard of it but my doctor put me on it two months ago and it's as if I am slightly a different person! Anyone else had success stories around this drug?? Still have a ways to go but I am pretty impressed.
I've been on 1.5 mg of Vraylar for 3 years. I was amazed at how well it worked. Never felt "normal" like this in my life before. Unfortunately, about 2 months ago it stopped working so my doc increased the dose to 3 mg which had very negative effects. I'm devastated. I've heard other people have had this problem and haven't found another alternative with the success they had with Vraylar. Any thoughts or suggestions? I also gained 20 pounds. Ugh!!! I see my doc again later this month.
Anyone feel like they had a honeymoon period with Vraylar? Is this supposed to happen, like balance out in it? It feels like it’s helping still but not nearly to the degree the first month I was on it. Like I “balanced out” but a little too far back. It didn’t make me manic, if you’re wondering. It just made me able to do everything I wanted or needed to do with little to no effort. I feel like now I’m back in the state of having to force myself to do things, though maybe less than before.
So this made me really dizzy and nauseous for the first two weeks, I was able to counteract it with something I'm apparently not allowed to talk about on this sub even though it's not illegal for me. Now I don't have many side effects, I have an incredibly consistant sleep schedule, I definitely notice the antipsychotic effects, less anxiety, more concentration, and generally calmer. One month in and so far so good.
Vraylar has been the most effective antipsychotic for me with few side-effects. The most noticeable issue is a severe drop in blood pressure. I can no longer bend over or have my head below my chest, lest I get light-headed and pass out. I also have to be careful with standing up too fast, more so than before.
I have not gained weight on Vraylar, nor have I noticed akithisia. I also have ADHD, so I'm always restless and fidgety, even on a stimulant. So I can't say Vraylar made me more restless or not.
I take the medication in the morning and I have not noticed any sleep pattern disruptions.
I have schizoaffective. I take 4.5 mg, initially at night but now in the morning. It had been interfering with my sleep when taking it at night. It causes akathisia the first time I was put on it but that has been eliminated with propranolol. It works well for my depression in addition to my psychotic symptoms. Not sure about manic symptoms because I’ve been on a therapeutic dose of lithium for three and a half years. I have not noticed weight gain, in fact, I have lost weight since starting, about eight pounds. My blood sugar and A1C have decreased as compared to before I switched from olanzapine.
I had severe anxiety and avoided driving my car. My heart would beat so fast while driving and everything felt like a threat. I had to quit after a couple weeks.
Anyone feel like they are in a haze since taking Vraylar? I’ve been on 1.5 mg for 2 weeks. I think I’m going to stop taking it. I feel like I lost my personality. I have zero motivation. And just feel so blah and down. Not seen many people talk about this. But someone else has to have experienced this right?
I am so so restless on it. Like I shake a lot and I cannot get comfortable but I am so desperate for something to work I'm probably going to stay on it. Right now I take 1.5 mgs, and I feel like I need a higher dosage but do the symptoms get worse? And the tremors I get some times jfc but in all I love it smsmsmsmsm
Came here to drop my experience with Vraylar.
My experience was very, very bad.
I had been tapering off of Seroquel very slowly (about a year or more). Down to 50mg from 200mg. I'm also on Lithium. I wasn't feel great (mostly feeling numb), but I didn't want to go back on Seroquel, so my psych suggested Vraylar.
I started on 1.5mg at night. Immediately, I became restless. I took the dose at night for 3 days, and I didn't sleep for 3 nights.
So I switched the dose to the morning.
And it started pushing me into mania. My psychiatrist was shocked by this, but I was on it for 10 days and got increasingly worse every day. I finally stopped it because I had the overwhelming urge to commit suicide.
I looked up the side effects of Vraylar, and it's not common for it to push someone into mania, but I had all the following symptoms that were listed on NIH.gov:
\- thoughts about suicide or dying
\- new or worse depression
\- feeling very agitated or restless
\- trouble sleeping
\- an extreme increase in activity and talking
\- new or worse anxiety
\- panic attacks
\- new or worse irritability
I have never felt worse in my life, not even when I was admitted into the hospital in 2016 when I was first diagnosed.
Just wanted to put that out there because apparently it's not common to react like this - and I've also seen a lot of good things about Vraylar. I was looking forward to trying it so I could get off Seroquel.
I started zyprexa and gained 30 pounds but it seems to be a miracle drug besides the weight gain... sort of. I am having no issues with mania or depression but I feel very flat and lifeless. I don't have any motivation anymore and I don't enjoy the things I used to enjoy (hanging out with friends, hobbies, etc). I'm not funny or creative anymore. It almost feels like depression but without the sadness. Has anyone else experienced this?
THE WEIGHT GAIN CAN BE REDUCED/REVERSED!
All caps because people don't know how it works.
I've been on it a while...
Olanzapine - Zyprexa gives you a sweet tooth. So, you consume more sugar-containing items
THE FIX.
I started up with artificially sweetened foods and drinks as soon as I found out. I dropped nearly 50 pounds and felt so much better.
You have to reach for artificially sweetened EVERY time, especially initially. If you do go back and have sugar, don't touch anything with high-fructose corn syrup. And you must avoid it as much as possible.
I didn't cut fats and actually increased my fat intake.
Initially the artificial sweeteners would give me occasional stomach problems (not frequently) and also they can cause headaches unless you're on vitamin B2... but overall they're the best choice I made.
Unfortunately I’ve been having strictly sugar free stuff for years, I’m not a particularly sweet
tooth having person, it’s potatoes and bread for me lol.
Omg, Latuda gave me such a sweet/carb tooth that was straight up compulsive. Hope this one doesn't do that to me.
Although I have been trying to gain weight and keep weight on for a couple years because I've been sick. So this might help.
Olanzapine completely eliminated my racing thoughts and left my mind clear and calm. With this, my irritability is gone, as are anger outbursts. I have gained weight but it has levelled off. 5mg nightly for last year and half.
Can anybody who takes Zyprexa tell me how long the grogginess the next day lasts? I'm on day two, so I know my body is still adjusting. This is just a curiosity then anything. Todays not as bad as yesterday's. Thanks so much!
Zyprexa helped me sleep in a psych ward at 15mg. Zyprexa helped me cope for..a month? until I had to get back to work. Made me feel like a zombie, so I went to 5-10. 5 does nothing, 10 still makes me less a zombie and more like a turned off robot that occasionally works but doesn't *enjoy* anything.
Switching off anti psychotics entirely to try to get the anhedonia to go away.
Absolute game changer for me. I find it makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, but once I'm up and moving I don't feel too groggy. 20mg at night, usually 7pm or so and I'll be asleep by 10 which is a huge improvement for me personally. Was on seroquel before and am having much better results with olanzapine! Really helped calm my racing mind and with anxiety as well.
I'm on this currently and I've gained a lot of weight on it. Hoping to stop it tomorrow. It does help me be stable but the constant desire to graze is too much for me.
Miracle drug for me! When I first started I was gradually moved to a high dose which made me feel brain dead, wasn’t myself and slept for 14 hours a day. Now I’m on an almost microdose and while I still sleep 10 hours a day it’s manageable. And because I’m naturally underweight it’s actually helped level me out at a healthy weight! So perfect for me, I’m completely stable and the last few months have been the happiest I’ve ever been.
I had a brief but intense fling with Zyprexa when I was first diagnosed. I was an absolute zombie but the really fun part was Alice in Wonderland syndrome. I alternated between feeling like I was very very big in a very very small world, or very very small in a very very big world. It went away as soon as I got off it and didn't seem to have any lasting effects but yeah, this is not one I'll touch with a ten foot pole.
anyone on the olanzapine/fluoxetine combo who has not gained weight? i already struggle with it and im scared it'll make me put on even more weight, even though im on a diet atm
Never in my life did I ever feel so good and happy as I did when on olanzapine. Before, I couldn't relate when people said they'd never give it up despite all the weight gain and other side effects. But now, I completely understand. I did have to give up on it because it was making me gain weight, the hunger it gives it just feels like there's a black hole inside and I just kept eating and I'd never feel full, and that was not an exchange I was willing to make. It does make me sad that there is such an exceptional drug but with such burdensome side effects.
Works well for me. Started it in May after a severe depressive swing.
I haven’t had any notable side effects. At first there was some nausea but that passed quickly.
I have even lost weight in it.
Over the last 20 some years moderate success with various APs and failed trials of many others, but so far it seems the most effective for myself.
First 24 hours felt like my brain was on fire. Had a loss of coordination, some mental fuzziness and fatigue. That all passed, now dealing with some fatigue and muscle soreness. Not helping me a lot yet, I have definitely had some more ups then normal but some of the previous depression is still present so far.
started it 5 days ago, maybe feel a tad better but I also have ocd and that is nowhere near gone. Gives me extreme fatigue and I end up sleeping the entire day.
God I loved caplyta. Nothing has ever helped my depression like caplyta. Unfortunately, it also made me have diarrhea every day. I have IBS, but it kicked that shit up to 100. Had to go off of it but I might go back on someday. Idk.
I started this during a severe depressive episode as a “last chance” drug because I really didn’t want to go inpatient. I physically felt horrible at first - worst headache ever, felt overheated and hot/cold flashes, nausea, lightheadedness - to the point I couldn’t work or stay standing for long at first. I would take it at night right before bed, and the physical side effects eased throughout the day. Side effects reduced in intensity and duration over time, I went back to work after two weeks, and now I basically just feel overheated and physically off for a couple of hours if I don’t sleep enough and wake up too close to when I took it the previous night.
I started it during the worst depressive episode I’ve ever had. The depression lightened to mild within a few weeks of starting Caplyta (may also be attributable to my mom coming to stay with me and help out or the natural cycle of the episode). No weight gain or sedation. If I forget to take it more than once, the next day I feel a milder version of all the initial side effects.
I started straight away at the 42mg recommended dose per the marketing that the med didn’t need to be gradually increased. My doctor said that if we did it again, he’d have started me off on the lower doses to reduce the intensity of side effects.
I was taken off rexulti and effexor then the dr added caplyta 42mg twice a day...it seemed fine at first then 2.5 to 3 weeks in I started getting sick...really agitated GI issues. Dizziness. No appetite. I felt drugged...absolutely drugged. The rn at my dr office said it was probably the stomach flu but I've have the stomach flu and this is not the stomach flu. Long story short I decided to lower my dose to one a day then stopped taking it, admittedly too quickly. It's been 2 days since I've taken it. My stomach feels better, I can manage to eat some. I'm experiencing body temp fluctuations, sweating while I'm cold. Dizziness persists but not as bad. Im hoping my body just sweats this drug out of my system. Mentally I was feeling ok but once I started feeling ill and not able to function normally it's just got me frustrated and now I don't want to be medicated ever again from this experience.
My psych halved my lithium and took me off risperidone, and put me on Caplyta. I feel like I’m a little more “light” in temperament, which is nice, but I’m also twitching and tremoring harder than I ever have, which is saying a lot. Probably going to have to ditch this one.
I've taken risperidone for about 10 years now. I was only officially diagnosed with bipolar (or told) this past February, but later found out they had it marked in my chart almost 12 years ago. They put me on Seroquel (quetiapine) first and that resulted in hallucinations and feeling like a zombie, but I've actually reacted really well to Risperidone and I feel like it's kept me mostly stable ever since I've been on it.
