Posted by dddiane on May 24, 2003, at 16:54:11
In reply to Re: NY Times - Atypical APs come under scrutiny, posted by denise528 on May 24, 2003, at 8:45:18
> I don't understand why they're coming under scrutiny all of a sudden.
> I'd say it was fairly obvious that they might cause Tardive Dyskinia, going by other peoples personal experiences of getting eps with them and also that they can cause diabetes, Zyprexa increases your appetite tenfold. So why all of a sudden are they having a big conference about this, it's not as if these are new findings.
>
> Personally, I thank God for Zyprexa, it's been a Godsend on many occasions when all other drugs have failed.
>
> DeniseDenise,
It may be obvious to you and to me that TD and diabetes are risks from the atypicals. But I find it a discouraging trend (fashion ?) that more pdocs are prescriping the new AP's as maintenence medications for bipolar disorder, and people seem to be taking their safety for granted. I know of people who are taking the new AP's who have never been warned of the risks.
I have had psychotic symtoms but mood stablizers completely control them. Yet I had a pdoc who insisted I try out not one, but first one then another of the new AP's. And even though I experienced depression he refused to let me go back to a mood stablizer. And he down played eps completely. I had to find out about that on my own. I quit the AP and the pdoc, needless to say.
Now I and back with a responsible pdoc and on a working combo of meds - Lamictal & Topamax.
Yes, the atypicals are life savers for me. Maybe once every sixty days when my mood gets a little radical I take one. Otherwise I do fine on AEDs, as I have done for years.
This might be old news for us, but common sense, as they say, isn't so common.
Diane
poster:dddiane
thread:227876
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030520/msgs/228913.html