Posted by chdurie2 on October 22, 2000, at 20:02:22
In reply to Re: Risperdal or Seroquel? Help Please?, posted by Didier on October 22, 2000, at 15:15:23
> > I see a new pdoc to have a meds evaluation done this afternoon. I have Bipolar II, Manic Depression and Acute Anxiety. My biggest problem right now is the innability to shut off the "voices" in my head (most of which I believe are my own). Makes it very hard to concentrate and get restful sleep. I've talked to people about Seroquel and Risperdal and have heard bad and good things about both.
> >
> > If anyone has experience and/or opinions about either or both of these meds, I appreciate hearing about it. Also if you have a suggestion about an alternative to either one, that would be helpful as well. I would like to arm myself with as much info as possible before seeing the doc.
> >
> > As always, I appreciate any help and input you can give me.
> >
> > Greg
>
>
>
> Risperdal was forced on me in a mental facility.
>
> I did not want to be classified as a schizophrenic. The pschiatrist did not exactly say that I was schizophrenic but he did say that he guessed I was "off-balanced" all my life and that this is how I had damaged my central nervous system. So, he started me on Risperdal. He asked me, Greg, if I had heard voices, but I do not. I can see, now, that you are just trying to survive in the world just as I am and want the voices to stop just as I want my own symptoms to stop.
>
> I thought that the Risperdal had given me productive days working and I seemed to be more "focused". That is the descriptive word the nurses gave when they handed me the pills.
>
> But as the days went by, I noticed that I drooled all the time and found myself swallowing all day to maintain civility. It was difficult to control.
>
> I dreamed with more imagination. This was okay.
>
> I also, was hungry all the time and when I ate, there was no satisfaction from eating. I would chew and swallow but there was no gratification. This was not okay.
>
> I had water retention "big time." My body was huge. I could feel the pads on my feet. My ankles were three times as big as well as my breasts. At first, I thought the breasts were a good thing. But eventually they weren't as there was no more room for them to expand and so, even this was not a good thing.
>
> Yes, my muscles ached at first. But for some reason I liked it. I felt alive. The doctor called it muscle stiffness but I grew up calling what I had experienced as muscle soreness. The muscle soreness went away after a week. I think that the muscle soreness is related to the water retention. Having experienced water retention because of the menstrual cycle, the muscle soreness is very similar. But this information will not help you, will it?
>
> I was only on the drug for three weeks and realized it was not for me because of the water retention, drooling, and loss of satisfaction from eating.
>
> I noticed I felt better mentally after not taking it, so it does effect how one thinks. I say felt better because I was once again the Didier that I had come to love before taking Risperdal.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> I had written another message to you earlier but I think it was lost as things sometimes happen on the Internet.Greg:
You may be unique, but what somewhat else said about rabbit food was so-o--o-o true for me! I gained 10 pounds in two weeks on zyprexa on a five foot tall body, and it's still on me, even though i stopped zy.
zy was the best sleep med i ever had til my p-doc took me off after the weight gain, and put me on seroquel. now seroquel (50-75 mgs) is the best sleep med i've ever had, and no side effects. like cindy, the effect is immediate zonko-land. if i'm really insomniac, i add .5 to 1.0 mg of klonopin. i also take 12.5 to 25 mg in a.m. if i'm really high-wired with anxiety, and it gives me focus. if i take 25 in a.m. and it makes me tired, i just drink a cup of my knock-out cappaccino with extra caffeine.
if you find you're gaining weight, ask your p-doc to switch you to seroquel, cuz mine, like other people here, says the weight-gain problem only gets worse with time.
your friend from the other board (no sarcasm),
caroline h.
poster:chdurie2
thread:46197
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47118.html