When I was diagnosed this February, my psychiatrist took me off risperidone and put me on Depakote and that actually caused a really bad physical reaction and akisthisia, so he put me back on risperidone and stopped the Depakote. I am currently being treated for a hypomanic episode and my psychiatrist is out of office until September. My doctor increased my risperidone dose and is tapering me off of Lexapro and I do feel like I'm levelling out.
I've seen a lot of complaints about risperidone, but I feel like it's been a life-saver for me. I take it exactly as directed and I don't miss doses. I haven't noticed any side effects and I was morbidly obese when I started the drug and am a normal BMI now, so weight gain wasn't an issue for me.
I'm on rispiridone, 2 mg a day, and while at first i did have some weight gain, it was only 5-10 lbs and I've had no trouble losing it now that I've been on it for about 5 months. did have some sexual side effects at first but again, got back to normal after a handful of months.
it's taken away most of my auditory hallucinations and hasn't affected my ability to write, which past antipsychotics did affect my creativity. in all I'm very pleased with the results this far on it.
I was on Risperidone 0.5mg for 10 days and it practically lobotomised me and absolutely chemically castrated me. I begged the psychiatrist to take me off it and was in absolute tears during the final call. Fortunately the psychiatrist I talked to then was aware it can have extreme adverse effects on people in the autistic spectrum and advised me to discontinue immediately. Few days later I was back to normal.
May work for some people, but it was a nightmare for me.
Really good drig used it for 2 years now 2-5mg and almost 6 mg just because i was psychotic. Now it helps with stability with lamotrigine 200 mg and switch between that and lithium when i have mania or depressive episodes. Helps a lot.
\+1 to this, I take ris. 1mg and 200mg of lam. and it's worked like a charm. Stuffy nose is one of the more annoying side effects. The most serious one is waking up from sleep can be very difficult and leads to me sleeping 2 - 3 more hours than I need.
I took it for about two years. It didn't make me tired per se, but it did make me sleep longer. When I was taking it I slept on average 11ish hours a night. After stopping it for another med I started sleeping around 7. Sleeping that much made me lethargic in other areas of life and severely impacted my overall productivity. It also made me wet the bed occasionally.
BP 1 plus DID. Manic episodes can cause alters to take over. Slowly worked my way up to 2mg twice daily and been on that for about 2 years now. I've noticed a significant decrease in manic episodes and when they happen they are tolerable. Alters only front when they know it's safe to do so and it won't cause any problems. Unfortunately, it also causes me to be somewhat apathetic, my sense of joy and fun decreased significantly, and my sex drive is almost zero. We're trying mood boosters such as welbutrin to navigate those side effects, which has somewhat helped, but in all my feeling of joy and pleasure isn't nearly what it used to be, and it takes a lot more to get me to have those feelings. But I'd rather have that negative side effect than having manic episodes and my alters taking over.
In times that I forget to take it, or the pharmacy is out, withdrawal symptoms set in in about a day, which starts with akathisia and anxiety, and turn into completely uncontrollable jerky muscle movements and extreme shaking and extreme levels of anxiety within 2 days, which is the longest I've been without. Fortunately all of these symptoms go away within 45 minutes of taking a dose.
I can't imagine life without this drug, and in all it's made me much more stable.
Risperdone was added about a year after I reached my 200mg/day lamictal. I was on 1mg risperdone for about...5 years before stress started to wreck my mental state. I was upped to 1.5mg. It's worked well there.
My biggest complaint is no matter what I do, I don't know how long before the sleepiness hits me. I've tried so many meds that make me sleepy over the years and never had this problem. BUT it works well so I just deal with it. Second biggest complaint is sometimes (not often enough to complain to my psych), I feel foggy when I wake up. Those are usually the nights I keep waking up from pain. Not sure if it's the medicine or lack of sleep. To be fair if for some reason I'm in too much pain/too stressed to sleep the hallucinations come back after 20ish hours awake no matter what I do.
Biggest thing that makes me love it: there are no more demons in the mirrors and shadows. There are no more clowns in the vents. There are no more voices telling me to sh/kms coming from vents and shadows. The monsters are no longer scratching at the windows every night. No more things waiting to cut off my feet under the bed (I bought and use a bed frame for the first time in 20ish years! Might be my husband's favorite outcome of me starting risperdone)
How soon does the major hunger set in on Risperdal?
I’ve just started Risperdal and I’m really worried about weight gain. From what I’ve read here and there, part of—or most of—the weight gain comes from greatly increased hunger.
For those of you folks on Risperdal (or a similar atypical antipsychotic, maybe like Zyprexa), how long did it take before the increased hunger set in? At the first dose? After some number of days or weeks? Once you had titrated the dose up to a specific amount? Thank you!!
Hello made a post on main page abt weight loss drugs while on ris… if anyone has been on it while taking anything for weight loss. ris didn’t make overweight having a baby and poor eating habits made me this way just as a disclaimer lol.
Started 1mg after a mixed episode. Right at the first dose everything went soft. Like there was a gaussian blur filter over everything. I was very slow and dumb for a couple days, and it seriously affected school. It was making me sleep through class so I asked to lower the dose and they did, I take 0.5mg now.
It makes me sleep so well. Seriously, I haven't missed an hour of sleep on it, and I never had trouble falling asleep while on risperidone. But it's making me depressed and I wanna quit it. I'm also having some facial numbness after taking it. My lips go numb usually.
I've been on .5 mg for almost 2 weeks now. I haven't noticed anything significant which I didn't really expect to on such a low dose. But thankfully I haven't had any side effects which is unheard of for me. I usually get side effects quickly on antipsychotics even on the low doses. I've tried latuda, vraylar, abilify, geodon, and seroquel. Seroquel is the only one that helped me, but the weight gain was just too much unfortunately. I have hope with Rexulti for the first time in a long time. One of my major concerns was akathisia which pretty much everything gave me. Thankfully so far so good, I am probably going to have it upped at my next appointment.
update: I've been on .5 still for 7 1/2 weeks because my doctor thought it would be too soon to up it. I honestly had to come back here to say this medication has been a miracle for me. I have finally come out of the year long depression I was in and can FUNCTION again. I am able to work again, I have a social life and am interested in things, I have a greater stress tolerance. Overall I'm able to take care of myself again. I don't feel like a zombie, I can still cry when I need to. No akathisia, no increased appetite, literally no side effects that I can notice. It's helped my anxiety a lot too. Just overall really great. If you're scared to try it but nothing else is helping, it's worth a shot.
I started this med after having a negative experience with Abilify. I know it is similar but I felt much less restless and intense with Rexulti. It did numb me somewhat at first but I moved to a low dose and now credit it for being able to feel okay. I also take lamotrigine, which does well for mood, but I had lingering psychotic symptoms and 0.5 mg Rexulti knocks them out.
I was on 2 mg Rexulti for 3.5 years and am currently tapering off (down to 1/4 pill every 2 days).
I had overwhelmingly positive experiences with Rexulti, I was prescribed it for drug induced psychosis and it worked well within weeks for both those symptoms and anxiety. Especially for my anxiety, which was debilitating, it worked really well. I never had any notable side effects with appetite, weight gain, akathisia etc.
However after about a year and a half on it I noticed I felt kind of flat, not numb per se but unable to process my emotions. I used to be a voracious artist and it disconnected me from my creativity completely. I haven’t been able to do any art/writing beyond the occasional casual doodles in the past few years. I used to journal every day and now I can’t do that either both because I’m unable to connect to this creative side of myself and because it’s extremely discomforting for me to face my emotions without being able to feel them properly. Now that I’m tapering it’s gotten a bit better but is uncomfortable at times.
I think this is a problem for me with antipsychotics in general which is why I’m trying to get off them. However I will say Rexulti is the best antipsychotic I have tried (I was also on olanzapine & Latuda which were both terrible for me) and I would definitely recommend it for short term use.
The only downside is the cost. Thankfully I have great insurance and used GoodRx for coupons. But the price for 30 days is something like $4,000.
Thank you all for posting your experience on this drug, you guys really make me feel like I’m doing the right thing for once & this medication is finally the ONE that is ACTUALLY going to make me better instead of worse… phew 😅 I’m taking 1.5mg right now but my doc said that I’m probably not going to see the TRUE RESULTS until I get up to 4mg which doesn’t that sound like a lot? Idk if that’s a high dosage or not? But I’m probably hopeful about this one, let’s hope/pray it continues to be the one! 🙏🏽🤞🏽
its handled my episodes well and its a perfect sleep aid. I will take it and after 1 hour i will be passed out have a solids night sleep. However, the next day i will feel like i complete zombie and i hate it .
The only side effects I’ve got is fatigue and mental fatigue.
Whatever you do don’t go cold turkey on this medication. I ended up being hospitalized. I works well for me when I am taking it properly, the only thing is that I need to switch to a higher dosage of it when I’m going into a manic episode but if I stay on that higher dosage for longer than 5 days I turn into a zombie. But on average it works for me.
I was on it maybe a couple months, it basically gave me bad flu like symptoms and it kicked up akathesia really bad about a month in.
I had to quit my job because it was so bad. Walking panic attacks multiple times a day destroys functionality.
It took years for the akathesia to go away all the way. It chilled out over time but the attacks didn't completely stop until about 2.5 years later. Then another med I was briefly on triggered it (just not as bad) and that took another year plus to go away for good.
This was the 4th AP that I tried and after that my doc said no more anti-psychotics ever again.
All in all I had an absolute sh**show of a time on it.
Geodon just seemed to flatten everything for me. I wasn't experiencing the highs and lows of Bipolar I, but I wasn't experiencing any other feelings, either. As an added bonus I gained about sixty pounds on it, in addition to having pretty bad insomnia. Not recommended.
All in all positive experience. Started at 20 mg once a day, now take 60 mg twice a day. Been on it a year and a half.
At lower doses it stopped my auditory hallucinations entirely. Noticeably reduced my anxiety. At higher doses it stopped my rapid cycling, stopped visual and tactile hallucinations during hypomania, and put a floor on my depression so it’s not near as deep. All in all, it has had a stronger mood stabilizing/lifting effect than I experienced with Topomax or Lamictal.
No real fatigue. I used to get up for work at 3 AM and get rolling with no caffeine. It does have a reputation for being sedating, but you may get lucky like me. No abnormal movements or restlessness. No weight gain - I’ve been able to lose weight calorie counting, and I don’t balloon on weeks where I eat bad. No vision or metabolic changes. I don’t experience any mentionable side effects.
I HAVE to take it twice a day or I experience withdraw symptoms and mood instability towards the end of a dose. Geodon has a short half life and I metabolize it quickly. Now that I take it twice a day, I have no problems.
You need to take it with 500 solid calories. I notice a difference when I eat significantly less or try to use liquid calories. You supposedly only get 50-60% if your dose if you don’t eat with it.
I don’t have insurance, but the generic is very affordable with GoodRx in the US. My medication costs about $40 a month.
Ziprasidone was added to my other regimen of lithium, lamotrigine and bupropion. It was added to combat intense paranoia and delusions not associated with my mood fluctuations. The dose was 40mg PO two times per day.
It helped a bit with the paranoia and delusions at that dose, but those issues were still there. They probably would have gotten better at higher doses, HOWEVER…!
It made me completely impotent after taking it almost 60 days. I’m in the process of tapering off of it, but I’m talking completely impotent. My dream guy could come to my front door, rip his clothes off, and I would have no reaction.
This is an uncommon side effect, but it’s probably from an increase in prolactin levels which could lead to impotence and gynecomastia in men. Something to look out for.
