Posted by SLS on March 17, 2002, at 22:46:50
In reply to Re: A case of Seroquel induced TD, posted by OldSchool on March 16, 2002, at 13:30:38
Hi OldSchool.
Thanks for the URL. Pretty hefty.
> Scott Ive been on low dose atypicals a few times in the last four years, added to whatever antidepressant I was on at the time. Initially plain old SSRIs activated really well for me, but after half a mg of Risperdal was added to my antidepressant for two months, my AD faded out on me and never really has activated good since.
Do you think the Risperdal was responsible for your diminished response? It made me feel fatigued and depressed the first time I took it, but I was in a mixed-state mania at the time. On a similar note - this really sucks, you know?
> As for reasons why Ive been on low dose atypicals a few times, I was on them because I was a crazed lunatic with severe depression.
I'm still curious, have you ever taken one of the older APs?
I don't know if this applies to you, but Tegretol is sometimes used to treat aggressive conditions. Perhaps Trileptal is similarly effective.
> Agitated depression, whatever you want to call it. I tried half a mg Risperdal, 2.5 mg Zyprexa and 50 mg Seroquel at various times. Actually I went up to 100 mg Seroquel on my own once and when I did that my personality went very "flat" and I felt like a robot.
I wasn't real happy with Seroquel either. I felt irritable and bitchy.
> I think they are safer if you are schizophrenic and have high levels of dopamine to begin with Scott. Thats what I personally believe. I might be wrong.
Your instincts are good. It turns out that the incidence of neuroleptic-induced EPS is higher for someone being treated for bipolar disorder than it is for schizophrenia.
> The drugs actually raise blood sugar levels Scott, I read that specifically.
There are some pretty compelling anecdotal reports implicating clozapine and olanzapine with de novo diabetes and other disturbances in glucose / insulin / triglyceride dynamics. I have a hard time believing that they are all secondary to weight-gain, especially when it is reported that these conditions resolve so immediately upon drug-discontinuation. If I end up on Zyprexa, I plan to take blood-tests from time to time. I have a family history of diabetes II on both sides.
> First of all, I dont agree with your penicillin analogy.
Why not?
> I think penicillin is a way safer drug to take than anti-psychotics.
Not for those who have died from anaphylactic shock.
> Secondly, the question about whether you should try SSRIs being that you are bipolar, I just dont know.
The point I was trying to make is that very few drugs are without a liability to produce side effects. Since you mentioned the liability of SSRIs to produce EPS, I was curious if you thought treating a "simple" depression (as opposed to schizophrenia) with a drug that produces EPS can be justified. I know that's a rhetorical question, but I think it demonstrates the difficulties found in the decision-making process involved in treating illness in general. I'm a pretty naive fellow, so I can't help but to believe that drug companies are not acting in collusion to poison us. I still like to think that some of their R&D people give a damn. In the absence of collusion, I think capitalism demands it. (If there is one thing less productive than being young and idealistic, it is being old and idealistic). :-)
I find your posts informative and valuable. Thanks.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:97844
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98539.html