Posted by med_empowered on October 28, 2005, at 5:47:13
In reply to Re: Abilify-- does it work, and how much is too mu, posted by xbunny on October 28, 2005, at 5:10:01
30mgs is the max (according to the manufacturer; in the clinical setting, it seems some people do take more). I think the rules may be different for atypicals but with the old antipsychotics, the idea was that a neuroleptic had three points:
1) generalized sedation
2) "psychic" sedation (induces apathy, reduces emotional intensity)
and 3) "specific" antipsychotic effectThis 3-point system held true for low to medium-potency drugs; drugs like Haldol cover points 2 and 3, but don't do quite as much in the way of generalized sedation as, say, Thorazine or Trilafon. Anyway, the rule is that the top 2 should be apparent pretty quickly; antipsychotic effect may not be apparent for 6-8 weeks. Like buns said, sometimes the best bet is to opt for less medication with some mild hallucinations instead of over-medicating and eliminating the hallucinations (but also eliminating your quality of life). As for how much is too much...for me, anything above 10 was really too much. I can't really describe it..15 was great for psychotic depression, but it also had more side effects. When the dose jumped up to 30, it was waaaaay too much. You may want to ask your doc why you're being RX'd the max; it is the usual dose for managing **acute** mania, but that's about it. Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:572366
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051024/msgs/572628.html