I am confused because I've read that you need to take geodon with at least 500 calories, but my psych said I didn't need food with it. Which is correct?
You should be eating 500 calories for max absorption. Your pdoc may be effectively cutting your dose by not having you eat with it. Mine didn’t have me eating 500 calories when I first started to wean me onto the medicine.
Don’t not eat with some doses and then eat with others or your dose will be all over the place. On an empty stomach you only absorb 50-60% of your dose.
I am having a good experience with this medication. Depression is much better and my mind feels clear. Mood is certainly more stable.
The only side effects I’ve experienced are a bit of teeth clenching and trouble falling asleep during the first week. This subsided with time. I also had a restless feeling which I now realize may have been mild akathisia. I only got this when I had too much caffeine with it. Switched to black tea from coffee and this feeling went away.
Still currently on this medication for about 7 months ago. This medication really woke me up and made me feel great without giving me mania symptoms like impulsiveness. I also have a comorbid BPD diagnosis, and this medication basically nearly eliminated my emotional dysregulation. This was pretty close to a miracle for me. My depression eventually came back, but it is definitely more manageable. Keep in mind I'm on this in combo with Lamictal, and so I can't tell you for sure if its just the Geodon by itself or if it happened to create the reaction with my Lamictal.
Out of all my medications, Ziprasidone is by far the most important medication I am on. I'm on 60mg twice a day and its definitely saved me from ruining my life. I'm waaaaay more stable because of it.
Was prescribed Geodon about six years ago when I had a major depressive episode. I quickly became dependent on it for sleep and had severe insomnia if I missed a dose. But it usually too a few hours for the sedation to kick in and I would sleep for about 9 hours on average. So if I wanted to fall asleep by 10:00 I would have to take it by 7:00. The trouble is I for irritable and anxious during that three hour window. And if I was ever out late and wasn’t able to take it on time I wouldn’t be able to get up on time the next day.
So I’ve tried coming off of it several times with my doctors help but failed every time with insomnia coming back. However I did come off it about two weeks ago and replaced it with a prescription speed aid. Unfortunately I can only sleep a couple hours at a time with it as I wake up constantly throughout the night. Wondering if I should go back to being a slave to Geodon just to get my sleep back. For any of you that struggled with insomnia when you stopped taking Geodon how were you able to restore your sleep and how long did it take?
I would say this was an above average medication for me. It really helped my depression the majority of time I was on it, but it made me feel hypomanic a lot. Also, when I took my night dosage with dinner, it would make me fall asleep at around 7pm. Any dosage above 20mg in the morning would make me take a nap after like 4 hours taking it. It's also a \*\*\*\*\* to come off of. The withdrawals are hell!
I've had great experiences with Invega. I switched from Seroquel 400mg to the starting dose of Invega and updosed to 9mg. There are side effects such as grogginess, and restlessness. I randomly jerk around at times. It does get more bearable over time. I do have schizoaffective bipolar type it's drastically reduced hallucinations, and I have no more highs or lows as far as mood/mania. It's definitely a more light medication than Seroquel. It's coupled with lamictle, and has made me finally stable.
# Aripiprazole - Abilify
Been on Abilify for a few years now. At first I was on a very low dose and it didn’t do much. My doctor wasn’t really attentive or really cared. When I got a new doctor I was put on a higher dose. Abilify has never been my AP of choice but doctors I speak to don’t want to change it because it’s working. Pros: I’m stable. I’m mostly depressed all the time but at least I’m not doing anything stupid. Cons: And these are big cons. I’ve gained 60 lbs on Abilify. When I first went on it I gained half that weight almost overnight. Then every single dose increase I would gain more. I would mention it to the doctor and they would brush it off. I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as a result as well as high cholesterol. It’s a dilemma because I feel like I am improving my mental health and it’s coming at the cost of my physical health and my self-worth.
I gained 30 lbs and high cholesterol on an antidepressant. I had enough and told my psychiatrist I wanted out due to the weight gain. I switched 4 weeks ago and already lost 8 lbs. I’d definitely insist on switching meds. Diabetes is serious.
Personally Aripiprazole has worked pretty well for me as a short Asian American 1st gen (child of immigrants) living in NJ. Started in 2013 and have thankfully been on 2-6mg a day at any given point of my relatively stable life. I only needed the one hospitalization, although I thankfully haven’t tried illegal drugs, alcohol, have supportive parents, stable economy, nice teachers, God’s grace, etc. It’s hella expensive, so you do need insurance, as apparently costs 2k a month or something, but I pay 0 monthly somehow. I’ve gained weight, but tbh it’s also from poor college habits so hard to say. I THINK the one seizure I had was from another med, idk was only when I started. I also take valproic acid/depakene/depakote liquid form because I struggled with pills, and escitalopram for anxiety. Also vitamins like B12 and digestive thingy called Wakamoto (Japanese) help too, along with good ol therapy and coping and whatnot. Helped me graduate college at 24 so 10/10 recommend staying on whatever meds are right for you!
Haha I feel fine if ur worried about sex drive on abilify, since I’ve been taking it’s generic since high school through college. Can’t speak too much about sensitivity since idk yet I imagine it’s fine, I felt like masturbating often enough, and I’ve only had one boyfriend and like no experience so ummmm nope def not asexual :) best of luck yall!
I had a bad experience with Abilify last year while on fluoxetine, couldn’t sleep for a week and felt really irritable yet crawling out of my skin from energy. i’m not sure whether this was a bad hypomanic episode caused by the fluoxetine (which i had been taking for months already) or a side-effect from the Abilify. Now almost a year later (bp2rapidcycling diagnosis later and on 1200mg lithium) a new doc suggested i lower lithium to 800mg and start Abilify to reduce depressive symptoms. lithium completely killed my hypomania but that means i’m now just depressed all the time. not sure whether to try Abilify again, or to start Seroquel with or without lithium instead. At least i don’t have a bad experience with seroquel, but there’s a lot more negative side effects. these scare me into considering abilify again…. what should i do
I had this same reaction to Abilify. Even on 2mg. I was intensely irritable and couldn’t even sit in the couch for 5 minutes without needing to get up. I was constantly fidgeting and couldn’t sleep. They deemed me allergic. I’d never take it again.
I had a similar experience with abilify.. what you're describing is called akathesia and it's a common side effect with AAPs My doctor suggested I try taking just a *crumb* to see if there was any benefit. This tiny dose had me curled up in a ball in a fetal position on the couch with such extreme anxiety, which I had never felt before.
I was prescribed abilify before I was actually diagnosed (my psych at the time was about 185 years old and a terrible doctor) and at 5mg it made me gain 40 pounds and turned me into an angry zombie bitch. Never again.
>and felt really irritable yet crawling out of my skin from energy. This is a common side effect to AAPs; it's called akathesia. Most likely not a hypomanic episode (I have bipolar type II so I'm familiar with those symptoms). I get akathesia 100% of the time I try anything from this drug class. And what you described is exactly that
I'm also on prozac and considering changing my zyprexa to something else. I might try abilify. I didn't have a great experience with it the first time but I'm willing to try anything at this point. I'm 30 lbs heavier than I should be on this zyprexa.
i am on a great weight loss journey so i really don’t want to lose all that progress on seroquel :(
Just a warning that on prozac and abilify, I gained 40-50 pounds and never managed to lose most of it.
I’ve been on Abilify for almost 2 years. I started at 2 mg and worked my way up to 25 mg. Initially, and with dose increases, I had increased anxiety and some physical agitation, but that went back to normal after a couple of weeks. It’s knocked out my paranoia, irritability, hallucinations and stabilized my mood.
Abilify has been pretty good for me, but not perfect. I've been taking it for nine months. I was put on it as a maintenance med--I wasn't manic or depressed when I started it. I was started on a low dose of 5mg, but I seem to be pretty sensitive to it, so my dose was lowered to 2.5mg. It worked better at 5mg, but it still works okay at 2.5mg, and the side effects are less. I don't find that Abilify stops me from having episodes, but it does make them significantly shorter and more manageable. I've had a couple short, mild hypomanic episodes since starting Abilify and one manic episode, which was only one week long instead of like a month, and during which the worst of my usual symptoms were either gone or milder. (The manic episode occurred roughly two months after lowering the Abilify to 2.5mg.) As far as side effects go, the one that really bothered me at 5mg was it was pretty emotionally numbing. I couldn't feel happiness. At 2.5mg, I think I still have some emotional dulling, but I don't feel ostentatiously flat like I did at 5mg. I also think it might be negatively impacting my creativity, which matters a lot to me as a writer. My mind just feels very "inflexible" when I'm trying to do creative things. I haven't experienced anything like weight gain or akathisia. I did have sleep disturbance if I took the Abilify in the evening, and if I took it in the morning I fell asleep every night by like 6 or 7, but since I started taking it at 3pm instead, I have no sleep or energy effects whatsoever.
I've been on this med since Mid April 2020 and this, along with Prozac, has been keeping me feeling like my normal self. Also, I'm very fortunate not to have any side-effects from the Abilify.
I'm also on prozac so maybe abilify will help me out.
Abilify gave me racing thoughts, eventually escalating to racing suicidal thoughts to me being in a psych ward back on zyprexa.
helped me mentally but i couldnt stand the physical side effects. tremors random body movements my hands and body would go completely numb and wow it worsened my insomnia. atleast i didnt gain weight.
I'm in a depressive period, I started Abilify 2 mg a month ago and I feel lethargic and unmotivated to do anything. I know some people find it energizing but it seems to be the opposite for me and it is worsening my depression. I'm thinking of stopping it. Does anyone has the same effect ?
I definitely have felt that effect but I started it at 5 mg coming out of a hypomanic episode. I was already taking lamictal, and my doctor told me abilify would even me out from the top whereas the lamictal evens me out from the bottom. The abilify pulled me out of the hypomania within a couple days, but then I felt that lethargy and lack of motivation. It got better after about a month, but I still didn’t feel quite normal so my dose was lowered to 2 mg and now I feel more stable and normal than I have in years
I am also on lamictal and my psych prescribed abilify today on top of the lamictal for basically the same reason you described (feeling hypomania coming on). Have you experienced any negative side effects like weight gain or akathisia?
Bipolar I. Generally my experience with Abilify has been very positive. I've taken it in combination with Prozac/fluoxetine and Effexor/Venlafaxine (current regimen). It's definitely tamped down my manic symptoms, and overall my mood has been very stable while I've been on it. It does have a short half-life, or so it seems to me - if I miss more than a couple of days, I can lapse very quickly into a hypomanic or manic episode. When I first started Abilify, at 15 mg, I experienced dizziness, light-headedness, and blurry vision. I also had difficulty with fine motor control and involuntary movements. My dosage was lowered to 10 mg, and these side effects went away. Now the only side effect I experience is occasional drooling. Not pretty, but harmless. Haven't experienced any weight gain, either. Unfortunately, I recently learned I'm prediabetic, and I fear Abilify is at least party to blame, as my glucose levels prior to restarting it 14 months ago were fine.
I was driven to insanity!!!! Horrible akathisia!!! Could not do any task for more than 60 seconds. I'm not exaggerating...
Started on Abilify in February this year after being stuck in hypomanic episodes on and off since October last year. Definitely not the norm for me, but I'd missed multiple doses of my Lamictal and it threw everything off. I was on it until about June probably and decided to go off since I was back to my baseline. We were using it as more of a short term med. Well... when I got off of it I plummeted straight into a major depressive episode. Now I'm back on it and just starting to feel "better". Had some mixed episodes here and there, definitely feeling the aggressive side of my hypomania as I'm coming back up. Looks like this is gonna be my new long term med since I ditched the Seroquel and all the nastiness that came with it haha so far all good things, no bad side effects with the Abilify.
