Posted by Lou Pilder on September 16, 2013, at 16:21:30
In reply to Thoughts on AAPs please..., posted by Sheilac on September 16, 2013, at 6:18:12
> I have a serious problem with irritability. I don't know if its considered more of a mixed state or just part of the hypomania of BPII. Then, I have the cycles of depression & anxiety.
>
> 25 years ago I started with ADs & over years of ups and downs on antidepressants I developed a painful bladder issue so that now I can't even take Prozac, Zoloft or Effexor, without it burning my bladder.
>
> Plus, all the ups and downs and crappy side effects with antidepressants, weight gain, sexual side effects, etc.
>
> Finally, a pdoc recognized the instability antidepressants were causing in my life and tried other meds. All the mood stabilizers made me depressed (which I was told is their job!), but used in combination with other meds for depression, they helped. I had to stop low dose lithium after I grew thyroid nodules. Trileptal is good, but I have to wear glasses, it ruins my vision.
>
> Now, I'm back to trying Geodon, an atypical antipsychotic, even though I'm not (and my doc says I do not exhibit signs of) psychosis. At the low end of 20mg, it can help me sleep, but makes me hypomanic the next day. If I try and take it twice a day I sleep or have to take serious stimulants (Adderall & coffee) to stay awake.
>
> I can take a higher dose at night and it seems to keep me normal (no irritability, nice to my husband, no rages, and no daytime hangover). No great bliss that I used to get from ADs, but oh well. Last night was my trial of 80mg and today I feel good. No hypomania. Tonight I'll see if I can drop it to 60mg. I know the lowest effective dose is best. I report back to my shrink in a few weeks.
>
> Here's the thing: I'm worried. People are real freaky about the use of atypical antipsychotics if you're not really schizophrenic.
>
> Should I be worried about the effects this drug can have on me? Someone suggested trying a super low dose of Abilify instead. Is one AAP REALLY better than another? I took 50mg of Seroquel for years for sleep.
>
> I'm sure my shrink would prefer a plain old antidepressant and low dose mood stabilized. But I can't seem to find anything that helps.
>
> I question my "label". My old doc that retired said I was "mixed state". Maybe that's where the severe irritability and anger come in, followed by depression & anxiety.
>
> So, what are your thoughts on using an AAP for maintenance? Bad plan long term?
>
> I wonder about maybe visiting with my husbands neurologist and getting his opinion. I'm sure he'd yank me off AAPs too.S,
You wrote,[...should I be worried about the effects this drug can have on me?...].
I think that if you knew what the drug was, that you could make your own determination as to take this drug or not.(Geodon).
The drug is composed of chemicals brought together chemically. One of the chemicals is Benzene. Another is a chemical used in insecticides and to kill fungus and to make chemical dyes. Another is a chemical found in organisms that emit light, like the firefly or squid and other animals such as snails and shrimp. I do not know of any studies to see if people taking this drug for years have light being emitted from them, but I always wondered if Debbie Boone was referring to this drug in her song, "You Light up My Life"
When these drugs get approval, the long-term effects on people are not known until later, after
many years of thousands of people using and reporting adverse responses that could be caused by the drug, including death.
poster:Lou Pilder
thread:1050768
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130828/msgs/1050791.html