Posted by med_empowered on September 22, 2005, at 17:20:28
In reply to Re: Can Risperdal *give* me hallucinations?, posted by Deneb on September 22, 2005, at 10:21:47
Hey! This can happen, but its probably rare. All antipsychotics--from the old ones like Thorazine, down to the newest ones like Abilify--can *cause* psychosis (in the previously non-psychotic) or *worsen* psychosis in those who are actively psychotic. I really didn't mean to scare you, and I'm sorry about that :-( . Low-dose antipsychotics do help some people, but they are powerful drugs and both doctors and patients need to keep that in mind. Insomnia can happen with antipsychotics, especially at low-doses...although antipsychotics generally reduce overall activity, low-doses (especially combined with antidepressants) can be activating; in some cases, the combination can induce mania. When I said antipsychotics should be avoided unless you are psychotic, that was basically a statement of my approach to them based on personal experience and overall side-effect profile. Most people with anxiety can find other meds to treat their problems, as can most people with depression or bipolar disorder...I guess a better statement of my opinion would be that antipsychotics should never be 1st or 2nd line treatment for non-psycohtic disorders. Sometimes start-up side effects of antipsychotics go away; sometimes they remain, get worse, or new side effects develop over time...they're tricky drugs. My advice would probably be to look at your issues and your personal preferences before you listen to your shrink (yes, they are docs, but they aren't YOU...its important to make their treatments fit into what YOU want to do, not vice versa). So..if you don't think you need an antipsychotic, you might be better off not taking one. If you're at the end of your rope--like, if you're considering ECT for depression/bipolar-- then giving an atypical a whirl is probably a good idea. Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:557521
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050921/msgs/558223.html