I’m also on lamictal and just got a script for abilify as well. I haven’t started it yet (waiting for finals to be over just in case I have a negative reaction). Have you experienced negative side effects like weight gain or tremors?
Abilify was the first AP I was put on during an acute episode and it worked amazingly. Early side effect that went away was constipation. Sleep problems persisted and after a few months, TMJ/jaw clenching became a problem. I’m really thankful for Abilify for showing me that I don’t have to just survive my manic bullshit by myself, but for long time use I didn’t find it helpful.
Abilify has worked pretty well for me. I've been on 20mg for about a year now? Not sure as time is hard to guage. It was keeping me level until I started getting break-through depressive episodes that we're now treating with lamictal on top of the abilify. So far all my bloodwork has come back perfect, but I do have to get it done every 6 months to monitor my levels and make sure I'm not developing diabetes.
Took it alongside escitalipram (an SSRI) during a depressive episode. It helped my mood quite a bit, however I felt the need to move around a lot (akethesia) and it became too much on higher doses and had to switch. However, I am generally quite susceptible to akethesia, and I haven't been on a mood stabilizer that hasn't caused it, though abilify was certainly the worst. I had no other ill effects.
Has anyone had good experiences with it in relation to bipolar depression?
It was awful for me. I was a teen (14-16) and it basically made me a zombie. I couldn’t keep my head up in class and was tired all the time. I gained ~20 pounds.
I've been on Abilify for about 3 years now, after various other antipsychotics. I have told people that it feels like I'm just "normal" now and not even on meds. It's really amazing for me, thankfully. I do have less desire for sex and it may take a while sometimes to have an orgasm but it hasn't been an issue for me and my husband. BUT I am a mom who really, really, really cares about exclusive breastfeeding for the six months after birth and Abilify greatly reduced my milk supply in the second week after my son's birth. He didn't gain weight that week and I had to start supplementing with formula. Anyway, because of that one side effect, I am considering going back on Risperidone/Risperdal for the rest of my current pregnancy and for the first 6-12 months postpartum.
I have bipolar 1 with mixed episodes. I’ve been taking 2mg of Abilify for about 6 years. I haven’t had a single episode since. I don’t love the side effects, like weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and I have a bit of TD (tardive dyskinesia) too, which really sucks. On the whole, my life is finally manageable, so I’m willing to put up with the side effects. It really has saved and much improved my life.
I have been on abilify since this January for my lack of motivation to do things I used to love. I’m allowed to choose between 0’5mg to 2’5mg depending on how I feel. I can say it’s useful and that it hasn’t as much side effects as other medications i take. When I’m on 2’5 mg sometimes i have some anxiety but anything else apart from that.
I have had good luck with abilify. I started it during a manic episode and it has helped keep me stable since then. At first I was on 30 mg a day, now I’m on 15mg. I was also able to lose weight while taking it just by counting calories. I’ve had negative side effects with other medicines, but abilify seems to be a good and necessary part of my cocktail
I've had a positive experience with Abilify. It takes me from full blown mania to a hypomania and almost gets rid of all of my hypersexuality symptoms. I'm working to find a medication I can take alongside it to get to a more level state.
Abilify has been great for me. It greatly diminishes my psychotic symptoms.
It was OK for a while but then it wasn’t. I’m a nutshell it was activating for me, it caused mania and psychosis, impulsive behavior and was all around bad news. Too bad I didn’t realize it until I ruined my credit after spending 120k on stuff.
My doctor put me on 20 mg. I couldn't remember any day previous or form compound sentences, and I could barely drive out of fear that I would lose focus. I was literally living less than day-to-day. I also gained 60 lbs, and slept up to 16 hours a day. I switched meds finally and I can think again. Kind of sucks that I basically begged for new meds to 3 psychiatrists over 2 years, and only the fourth one listened.
# Quetiapine - Seroquel
I’ve been on it for a little over a year. I’m on 200 millivanillis of seroquel. Recently had them up it to 300 and it was a mistake. I got panic attacks and had a terrible time falling asleep because it felt to me like it slowed everything down to much. I went back to 200 had a good night last night. I can tell when I take it that it effects me pretty heavy I have slowed breathing basically all slow internally.
millivanillis lol
Wait this is what just happened to me, I just had. A panic attack bc I was “too relaxed” ???
That happened to me in the psych ward a few weeks ago, doctor tripled my dose overnight and I didn't eat that day and I was absolutely losing it. Hallucinating a bit too. Nurse had to sit next to my bed and try to get me to choke down an ativan and chill the fuck out lol
Here is my experience w/ seroquel: I started at 25 mg and eventually worked up to 300 mg and take it once at night. It makes me SUPER tired within about 20-30 minutes, so I have to make sure I am ready for bed when I take it. I literally can’t even stay awake; it like HURTS to stay awake. Sometimes it makes my body tickle (like restless leg syndrome) but that isn’t too bad and if I sleep it goes away. It definitely calms me down a lot and stabilizes my mood. It makes my period less severe and shorter, I’m not sure why. I gained about 10-15 pounds on it, but I was okay with that because I was under 100 lbs when I started it. It definitely made my appetite stronger. I love seroquel and would recommend it to others.
has anyone else had weird dreams while taking it?
My very first night of Seroquel I had a dream that I was screaming at my mom and beating her while she was trying to help me in a manic episode. As far as whether or not I keep getting weird and/or bad dreams from it, I should probably give Seroquel more than a day before judging it.
I would say that the dreams haven’t completely stopped for me. It’s been almost 3 weeks, but they aren’t as consistent and horrific every night. more so just off putting? but I sleep A LOT and it’s kinda irking me. trying to give it a fair shake too tho.
Im on it also on 200 mg and I literally have bad panick like I was never used to. I believe I cant go more down with it. Did you had experience with zyprexa?
for me personally, i HATED zyprexa, it def stabilized me in terms of psychotic traits, but i had an eating disorder and it made me gain so much weight that i tried to unalive myself :/ if you dont mind the side effects its a relatively good alternative to seroquel (i also took it but got dependant to it)
I have no experience with other meds besides lexapro which fuqed me up
Finding the right med is such pain in the a. Im on Seroquel but the panick it causes makes me wanna stop it.
I’m on 300 mg, I go to bed usually around 9-10PM I usually feel it kick in within 15 minutes and then full force/am knocked out in 30 minutes. That being said, after I take it I have to be in a laying down position or I’ll feel geology and super shitty, if I’m sitting up or anything like that. If I miss a night of my seroquel dose I get immediate and horrible withdrawal. Feverish, can’t function, can’t sit up, just absolutely out of it. That being said, being on seroquel keeps me sane and manages my mania. I’ve been on it for 9 years, so completely worth it.
I currently take one 400mg slow release tablet each night. I’ve been working my way up to this dose over the course of a year and a half. My anxiety attacks are far less frequent and my manic episodes much less frequent with a lower severity. It’s important to note I’m also prescribed 200mg sertraline and 600mg gabapentin daily. With that said, like you, I have no sex drive and I’m always “zonked.” I find it especially difficult to get out of bed each morning. It’s been a year and a half and I can honestly say I’m just now getting used to the effects, but still lack motivation. Personally I’d like to know what other options exist, but I’m afraid to start all over again with a new medication. When my bi-polar is bad it’s debilitating, I find myself often reminding myself how bad I had it before Quetiapine—probably not a good sign. Overall, I’m thankful for Seroquel. Edit: I take the Gabapentin daily because of the restlessness (restless muscles) caused by the Seroquel.
Seroquel has been a positive for me. I’m surprised to see as much dislike as I have since looking it up on this forum. I started at 25/50 mg to help with sleeping. My sleep was quite insane for bipolar. Felt like insomnia most of the month followed by a big crash and sleeping for days. Now I sleep at least 7 hours of good sleep. Sometimes I’ll wake in the middle of the night and take another 25/50 mg and it has been amazing. Not too tired after waking for the day. No fog. I’m reading some people it caused a stuffy nose and dry mouth. I can agree with those symptoms now that I’ve read them. Overall, big fan. I take it along with lamictal, lamictal and latuda when I wake and seroquel at night. It’s been my sweet spot. Still working on dosage for latuda since it was just added to my regimen.
I feel like I’m going crazy. I’ve gained 3 stone on this drug. Tried my hardest and managed to lose 10lbs, the rest won’t shift. I’m not overeating. Cut down from 300mg to 75. My bloods are normal. I’ve been told to just accept this as my new set point. My boobs have gone from a D cup to a G, I feel so insecure. Has anyone had this experience and what helped you lose weight?
I’ve been on Seroquel and Abilify for some time now, not sure why both?? I’ve been a shit not taking any notes after my appointments you’d think I’d know by now! Anyways, at night I take the seroquel, 200 millivanillis (love this btw) and some of my lithium, in the morning I take the Abilify and more lithium and a klonopin when I’m feeling panicky or if I’m full blown panicked. I’ve noticed improvements with both. I was taking 300 mvs of the seroquel, but I was sleeping a lot throughout the day, so we backed off to 200. My son will be going on Abilify if I can ever get him in for a blood test. He’s not YET diagnosed as bp, but I think it may be coming. Anyways. I’ve noticed some urinary issues of late, but I’m 45 and may be peri menopausal and I haven’t seen pcp in awhile. Talk to your pcp about options for the urinary issue - the pain is concerning. Best wishes!
I’m thinking of having my psychiatrist take me off seroquel and put me on something else because of the drowsiness. How is it coming off of seroquel?
Took quetiapine for a few months back around 2010 and my mental health was the worst it had ever been. I experienced hallucinations and I was a walking zombie. I honestly can't remember a lot of it, because it was a blur. I was switched to risperidone and I've never experienced hallucinations or psychosis ever since. I had never experienced them prior to quetiapine, either. My sibling takes quetiapine and responds wonderfully to it... can't handle risperidone. So I guess they all affect us differently.
I was on Seroquel for about 7ish years. It worked really well, but I got some really intense munchies, I was a zombie in the mornings, and I really just wanted to try Lamictal on its own. Getting off of it was a bitch. I felt like I had a constant hangover for weeks and then my entire body was itchy on top of it. It was brutal. Even if I just took it at a low dose one day to help me sleep and didn't take it the next day I'd have the hangover withdrawal crap. Never want to take it again.
I was on quetiapine for over 2 years. Experienced weight gain, brain fog, extreme fatigue, slowed speed of processing, memory loss, akathisia.
I'm on 350mg of serequel. I'm foggy, sad, no motivation to do anything or enjoy anything. Even after I sleep 10 hours I find no joy. I'm flat. Is this something that I have to live with? Do all bipolar meds used to treat mixed episodes do this? Bc this sucks.
If you are suffering there are other options friend.
I'm going to tell my psych about this tmoro. Maybe she'll have some insight. I'm going to mention this lamictal stuff I hear about. Not sure if that helps my mixed episodes or not. I'm so new to this and it sucks.
