Posted by med_empowered on November 13, 2005, at 15:15:11
In reply to Re: zyprexa ritalin, posted by linkadge on November 13, 2005, at 9:19:02
I used to take Abilify plus Ritalin, then Abilify plus Adderall..my advice: unless you have schizophrenia, pick 1--an AP or a stimulant. I think APs are inappropriate unless there is pronounced psychosis, so I'd recommend the stimulant...if necessary, you can add a benzo or propranolol to help with any jitters. Ritalin+Antipsychotic combos actually used to be kind of common--when Thorazine first hit the market, docs didn't really know how it worked; it seemed to basically be a super-tranquilizer with minimal drowsiness. So, it was kind of common to use Thorazine "off-label" (anxiety, agitation, etc.) and then prescribe stimulants such as Ritalin to help counter excessive sedation. In addition, people with forms of schizophrenia with heavy negative symptoms are sometimes given stimulants--in the past, low-dose ritalin, these days Provigil--to help perk them up a little. The problem, of course, is that you run the risk of inducing/worsening psychosis, so its a tricky combo.
Anyway, point is: a stimulant+AP combo strikes me as risky, without offering any real, major benefits. I'd recommend just trying the stimulant, and adding on less hardcore medications (ex: benzos, buspar) to deal with any sort of anxiety or whatever that may develop from the use of stimulants. Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:577755
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051112/msgs/578243.html