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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tepiaca on December 9, 2005, at 21:24:43
hello guys. I have been 15 days on 1mg of
Risperdal. It seems my body its getting
acquainted to the med. Anyway it seems
Risperdal is a very though drug. I still
feel druged, very hungry, headache, no libido.
It seems its a very strong med.
I havent stop taking it, because I wanna give
it more time. Yesterday was a horrible day. Today
was more or less.
Maybe there is another AP similar to Risperdal, with less side effects, is there?.
I have taken Zyprexa, and Seroquel in the past
I liked both, Seroquel more than Zyprexa. However
none of them helped with my fear.
Love you guys
Tep
Posted by med_empowered on December 9, 2005, at 22:13:23
In reply to Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ?, posted by Tepiaca on December 9, 2005, at 21:24:43
1mg Risperdal isn't too high--people with schizophrenia often take 4-8mgs. *BUT* for your use it may be a bit high...sometimes people can do well taking .25mgs-.5mgs tabs.
Posted by Phillipa on December 9, 2005, at 22:27:45
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ?, posted by med_empowered on December 9, 2005, at 22:13:23
Med what about abilify? Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Cairo on December 9, 2005, at 23:46:33
In reply to Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ?, posted by Tepiaca on December 9, 2005, at 21:24:43
My limited experience with Risperdal for an entirely different use was that 0.25-0.5mg improved my symptoms, while increasing past that dose actually worsened symptoms. Seemed to have a very narrow therapeutic range for me. I always find that I need to start low and go slow with every new drug. Better than starting high and needing to taper back due to side effects.
Cairo
>
> hello guys. I have been 15 days on 1mg of
> Risperdal. It seems my body its getting
> acquainted to the med. Anyway it seems
> Risperdal is a very though drug. I still
> feel druged, very hungry, headache, no libido.
> It seems its a very strong med.
> I havent stop taking it, because I wanna give
> it more time. Yesterday was a horrible day. Today
> was more or less.
> Maybe there is another AP similar to Risperdal, with less side effects, is there?.
> I have taken Zyprexa, and Seroquel in the past
> I liked both, Seroquel more than Zyprexa. However
> none of them helped with my fear.
>
> Love you guys
> Tep
>
Posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 0:38:45
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ? » Tepiaca, posted by Cairo on December 9, 2005, at 23:46:33
Good point, Phillipa...if Abilify is an option, and you and your doc agree that a neuroleptic might be useful, perhaps you should pursue that. Part of the problem is that Risperdal is high-potency, like Haldol, so seeming minor dosage increases or decreases can have a major impact on how the drug makes you feel. Also, Risperdal is pretty rough, compared to the other atypicals; I think of Risperdal as a half-way point on the continuum between Haldol and better drugs, such as Abilify.
Abilify tends to be non-sedating, especially in lower-doses, and may actually be activating. Some people report a start-up anxiety (there also seems to be a lot of akathisia with this medication), but I personally had some pretty pronounced anti-anxiety effects at low (below 10mgs) doses. My guess would be that if you started very low, like 2.5mgs or so, you'd have fewer problems...also, you might do better if instead of working up to a "therapeutic dose" you instead focused on finding the lowest possible dose to give you benefits. From my own experience, I'd say try to keep it at or below 10mgs. What also helps some people is occasional neuroleptic use; so, you could try it for a couple weeks, stop, then if you start having major problems again, go back on a low dose for a bit, then stop. Before the atypicals when the old antipsychotics were used for depression, this was pretty common; anxious, super-depressed patients might take Perphenazine for a week or two, stop, then go back on a low dose for a little while and then stop.
Good luck!
Posted by Tepiaca on December 10, 2005, at 10:05:55
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ?, posted by med_empowered on December 9, 2005, at 22:13:23
> 1mg Risperdal isn't too high--people with schizophrenia often take 4-8mgs. *BUT* for your use it may be a bit high...sometimes people can do well taking .25mgs-.5mgs tabs.
>
>Med , I have an schizoafective disorder according to my doctor, do you believe 1 mg is high?
Posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 17:41:30
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ? » med_empowered, posted by Tepiaca on December 10, 2005, at 10:05:55
are you sure schizoaffective is accurate? usually, schizoaffective represents a sort of mid-point between Bipolar type I and Schizophrenia--the patient usually has hallucinations (WITHOUT mood problems) for at least 2 weeks, plus (usually) some "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia--blunted affect, that kind of thing.
Its worth noting that some shrinks dont think the schizoaffective disorder diagnosis is all that meaningful. Some patients basically resemble bipolar patients (with more psychosis); others resemble schizophrenic patients (with more mood issues). Unlike schizophrenia, the prognosis for schizoaffective tends to be pretty good.