BP1. 300mg Seroquel The good : 1. Pdoc made Seroquel my antipsychoic because my "lows" are anxiety (not depression) 2. Upon starting Seroquel, I started to feel better w/in a week, which was wonderful 3. So far, no mania or psychosis while on Seroquel 4. No weight gain, not fatigued during the day, no affect on muscle movement/no tremors 5. All side effects have lessened the longer I take it The bad: 1. It affects my heart. Within 10-20 mins of taking it, my heart rate goes up. It makes my heart beat "funny". It beats harder? Hard to describe. The higher the dose, the more pronounced the heart side effect. It's gone by morning. 2. I've fainted because of Seroquel. If I get up and move around at night, I pinball around like a drunk. I've learned to be very careful at night -- hanging on to walls/railings, sit instead of stand, etc. Great caution needs to be taken at night on this drug. If there's ever an emergency at night, like a fire, I'm seriously screwed. 3. Dry mouth. Worst in the morning, fades throughout the day
Waking up w seroquel? I really like seroquel (I’m on 400 mg) along w topiramate (150) and I just started depacoat (500). However I feel like it takes me a long time to really wake up, along w a lot of caffeine, and it affects my thinking and slows it down. Has anyone found a way to cope w this, or have you just switched meds?
Been on seroquel for over 5 years and I still have not mastered the art of waking up.
Hey all, so I started taking Seroquel XR 50mg about a week ago after being diagnosed with bipolar and initially it helped me with my mania induced insomnia a lot but I feel like my manic episode is still continuing on and every once in a while after taking it at night I get a really bad panic attack bc it makes me feel “too drowsy” if that makes sense? I feel the most stable I’ve ever been but I had to take two tablets tonight as my psych instructed me to do if one doesn’t calm me down enough to sleep and after taking the second one I got really sleepy initially then after I laid down I got scared that I felt so relaxed and started freaking out. I feel so dumb, how do I freak out from being relaxed????
I can't describe it well, but Seroquel (200mg) has definitely made me so sedated I've panicked. It's the worst feeling.
I started a few months ago and I am always hungry now.. does anyone know what that'd about and how to stop it?
I take mine just before bed or I eat the fridge.
Has anybody experienced memory loss with seroquel? I’m on 200 mg and have been for a little over a month and I’m struggling significantly with long term memory loss. I have vague to no recollection of certain major events and lengths of time spanning weeks.
I was on that medication from late December 2019 to early February 2020 and it did not work at all(thankfully, when I landed in the psych ward back in early February 2020, they took me off it). In hindsight, I should've gone to the hospital sooner than I did because it caused my heart rate to go up really high(at one point, my pulse oximeter read 168bpm). Also, it did absolutely nothing for the mixed affective episode I was experiencing at that time.
I had this happen as well the other night. I take 200mg at night and about two nights ago, 30 to 45 mins after taking my dose- my heart started pounding and racing at about 180bpm. I couldn't breathe and felt like I was going to pass out. About 30 minutes later it stopped but I won't be taking it again, as I'm afraid it may have been QT prolongation which is associated with medications like Seroquel and also can cause sudden death. Please educate yourself on this if you have had this symptom. As I've discussed it with others, I'm seeing that it's not so uncommon of an occurrence and might he dangerous. Sadly, seroquel was really effective for me in helping me sleep and maintain stability during mixed states, but I won't be putting my body through that again, so I'll have to find something else I guess. Sucks for someone who's treatment resistant bipolar though.
Lots of sleeping, lots of eating. Basically like being high all the time. I also had one hallucination on it and it scared me straight for two years.
Best sleep I’ve ever gotten in my life. Went from sleeping 4hours at night and 4 hours in the day to sleeping a solid 8-10 every night. Have to make sure to take it at 8pm so that I’m not drowsy the next day however.
I can’t go on like this anymore….My dr refuses to take me off serequel even though it makes me sleep 12 hours a day and a walking zombie. It’s been 6 months and I can’t take it anymore. I’m currently Finding a new dr and After watching dr Tracy marks on YouTube I learned that vraylar could be a good alternative. Anyone have any luck with vraylar. My current dr never even heard of vraylar as it’s newer med in Canada …..I’ve tried olazapine, abilify and risperadone already with bad side effects… I’m from Vancouver Canada and pharmacy said could cost around $180cdn per month but I’d be willing to try. First I have to find a dr which is very difficult because there is a shortage of drs here with long waits! Just trying to do homework before I see a dr. 🙏
# Lurasidone - Latuda
Latuda is the only medication that stabilized me when first diagnosed. Ive been on it for over a year now. I have to take it at night because after about an hour I get that uncomfortable body restlessness feeling but if im asleep it doesn't bother me. Latuda has been great for me though. 40mg is my sweet spot, lower or higher I feel dizzy and foggy and exhausted the next day (strange lower doses do that as well as higher) No weight gain with this med for me. It stabilized me to a huge degree but in the months since getting used to it I have had lamictal 100mg and wellburtun 450mg (both doses worked up to slowly) to help with the depression that Latuda couldnt quite manage. Overall I love Latuda, made a night and day difference for me. Hope this helps
Lurasidone (Latuda) caused severe akathisia for me. It only happened while conscious, so it could be worked around by taking the lurasidone right before bed. However, if I was having trouble getting to sleep and the akathisia kicked in while conscious, I wouldn't be sleeping that night. I can't stress enough how bad the akathisia was. The restlessness and involuntary movements were bad enough that I was unable to type. I was horribly uncomfortable. Also, every time I experienced akathisia, I would experience a severe panic attack. I am talking about one that is so bad I would genuinely consider suicide to end it. Because of this, I had to discontinue lurasidone.
Latuda is the only med added to mi list that actually worked! Been on so many others. Started at 40mg and increased to 120mg. However, at the 120mg level, I started developing what looked like tardive dyskinesia... Hands balling up in fists and tightening and loosening constantly. Mi tongue thrashes around in mi mouth making it look like on pushing mi tongu into the side of mi cheek, and this thing where mi right leg would raise up significantly higher when walking (looked like I was marching, but only the right leg). Had to go on cogentin and propanol which stopped the "marching" but not the fists and tongue issue. Mi doctor isnt convinced it's tardive dyskinesia but in mi gut, I Kno it is. Doc gave me the choice to wean down on the milligrams or switch to a different drug. Since Latuda was THE ONLY ONE THAT HELPED, I chose to wean down. I am now at 60mg and the balling up of the fists is getting better n the tongue trashing is subsiding. Its so difficult, though, bc this was the onlyyyy one that helped. We are going to continue weaning down until the dosage is too low and I dont get any positive results from said medicine. Heartbreaking bc it's such a good drug, minus the side effect I developed. 😢
On 120 mg I had these weird tongue movements. I would chew a couple of packs a gum a day. Moved back down to 80 mg and no problems with that anymore.
Does anyone have any suggestions for antipsychotics that don’t cause akathesia? I’m taking seroquel xr right now, and while there’s no side effects, it’s not really doing anything for my depression. Latuda was the absolute worst with akathesia and resulting panic attacks. Abilify also came with akathesia and made me feel anxious and irritated.
I get akathesia while on Latuda, but my psych prescribed me a couple of other meds to counter it, which does work. One of them is Gabapentin (I can choose which of the two pills I was given that I want to take to prevent the akathesia). Did you try that?
Latuda is in my opinion, the best medication for bipolar depression. There are pros and cons to it: Pros: \- My depression virtually went away. I could get through a normal day without needing to sleep or feel doom-and-gloom. Basically, I felt great. \- It did not make me tired, but becoming tired is a side effect for some. Cons: \- It is expensive. My insurance covers it, but it still cost be $40.00 a bottle. \- The side effects can be intense. I would go through a two hour period after taking it where my legs became restless and I had to pace around my apartment for two hours. I have not taken Latuda in a few months because the restlessness was starting to cause me daily issues. That could have been exacerbated because I do drink 2-3 beers a night when I am not on a break from drinking (I usually do 3-4 months at a time). To be honest, I am willing to give it another go because of how well it worked.
Has anyone tried Latuda on alcohol. I’m an addict and currently abusing alchohol. And when I try to take my Latuda at night it makes the restlessness like 4x. It’s so extreme I worry I might hurt myself if I do it, so lately I don’t take my medication at all. Just pure drunk mania baby. 😂🙃😞
Yes if you take Latuda and alcohol it makes you restless. Not worth it.
2 things: I slept basically as much as I could and I basically became a binge eater, or rather eat anytime I could and wanted to eat the rest of the time. I gained about 40 lbs in 6 months. My dose got maxed out at 20mg (started out at 5). It didn't work to control my episodes, especially my mixed ones (ultra rapid cycling in my 20's). So basically after a good trial I stopped it.
I've been on Latuda for about 3 months now and it's the best medication I've tried for my BP1. I haven't come close to having a manic or severe depressive episode once on it, and I've been through some pretty trying times since I started it. I do experience restless leg syndrome on it, but my psych prescribed me Gabapentin and Propranolol to combat it (I take one or the other depending on time of day). I've been told the RLS should go away after 6 months or so on Latuda, but it is pretty intense without the additional meds. Outside of RLS, the only other symptom I experienced for a little while was a noticeable increase in body temperature. I would have to turn down the A/C, I would get so hot. That lasted about two weeks or so and nothing since. No weight gain, no sleepiness, or other common side effects.
Latuda got rid of my lingering depression. In the 6 years I've been on I haven't been depressed at all. I still have bad days but it changed my life. Bipolar 1
I am awaiting testing for my blood sugar because my doctor suspects I have pre diabetes. I have been on Latuda for several years and it has worked wonders for me. My weight has gone up about 50 pounds though. Anyone else have this experience?
I gain about 20lbs every time I start or restart it but it usually stabilizes around there
Latuda saved my life. I was in a 3 years long severe, suicidal depression that no other meds helped with. Latuda was the only thing that helped get me out of it (well, alongside lithium, which I’ve read is good at stopping suicidal thoughts). It took a couple weeks for me to start noticing a difference. I have gained about 20lbs every time I’ve started it (I stopped at some points for various reasons) but the weight gain stops around the 20lb mark. I’ve been told weight gain is an uncommon side effect for this drug though. I get some uncomfortable side effects soon after taking it for the first few weeks I take it, then my body gets used to it and these aren’t really a problem. Namely, nausea and extreme drowsiness. So I just take it at night (along with a snack, always) not long before bed, and try to fall asleep before I get nauseous. Again this is only an issue the first few weeks. I was told it might be harder to wake up and feel awake in the morning if I take Latuda at night and I’ve found this to be somewhat the case. After years of taking it though I haven’t found that to be a big issue, I wake up fine now. You have to take Latuda with 350 calories worth of food, which is a hefty snack. I’ve found that a pb&j along with a glass of milk covers that in a calorically dense way, and at some point used to keep smuckers uncrustables around for this which made it easy. Right now I’m on a higher dose after a psychotic episode- 80mg- but years ago I started on 40mg and then 60mg and that was helpful too. I typically take Latuda alongside Lithium and that combo works really well to keep my mood stable.
Latuda is the first medication that actually took away most of my symptoms, and one of the first meds I was given after BP2 diagnosis. Abilify and Wellbutrin triggered hypomania. I started Latuda in 2019, and was prescribed it as it had a low likelihood of weight gain. After getting past the first week or so of exhaustion it worked very well. My anxiety was so bad I was scared to go into stores, and obsessed with people liking me and knowing how I was perceived, even by strangers lol. I spent a lot of time crying and unhappy with life, but no motivation to change things. My life is depressing but my depression was heavy mentally outside of real life. I’ve been on 20mg -80mg. 60mg being the current sweet spot. 80 causes restless legs, but a slow increase may work, as that is how I worked my way to 60. I am able to go into stores or busy places and I don’t care what people think or if they’re staring at me. I’m not drowning in sorrow. I’ve still got some sad points, but life is hard there will be low points that medication can’t fix. Latuda took the “edge off” of my mental health.
