Posted by ace on June 19, 2003, at 2:48:17
In reply to Re: abilify - how bad is akathisia? what's it like? , posted by cybercafe on June 19, 2003, at 2:34:10
> > > i have heard stories of severe cases of akathisia, and they scared me a bit, those of you who have taken abilify, how did you find the akathisia to be?
> >
> > Can't speak about Abilify, but I got it on Risperdone 2mg increased too soon. It's very annoying- you feel edgy, have to move but moving doesn't help.
>
> how bad is it? i mean i remember reading that some people found it unbearable and were driven to suicide..... that kind of concerns me
>
> how did you resolve your problems with risperdal ace?
>I was on Risperidone 1mg for not much more than a couple of days- so the Dr. ups it from 1mg to 2mg. Not smart. For me, it was very uncomfortable, nothing like driving me to suicide (but NOTHING EVER would drive me to that). But it was bad- I remember itching to move and then moving with no resolution. But 4mg would have drove me to the hospital. Risperidone has more EPS than Zyprexa and Abilify.
If memory serves me correctly, I stopped the drug and reported it to him. Once it was stopped there was no more. It was only dose related. I think i went back to 1mg and was sweet. But i wasn;t on the drug for long.
I think the drug you mention has a low incidence of this - you seem very worried. Arent you on Parnate? Thinking of Augmentation?
Just remember, it is usually only dose related ie lower dose no more akathisia. At least this is the case in early therapy. If it was permanent, after long term use of it, I think you would definately need a medication to combat it.
I mean, if the doc ups the dose after 4 days to a very high level I'm sure you would get some EPS but if it's titrated slowly should be no probs - even long term if you are only on a low dose.
REmember also, a lot of EPS go away after months. For instance if you are on low-dose Abilify for 5 years you stop and notice you have Akathisa you could use a med for it while it subsides naturally (which can take 4/5 months). But sometimes it is permanent I think.
Good luck to you Cybersafe,
Ace.
poster:ace
thread:234988
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/235014.html