Anyway,1mg/Risperdal for a psychotic disorder isn't high; its probably on the low side. That said, no matter what you're being treated for, you need to proceed with caution with antipsychotics...the ideal should be the lowest dose for the shortest period of time.
Some people with schizoaffective respond well to mood-stabilizers (lithium, depakote, tegretol, etc.) without an additional antipsychotic...in this respect, some schizoaffective patients are more bipolar than schizophrenic. Perhaps you could try that? Triletpal, Depakote, Keppra, and Lamictal could all be good options for you; I personally wouldn't try Lithium just yet, b/c of the blood work and side effects, but it certainly is a better option than antipsychotics. Also, anti-anxiety meds help people with schizoaffective *A LOT*--Klonopin, Ativan, etc. could reduce your tension *tremendously*. BuSpar could help, too, but a benzo would help faster.
So..I guess I think you should first ask your doc to explain exactly **why** he thinks you're schizoaffective. You don't seem to have problems with psychosis...shizoaffective really isn't a good diagnosis anyway, and its certainly not one to go spraying around on somebody just b/c they're treatment-resistant.
In terms of dosage for YOU...although 1mg is pretty low for a psychotic disorder, if YOU don't like it, YOU don't like it. You can switch meds (again, I'd recommend low-dose abilify) or lower your Risperdal, or *better yet*, ask your doc to try a mood-stabilizer without an antipsychotic.
Good luck!
Posted by Tepiaca on December 11, 2005, at 10:40:07
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ?, posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 17:41:30
> are you sure schizoaffective is accurate?
I dont know Med. It is said by my first doctor. The one who saw me 10 years ago. The others can´t tell me what it is. One told me I had deliriums that people dont like me. The last one said there is nothing psicotic with me.
Med The first med that helped me in my life was Zyprexa. That was after trying all kind of meds available at the market. Including conventionals AP. I have saw some old prescriptions on my mom desktop. Haldol, Sulpiride and Risperdal are some of the first Ap doctor used on me. He tried with AP´s because no AD could help me in the past.
Med .... if zyprexa was the first med that helped me in my life, does that mean that I have some kind of psichotic disorder???
My mom is currently on Solian. We go to the same doctor. She doesn´t know what is that med used for. She only take it and thats all. I believe we are a little, just a litle bit psicotic. I remember when I was 14 or 15, she used to get angry with everything. That everybody wanted to take her for a fool. I sometimes feel like that, in some way I have inheritated that stuff.
Anyway I just want to feel better. Have a normal life. Im tired of all this _%(/)
>>
> Anyway,1mg/Risperdal for a psychotic disorder isn't high; its probably on the low side. That said, no matter what you're being treated for, you need to proceed with caution with antipsychotics...the ideal should be the lowest dose for the shortest period of time.
>Im afraid of Ap´s maybe I would have to take them forever. Im scared of these drugs
> Some people with schizoaffective respond well to mood-stabilizers (lithium, depakote, tegretol, etc.) without an additional antipsychotic...in this respect, some schizoaffective patients are more bipolar than schizophrenic. Perhaps you could try that? Triletpal, Depakote, Keppra, and Lamictal could all be good options for you; I personally wouldn't try Lithium just yet, b/c of the blood work and side effects, but it certainly is a better option than antipsychotics. Also, anti-anxiety meds help people with schizoaffective *A LOT*--Klonopin, Ativan, etc. could reduce your tension *tremendously*. BuSpar could help, too, but a benzo would help faster.I tried Depkote in the past. Didn´t helped me. I used it with Nardil. Im an currently of 0.5mg of clonazepam.Its a good med
>
> So..I guess I think you should first ask your doc to explain exactly **why** he thinks you're schizoaffective. You don't seem to have problems with psychosis...shizoaffective really isn't a good diagnosis anyway, and its certainly not one to go spraying around on somebody just b/c they're treatment-resistant.
>=(
> In terms of dosage for YOU...although 1mg is pretty low for a psychotic disorder, if YOU don't like it, YOU don't like it. You can switch meds (again, I'd recommend low-dose abilify)
Im want to try abilify , a low dose ,as you said med
I am off risperdal. Im tired of feelig druged
Posted by med_empowered on December 11, 2005, at 12:02:38
In reply to Re: Is 1mg of Risperdal a high dose ? » med_empowered, posted by Tepiaca on December 11, 2005, at 10:40:07
hi! I'm glad your mom is doing well on Solian but I don't think just b/c she has some psychotic features you necessarily do or will. And just b/c you respond to zyprexa doesn't mean you are psychotic; lots of people without psychosis respond to zyprexa for stuff like bipolar disorder, depression, OCD, etc.
Abilify might work well for you..I certainly hope it does :-) Personally, I'd avoid the old-school antipsychotics--they just cause too many problems to justify their use.
Good luck!
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