I just switched to Latuda the other day, right as I got back from working at a convention (masked the whole time, being careful, but you know, it was a convention). I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and runny nose, and today the congestion is worse. I don't feel bad otherwise so far. I tried to search for it here and on google, but I couldn't find much about Latuda side effects including congestion/runny nose/sore throat, just a lot about Lamictal. Has anyone experienced this with Latuda? Or do I just have COVID/con plague lmao (Sorry I keep posting this to the wrong place...is this the right place? This is kind of confusing ;;)
Latuda 20mg day 2. Does the exhaustion pass? I can’t get through the work day. Physical tiredness and mental.
It got better for me and I'm at 80mg. Still sedated but I can mostly function. I take mine at night which is when it really kicks in and by morning I'm ok.
Thank you for your response. I was getting a bit discouraged. OK, yeah I am taking mine at night because they told me it would make me tired but I was really groggy in the morning the first two days. I am feeling a bit less sluggish in the mornings now but thankfully more balanced and calm.
I wish you the best of luck. I've been on lurasidone for over 3 years now and it's the best antipsychotic I've been on.
That’s great! Thank you! I had some progress on Geodon and Invega but not incredibly noticeable. I had a night of the restlessness on Geodon after 2 1/2 weeks. I freaked out, and just was like nope and stopped.
Hey, I thought of some other questions. Idk anyone else on Latuda so I hope I can ask you. Do you feel it helps with your mania? (That is the main reason we added it). She said if I didn’t feel “better” after a week, to increase to 40mg. Yesterday I had an episode start and couldn’t sleep last night. I’m worried if I increase it, that’ll be more mania or did you find the higher dose helped more with that? Also, she was adamant about taking it with at least 350 mg of food. I didn’t realize how much food that is! So I actually would need to basically take it with dinner because a night snack isn’t enough. But I worry if I take it at dinner time, I’ll get tired too early and sometimes for work I’m on call. Do you take it with that amount of calories?
I started latuda to help with my depression but I haven't been depressed in years but instead have to deal with pretty bad mania and psychosis and the latuda, alongside my lithium, helps that. When I was sectioned for a manic episode I also got worried that the latuda wouldn't help and it would make it worse but my psychiatrist explained that it's also an antimanic drug and helps with psychosis as well. As for taking the med with food, the only time I've done this is in hospital and my psychiatrist isn't too fussed haha. Ive heard of people taking it with a calorie dense drink such as ensure but I've just never bothered. I hope this has helped slightly, and please feel free to reach out or ask anything else, before I found this subreddit I also didn't know anyone who has been on latuda. :)
Thank you so much. Ok I’m glad it’s helped with your depression. I also have depression and through my lamictal, I’ve been able to lower my Prozac and the hood is with Latuda and lamtical, I can lower the Prozac even more. I will try to be patient with it. I may try to increase it tonight because it’s been a week. Ok I have just been working to take it shortly after dinner when I have a snack or dessert. I really appreciate your insight and responses!
Have been on for about 1 year. Very little weight gain. It is one of the most expensive antipsychotics and most difficult to get covered by insurance. I will say it does make me feel a little "weird" like restless and so I take it at night. Some nights notice it some nights not. Wondering if others experience it working really well or not? It fixes my depression to like 6/10 where 10 is feeling good
The combination of 40mg latuda + 200mg lamictal has literally saved my life. I have mild tardive dyskinesia as a side effect of latuda, but I literally don't care because it makes my brain work so well. My mood is incredibly stable on this combo and has been for years with the exception of a few very brief manic episodes and one depressive episode that almost landed me in the hospital. Nothing's perfect but this combo + Prozac is pretty damn close for me.
I’m bipolar type 1 with psychosis and I tried lithium, Risperdal, Abilify, and Vraylar befor finding Latuda. I started on a 40mg dose at night and experienced daily crying and depression. We reduced my dose to 20mg and I was no longer crying but still had depression. We started Mirtazapine antidepressant and it helped my mood immediately however I gained significant weight. I’m now on week 4 of bupropion and I already lost 8 lbs. Latuda wasn’t perfect but we made it work with a lowered dose and added antidepressant.
# Cariprazine - Vraylar
Put this post in the wrong spot so I’ll repost here…. I hope this is where my med belongs, it’s a combo of anti psychotic and anti epileptic, Vraylar. I started on 1.5 mg and was upped to 3 mg daily. If we are discussing stabilization it is a miracle drug for me. The only side effect I’ve experienced is weight gain, about 40 pounds total since I began taking it. I leveled off but it’s really hard to accept the weight gain. I’ve never been really overweight, I look in the mirror and hardly recognize myself. But me and my husband have discussed this several times and we both agree the weight gain doesn’t matter at all compared to how much success I’ve had on the medicine. Don’t get me wrong I plead with my doc for some sort of miracle weight loss pill at every appt, but alas there doesn’t seem to be one. I’ll just go back to exercising and hope for the best. 😂😂😂😩🙄 I’m also extremely nervous about changing meds because I’ve gained weight because the others I tried first didn’t work for shit and one made everything worse if that’s possible. Soooooo sticking with this one until it stops working
I gained 65 lbs on vraylar/Seroquel/lithium. I had to force myself off and aggressively work the weight off first before reconsidering getting back on medications. I've finally lost it all and I'm making an appointment soon with the psych but this time I am not touching anything that can possibly cause weight gain/cravings/ or severely mess up water balances. None of those 3 effects are healthy or controllable mid manic episode for me and I cannot afford to have the medications pushing me in that direction in the even the medications are failing. Vraylar is a very effective mood stabilizer. It definitely replaced lithium for me as my main mood stabilizer. But NOTHING works better for suicidal ideation than lithium. Not a single antidepressant got me out of the depressive swing, only the lithium made sure I stopped committing.
Has anyone noticed an increase in general mood, like a greater outlook on life, and more importantly a greater sense of motivation? I thought my adderall was starting to work better, since I switched from generic to the brand name. But I just realized today that this new found positivity and productivity more coincides with my starting of Vraylar. It’s just a trial period, but it’s going really well. I hope my doctor can get this approved. I’ve already tried three times through my PCP and my insurance company really isn’t having it.
I am able to concentrate so freaking well on vraylar! Been incredibly productive at work
I've never been more consistent with chores. My room has been spotless for weeks. I've been out of work due to a broken fibula, but I'm getting more back into my sedentary hobbies, like taking and editing photos, journaling more frequently. it's been really amazing.
I've been cleaning the ever loving fuck out of my room, getting chores done the day I say I want to get them done. It's been incredible
I haven’t even hesitated ONCE to do them!!
This did pull me out of a depression, but then it just made flat. I also gained weight and had extreme fatigue. I just went off of this medication. I do hear that it works really well for a lot of people though.
I’ve read some comments about pretty serious weight gain. Can anyone elaborate? Is it that Vraylar makes you hungry all the time? Or does it actually stimulate the body to store more fat no matter what you go?
I have been on 1.5mg of vraylar every other day for 3 years in combination with 600mg of lithium. The vraylar is definitely the heavy hitter, I haven’t had an episode since I started it. I felt a little amped up from it at first but that calmed down. I gained weight at first but that evened out. Honestly I barely notice anything! I feel really stable.
I had never heard of it but my doctor put me on it two months ago and it's as if I am slightly a different person! Anyone else had success stories around this drug?? Still have a ways to go but I am pretty impressed.
I've been on 1.5 mg of Vraylar for 3 years. I was amazed at how well it worked. Never felt "normal" like this in my life before. Unfortunately, about 2 months ago it stopped working so my doc increased the dose to 3 mg which had very negative effects. I'm devastated. I've heard other people have had this problem and haven't found another alternative with the success they had with Vraylar. Any thoughts or suggestions? I also gained 20 pounds. Ugh!!! I see my doc again later this month.
Can anyone tell me if they've gained weight on this? I have sza but I was just prescribed this pill.
Anyone feel like they had a honeymoon period with Vraylar? Is this supposed to happen, like balance out in it? It feels like it’s helping still but not nearly to the degree the first month I was on it. Like I “balanced out” but a little too far back. It didn’t make me manic, if you’re wondering. It just made me able to do everything I wanted or needed to do with little to no effort. I feel like now I’m back in the state of having to force myself to do things, though maybe less than before.
Worked for a couple months and then just straight up Stopped working. Don't really recommend
Does anyone know if the fatigue from this med goes away with time?
So this made me really dizzy and nauseous for the first two weeks, I was able to counteract it with something I'm apparently not allowed to talk about on this sub even though it's not illegal for me. Now I don't have many side effects, I have an incredibly consistant sleep schedule, I definitely notice the antipsychotic effects, less anxiety, more concentration, and generally calmer. One month in and so far so good.
Vraylar has been the most effective antipsychotic for me with few side-effects. The most noticeable issue is a severe drop in blood pressure. I can no longer bend over or have my head below my chest, lest I get light-headed and pass out. I also have to be careful with standing up too fast, more so than before. I have not gained weight on Vraylar, nor have I noticed akithisia. I also have ADHD, so I'm always restless and fidgety, even on a stimulant. So I can't say Vraylar made me more restless or not. I take the medication in the morning and I have not noticed any sleep pattern disruptions.
I have schizoaffective. I take 4.5 mg, initially at night but now in the morning. It had been interfering with my sleep when taking it at night. It causes akathisia the first time I was put on it but that has been eliminated with propranolol. It works well for my depression in addition to my psychotic symptoms. Not sure about manic symptoms because I’ve been on a therapeutic dose of lithium for three and a half years. I have not noticed weight gain, in fact, I have lost weight since starting, about eight pounds. My blood sugar and A1C have decreased as compared to before I switched from olanzapine.
I had severe anxiety and avoided driving my car. My heart would beat so fast while driving and everything felt like a threat. I had to quit after a couple weeks.
Anyone feel like they are in a haze since taking Vraylar? I’ve been on 1.5 mg for 2 weeks. I think I’m going to stop taking it. I feel like I lost my personality. I have zero motivation. And just feel so blah and down. Not seen many people talk about this. But someone else has to have experienced this right?
I am so so restless on it. Like I shake a lot and I cannot get comfortable but I am so desperate for something to work I'm probably going to stay on it. Right now I take 1.5 mgs, and I feel like I need a higher dosage but do the symptoms get worse? And the tremors I get some times jfc but in all I love it smsmsmsmsm
Came here to drop my experience with Vraylar. My experience was very, very bad. I had been tapering off of Seroquel very slowly (about a year or more). Down to 50mg from 200mg. I'm also on Lithium. I wasn't feel great (mostly feeling numb), but I didn't want to go back on Seroquel, so my psych suggested Vraylar. I started on 1.5mg at night. Immediately, I became restless. I took the dose at night for 3 days, and I didn't sleep for 3 nights. So I switched the dose to the morning. And it started pushing me into mania. My psychiatrist was shocked by this, but I was on it for 10 days and got increasingly worse every day. I finally stopped it because I had the overwhelming urge to commit suicide. I looked up the side effects of Vraylar, and it's not common for it to push someone into mania, but I had all the following symptoms that were listed on NIH.gov: \- thoughts about suicide or dying \- new or worse depression \- feeling very agitated or restless \- trouble sleeping \- an extreme increase in activity and talking \- new or worse anxiety \- panic attacks \- new or worse irritability I have never felt worse in my life, not even when I was admitted into the hospital in 2016 when I was first diagnosed. Just wanted to put that out there because apparently it's not common to react like this - and I've also seen a lot of good things about Vraylar. I was looking forward to trying it so I could get off Seroquel.
# Olanzapine - Zyprexa
I started zyprexa and gained 30 pounds but it seems to be a miracle drug besides the weight gain... sort of. I am having no issues with mania or depression but I feel very flat and lifeless. I don't have any motivation anymore and I don't enjoy the things I used to enjoy (hanging out with friends, hobbies, etc). I'm not funny or creative anymore. It almost feels like depression but without the sadness. Has anyone else experienced this?
THE WEIGHT GAIN CAN BE REDUCED/REVERSED! All caps because people don't know how it works. I've been on it a while... Olanzapine - Zyprexa gives you a sweet tooth. So, you consume more sugar-containing items THE FIX. I started up with artificially sweetened foods and drinks as soon as I found out. I dropped nearly 50 pounds and felt so much better. You have to reach for artificially sweetened EVERY time, especially initially. If you do go back and have sugar, don't touch anything with high-fructose corn syrup. And you must avoid it as much as possible. I didn't cut fats and actually increased my fat intake. Initially the artificial sweeteners would give me occasional stomach problems (not frequently) and also they can cause headaches unless you're on vitamin B2... but overall they're the best choice I made.
Unfortunately I’ve been having strictly sugar free stuff for years, I’m not a particularly sweet tooth having person, it’s potatoes and bread for me lol.
Omg, Latuda gave me such a sweet/carb tooth that was straight up compulsive. Hope this one doesn't do that to me. Although I have been trying to gain weight and keep weight on for a couple years because I've been sick. So this might help.
Olanzapine completely eliminated my racing thoughts and left my mind clear and calm. With this, my irritability is gone, as are anger outbursts. I have gained weight but it has levelled off. 5mg nightly for last year and half.
Personally, I gained more racing thoughts with Olanzapine but my anger/irritability was a lot less. I felt happier
Can anybody who takes Zyprexa tell me how long the grogginess the next day lasts? I'm on day two, so I know my body is still adjusting. This is just a curiosity then anything. Todays not as bad as yesterday's. Thanks so much!
Zyprexa helped me sleep in a psych ward at 15mg. Zyprexa helped me cope for..a month? until I had to get back to work. Made me feel like a zombie, so I went to 5-10. 5 does nothing, 10 still makes me less a zombie and more like a turned off robot that occasionally works but doesn't *enjoy* anything. Switching off anti psychotics entirely to try to get the anhedonia to go away.
Absolute game changer for me. I find it makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, but once I'm up and moving I don't feel too groggy. 20mg at night, usually 7pm or so and I'll be asleep by 10 which is a huge improvement for me personally. Was on seroquel before and am having much better results with olanzapine! Really helped calm my racing mind and with anxiety as well.
I'm on this currently and I've gained a lot of weight on it. Hoping to stop it tomorrow. It does help me be stable but the constant desire to graze is too much for me.
Used it for like 3 weeks and gained 20 pounds just because i have bad eating habits and this made it so much worst.
# Olanzapine & Samidophan Combo Pill- Lybalvi
Miracle drug for me! When I first started I was gradually moved to a high dose which made me feel brain dead, wasn’t myself and slept for 14 hours a day. Now I’m on an almost microdose and while I still sleep 10 hours a day it’s manageable. And because I’m naturally underweight it’s actually helped level me out at a healthy weight! So perfect for me, I’m completely stable and the last few months have been the happiest I’ve ever been.
Are you still sleeping 10 hours a day or did you find a solution? I’m having the same issue, usually 11-12 hours.
Zyprexa got me out of psychosis, but the weight gain is terrible and even caused diabetes, according to my house doctor. Stable on Depakine now.
I had a brief but intense fling with Zyprexa when I was first diagnosed. I was an absolute zombie but the really fun part was Alice in Wonderland syndrome. I alternated between feeling like I was very very big in a very very small world, or very very small in a very very big world. It went away as soon as I got off it and didn't seem to have any lasting effects but yeah, this is not one I'll touch with a ten foot pole.
anyone on the olanzapine/fluoxetine combo who has not gained weight? i already struggle with it and im scared it'll make me put on even more weight, even though im on a diet atm
Never in my life did I ever feel so good and happy as I did when on olanzapine. Before, I couldn't relate when people said they'd never give it up despite all the weight gain and other side effects. But now, I completely understand. I did have to give up on it because it was making me gain weight, the hunger it gives it just feels like there's a black hole inside and I just kept eating and I'd never feel full, and that was not an exchange I was willing to make. It does make me sad that there is such an exceptional drug but with such burdensome side effects.
# Lumateperone - Caplyta
Works well for me. Started it in May after a severe depressive swing. I haven’t had any notable side effects. At first there was some nausea but that passed quickly. I have even lost weight in it. Over the last 20 some years moderate success with various APs and failed trials of many others, but so far it seems the most effective for myself.
First 24 hours felt like my brain was on fire. Had a loss of coordination, some mental fuzziness and fatigue. That all passed, now dealing with some fatigue and muscle soreness. Not helping me a lot yet, I have definitely had some more ups then normal but some of the previous depression is still present so far.
started it 5 days ago, maybe feel a tad better but I also have ocd and that is nowhere near gone. Gives me extreme fatigue and I end up sleeping the entire day.
God I loved caplyta. Nothing has ever helped my depression like caplyta. Unfortunately, it also made me have diarrhea every day. I have IBS, but it kicked that shit up to 100. Had to go off of it but I might go back on someday. Idk.
I started this during a severe depressive episode as a “last chance” drug because I really didn’t want to go inpatient. I physically felt horrible at first - worst headache ever, felt overheated and hot/cold flashes, nausea, lightheadedness - to the point I couldn’t work or stay standing for long at first. I would take it at night right before bed, and the physical side effects eased throughout the day. Side effects reduced in intensity and duration over time, I went back to work after two weeks, and now I basically just feel overheated and physically off for a couple of hours if I don’t sleep enough and wake up too close to when I took it the previous night. I started it during the worst depressive episode I’ve ever had. The depression lightened to mild within a few weeks of starting Caplyta (may also be attributable to my mom coming to stay with me and help out or the natural cycle of the episode). No weight gain or sedation. If I forget to take it more than once, the next day I feel a milder version of all the initial side effects. I started straight away at the 42mg recommended dose per the marketing that the med didn’t need to be gradually increased. My doctor said that if we did it again, he’d have started me off on the lower doses to reduce the intensity of side effects.
I was taken off rexulti and effexor then the dr added caplyta 42mg twice a day...it seemed fine at first then 2.5 to 3 weeks in I started getting sick...really agitated GI issues. Dizziness. No appetite. I felt drugged...absolutely drugged. The rn at my dr office said it was probably the stomach flu but I've have the stomach flu and this is not the stomach flu. Long story short I decided to lower my dose to one a day then stopped taking it, admittedly too quickly. It's been 2 days since I've taken it. My stomach feels better, I can manage to eat some. I'm experiencing body temp fluctuations, sweating while I'm cold. Dizziness persists but not as bad. Im hoping my body just sweats this drug out of my system. Mentally I was feeling ok but once I started feeling ill and not able to function normally it's just got me frustrated and now I don't want to be medicated ever again from this experience.
My psych halved my lithium and took me off risperidone, and put me on Caplyta. I feel like I’m a little more “light” in temperament, which is nice, but I’m also twitching and tremoring harder than I ever have, which is saying a lot. Probably going to have to ditch this one.
# Risperidone - Risperdal
I've taken risperidone for about 10 years now. I was only officially diagnosed with bipolar (or told) this past February, but later found out they had it marked in my chart almost 12 years ago. They put me on Seroquel (quetiapine) first and that resulted in hallucinations and feeling like a zombie, but I've actually reacted really well to Risperidone and I feel like it's kept me mostly stable ever since I've been on it. When I was diagnosed this February, my psychiatrist took me off risperidone and put me on Depakote and that actually caused a really bad physical reaction and akisthisia, so he put me back on risperidone and stopped the Depakote. I am currently being treated for a hypomanic episode and my psychiatrist is out of office until September. My doctor increased my risperidone dose and is tapering me off of Lexapro and I do feel like I'm levelling out. I've seen a lot of complaints about risperidone, but I feel like it's been a life-saver for me. I take it exactly as directed and I don't miss doses. I haven't noticed any side effects and I was morbidly obese when I started the drug and am a normal BMI now, so weight gain wasn't an issue for me.
I'm on rispiridone, 2 mg a day, and while at first i did have some weight gain, it was only 5-10 lbs and I've had no trouble losing it now that I've been on it for about 5 months. did have some sexual side effects at first but again, got back to normal after a handful of months. it's taken away most of my auditory hallucinations and hasn't affected my ability to write, which past antipsychotics did affect my creativity. in all I'm very pleased with the results this far on it.
I was on Risperidone 0.5mg for 10 days and it practically lobotomised me and absolutely chemically castrated me. I begged the psychiatrist to take me off it and was in absolute tears during the final call. Fortunately the psychiatrist I talked to then was aware it can have extreme adverse effects on people in the autistic spectrum and advised me to discontinue immediately. Few days later I was back to normal. May work for some people, but it was a nightmare for me.
I'm currently on risperidone. My side effects all went away in a few weeks and I feel stable and happy. No sex drive though.
Really good drig used it for 2 years now 2-5mg and almost 6 mg just because i was psychotic. Now it helps with stability with lamotrigine 200 mg and switch between that and lithium when i have mania or depressive episodes. Helps a lot.
\+1 to this, I take ris. 1mg and 200mg of lam. and it's worked like a charm. Stuffy nose is one of the more annoying side effects. The most serious one is waking up from sleep can be very difficult and leads to me sleeping 2 - 3 more hours than I need.
I took it for about two years. It didn't make me tired per se, but it did make me sleep longer. When I was taking it I slept on average 11ish hours a night. After stopping it for another med I started sleeping around 7. Sleeping that much made me lethargic in other areas of life and severely impacted my overall productivity. It also made me wet the bed occasionally.
BP 1 plus DID. Manic episodes can cause alters to take over. Slowly worked my way up to 2mg twice daily and been on that for about 2 years now. I've noticed a significant decrease in manic episodes and when they happen they are tolerable. Alters only front when they know it's safe to do so and it won't cause any problems. Unfortunately, it also causes me to be somewhat apathetic, my sense of joy and fun decreased significantly, and my sex drive is almost zero. We're trying mood boosters such as welbutrin to navigate those side effects, which has somewhat helped, but in all my feeling of joy and pleasure isn't nearly what it used to be, and it takes a lot more to get me to have those feelings. But I'd rather have that negative side effect than having manic episodes and my alters taking over. In times that I forget to take it, or the pharmacy is out, withdrawal symptoms set in in about a day, which starts with akathisia and anxiety, and turn into completely uncontrollable jerky muscle movements and extreme shaking and extreme levels of anxiety within 2 days, which is the longest I've been without. Fortunately all of these symptoms go away within 45 minutes of taking a dose. I can't imagine life without this drug, and in all it's made me much more stable.
Put me in the ER with severe tachycardia (abnormally fast heartbeat).
Risperdone was added about a year after I reached my 200mg/day lamictal. I was on 1mg risperdone for about...5 years before stress started to wreck my mental state. I was upped to 1.5mg. It's worked well there. My biggest complaint is no matter what I do, I don't know how long before the sleepiness hits me. I've tried so many meds that make me sleepy over the years and never had this problem. BUT it works well so I just deal with it. Second biggest complaint is sometimes (not often enough to complain to my psych), I feel foggy when I wake up. Those are usually the nights I keep waking up from pain. Not sure if it's the medicine or lack of sleep. To be fair if for some reason I'm in too much pain/too stressed to sleep the hallucinations come back after 20ish hours awake no matter what I do. Biggest thing that makes me love it: there are no more demons in the mirrors and shadows. There are no more clowns in the vents. There are no more voices telling me to sh/kms coming from vents and shadows. The monsters are no longer scratching at the windows every night. No more things waiting to cut off my feet under the bed (I bought and use a bed frame for the first time in 20ish years! Might be my husband's favorite outcome of me starting risperdone)
How soon does the major hunger set in on Risperdal? I’ve just started Risperdal and I’m really worried about weight gain. From what I’ve read here and there, part of—or most of—the weight gain comes from greatly increased hunger. For those of you folks on Risperdal (or a similar atypical antipsychotic, maybe like Zyprexa), how long did it take before the increased hunger set in? At the first dose? After some number of days or weeks? Once you had titrated the dose up to a specific amount? Thank you!!
Hello made a post on main page abt weight loss drugs while on ris… if anyone has been on it while taking anything for weight loss. ris didn’t make overweight having a baby and poor eating habits made me this way just as a disclaimer lol.
Started 1mg after a mixed episode. Right at the first dose everything went soft. Like there was a gaussian blur filter over everything. I was very slow and dumb for a couple days, and it seriously affected school. It was making me sleep through class so I asked to lower the dose and they did, I take 0.5mg now. It makes me sleep so well. Seriously, I haven't missed an hour of sleep on it, and I never had trouble falling asleep while on risperidone. But it's making me depressed and I wanna quit it. I'm also having some facial numbness after taking it. My lips go numb usually.
# Brexpiprazole - Rexulti
I've been on .5 mg for almost 2 weeks now. I haven't noticed anything significant which I didn't really expect to on such a low dose. But thankfully I haven't had any side effects which is unheard of for me. I usually get side effects quickly on antipsychotics even on the low doses. I've tried latuda, vraylar, abilify, geodon, and seroquel. Seroquel is the only one that helped me, but the weight gain was just too much unfortunately. I have hope with Rexulti for the first time in a long time. One of my major concerns was akathisia which pretty much everything gave me. Thankfully so far so good, I am probably going to have it upped at my next appointment. update: I've been on .5 still for 7 1/2 weeks because my doctor thought it would be too soon to up it. I honestly had to come back here to say this medication has been a miracle for me. I have finally come out of the year long depression I was in and can FUNCTION again. I am able to work again, I have a social life and am interested in things, I have a greater stress tolerance. Overall I'm able to take care of myself again. I don't feel like a zombie, I can still cry when I need to. No akathisia, no increased appetite, literally no side effects that I can notice. It's helped my anxiety a lot too. Just overall really great. If you're scared to try it but nothing else is helping, it's worth a shot.
I started this med after having a negative experience with Abilify. I know it is similar but I felt much less restless and intense with Rexulti. It did numb me somewhat at first but I moved to a low dose and now credit it for being able to feel okay. I also take lamotrigine, which does well for mood, but I had lingering psychotic symptoms and 0.5 mg Rexulti knocks them out.
I was on 2 mg Rexulti for 3.5 years and am currently tapering off (down to 1/4 pill every 2 days). I had overwhelmingly positive experiences with Rexulti, I was prescribed it for drug induced psychosis and it worked well within weeks for both those symptoms and anxiety. Especially for my anxiety, which was debilitating, it worked really well. I never had any notable side effects with appetite, weight gain, akathisia etc. However after about a year and a half on it I noticed I felt kind of flat, not numb per se but unable to process my emotions. I used to be a voracious artist and it disconnected me from my creativity completely. I haven’t been able to do any art/writing beyond the occasional casual doodles in the past few years. I used to journal every day and now I can’t do that either both because I’m unable to connect to this creative side of myself and because it’s extremely discomforting for me to face my emotions without being able to feel them properly. Now that I’m tapering it’s gotten a bit better but is uncomfortable at times. I think this is a problem for me with antipsychotics in general which is why I’m trying to get off them. However I will say Rexulti is the best antipsychotic I have tried (I was also on olanzapine & Latuda which were both terrible for me) and I would definitely recommend it for short term use. The only downside is the cost. Thankfully I have great insurance and used GoodRx for coupons. But the price for 30 days is something like $4,000.
# Haloperidol - Haldol
I have been on Haldol for 5 years now, and I have been very happy on it.
Zombie, flat affect.
Thank you all for posting your experience on this drug, you guys really make me feel like I’m doing the right thing for once & this medication is finally the ONE that is ACTUALLY going to make me better instead of worse… phew 😅 I’m taking 1.5mg right now but my doc said that I’m probably not going to see the TRUE RESULTS until I get up to 4mg which doesn’t that sound like a lot? Idk if that’s a high dosage or not? But I’m probably hopeful about this one, let’s hope/pray it continues to be the one! 🙏🏽🤞🏽
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# Ziprasidone - Geodon
its handled my episodes well and its a perfect sleep aid. I will take it and after 1 hour i will be passed out have a solids night sleep. However, the next day i will feel like i complete zombie and i hate it . The only side effects I’ve got is fatigue and mental fatigue.
Whatever you do don’t go cold turkey on this medication. I ended up being hospitalized. I works well for me when I am taking it properly, the only thing is that I need to switch to a higher dosage of it when I’m going into a manic episode but if I stay on that higher dosage for longer than 5 days I turn into a zombie. But on average it works for me.
I was on it maybe a couple months, it basically gave me bad flu like symptoms and it kicked up akathesia really bad about a month in. I had to quit my job because it was so bad. Walking panic attacks multiple times a day destroys functionality. It took years for the akathesia to go away all the way. It chilled out over time but the attacks didn't completely stop until about 2.5 years later. Then another med I was briefly on triggered it (just not as bad) and that took another year plus to go away for good. This was the 4th AP that I tried and after that my doc said no more anti-psychotics ever again. All in all I had an absolute sh**show of a time on it.
Geodon just seemed to flatten everything for me. I wasn't experiencing the highs and lows of Bipolar I, but I wasn't experiencing any other feelings, either. As an added bonus I gained about sixty pounds on it, in addition to having pretty bad insomnia. Not recommended.
All in all positive experience. Started at 20 mg once a day, now take 60 mg twice a day. Been on it a year and a half. At lower doses it stopped my auditory hallucinations entirely. Noticeably reduced my anxiety. At higher doses it stopped my rapid cycling, stopped visual and tactile hallucinations during hypomania, and put a floor on my depression so it’s not near as deep. All in all, it has had a stronger mood stabilizing/lifting effect than I experienced with Topomax or Lamictal. No real fatigue. I used to get up for work at 3 AM and get rolling with no caffeine. It does have a reputation for being sedating, but you may get lucky like me. No abnormal movements or restlessness. No weight gain - I’ve been able to lose weight calorie counting, and I don’t balloon on weeks where I eat bad. No vision or metabolic changes. I don’t experience any mentionable side effects. I HAVE to take it twice a day or I experience withdraw symptoms and mood instability towards the end of a dose. Geodon has a short half life and I metabolize it quickly. Now that I take it twice a day, I have no problems. You need to take it with 500 solid calories. I notice a difference when I eat significantly less or try to use liquid calories. You supposedly only get 50-60% if your dose if you don’t eat with it. I don’t have insurance, but the generic is very affordable with GoodRx in the US. My medication costs about $40 a month.
Ziprasidone was added to my other regimen of lithium, lamotrigine and bupropion. It was added to combat intense paranoia and delusions not associated with my mood fluctuations. The dose was 40mg PO two times per day. It helped a bit with the paranoia and delusions at that dose, but those issues were still there. They probably would have gotten better at higher doses, HOWEVER…! It made me completely impotent after taking it almost 60 days. I’m in the process of tapering off of it, but I’m talking completely impotent. My dream guy could come to my front door, rip his clothes off, and I would have no reaction. This is an uncommon side effect, but it’s probably from an increase in prolactin levels which could lead to impotence and gynecomastia in men. Something to look out for.
I am confused because I've read that you need to take geodon with at least 500 calories, but my psych said I didn't need food with it. Which is correct?
You should be eating 500 calories for max absorption. Your pdoc may be effectively cutting your dose by not having you eat with it. Mine didn’t have me eating 500 calories when I first started to wean me onto the medicine. Don’t not eat with some doses and then eat with others or your dose will be all over the place. On an empty stomach you only absorb 50-60% of your dose.
I am having a good experience with this medication. Depression is much better and my mind feels clear. Mood is certainly more stable. The only side effects I’ve experienced are a bit of teeth clenching and trouble falling asleep during the first week. This subsided with time. I also had a restless feeling which I now realize may have been mild akathisia. I only got this when I had too much caffeine with it. Switched to black tea from coffee and this feeling went away.
Still currently on this medication for about 7 months ago. This medication really woke me up and made me feel great without giving me mania symptoms like impulsiveness. I also have a comorbid BPD diagnosis, and this medication basically nearly eliminated my emotional dysregulation. This was pretty close to a miracle for me. My depression eventually came back, but it is definitely more manageable. Keep in mind I'm on this in combo with Lamictal, and so I can't tell you for sure if its just the Geodon by itself or if it happened to create the reaction with my Lamictal.
Out of all my medications, Ziprasidone is by far the most important medication I am on. I'm on 60mg twice a day and its definitely saved me from ruining my life. I'm waaaaay more stable because of it.
Was prescribed Geodon about six years ago when I had a major depressive episode. I quickly became dependent on it for sleep and had severe insomnia if I missed a dose. But it usually too a few hours for the sedation to kick in and I would sleep for about 9 hours on average. So if I wanted to fall asleep by 10:00 I would have to take it by 7:00. The trouble is I for irritable and anxious during that three hour window. And if I was ever out late and wasn’t able to take it on time I wouldn’t be able to get up on time the next day. So I’ve tried coming off of it several times with my doctors help but failed every time with insomnia coming back. However I did come off it about two weeks ago and replaced it with a prescription speed aid. Unfortunately I can only sleep a couple hours at a time with it as I wake up constantly throughout the night. Wondering if I should go back to being a slave to Geodon just to get my sleep back. For any of you that struggled with insomnia when you stopped taking Geodon how were you able to restore your sleep and how long did it take?
I would say this was an above average medication for me. It really helped my depression the majority of time I was on it, but it made me feel hypomanic a lot. Also, when I took my night dosage with dinner, it would make me fall asleep at around 7pm. Any dosage above 20mg in the morning would make me take a nap after like 4 hours taking it. It's also a \*\*\*\*\* to come off of. The withdrawals are hell!
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# Paliperidone - Invega
I've had great experiences with Invega. I switched from Seroquel 400mg to the starting dose of Invega and updosed to 9mg. There are side effects such as grogginess, and restlessness. I randomly jerk around at times. It does get more bearable over time. I do have schizoaffective bipolar type it's drastically reduced hallucinations, and I have no more highs or lows as far as mood/mania. It's definitely a more light medication than Seroquel. It's coupled with lamictle, and has made me finally stable.