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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on December 17, 2010, at 20:38:37
I take 30mgs/day of Abilify. No mania, significantly decreased agitation and anxiety.
Here's the problem: A few years back, I was a complete pariah. People were cruel, they talked about private information, I was rejected...I was "that guy" in a small town, the one who was treated like crap.
Now, I'm in a new town and I'm doing OK, but I hear voices of people--you guessed it--talking about me. Saying all the old stuff people used to say. Talking about confidential information. Some of these voices I associate with real people who actually did some of these things back in the day.
Should I just get over it? I mean, people go through wars and traumatic experiences w/o needing meds for this sort of thing. I wouldn't even think about adding meds if the voices weren't so distracting. And now, I'm starting to get a little paranoid. Like today, a guy in front of me in line at a store whispered something to his girlfriend--I automatically assumed they were talking about me. I'm kind of on edge, I feel a little keyed up, my social awkwardness is increased, and I just don't feel calm.
But you can't always feel calm. Or happy. Or "well-adjusted." These things are great, but pills won't always do them/produce them for you. I don't want to go above the FDA max for abilify, so 30mgs is my stopping point. Do I need more meds? Benzos are out, btw.
Thanks
Posted by Maxime on December 17, 2010, at 21:53:07
In reply to Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 17, 2010, at 20:38:37
It's a stressful season right now which is COULD be why you are experiencing some hallucinations. You could ride it out and see how it is once the holidays are over. Right now you are able to tell yourself that these voices are not real, and that you know you are being paranoid. That's positive.
If you feel safer, you might want to meet with your doctor and let him/her know what is going on.
I hope the hallucations go away soon. I have had them myself and they are not pleasant.
Take care.
Posted by Phillipa on December 18, 2010, at 0:07:57
In reply to Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 17, 2010, at 20:38:37
I feel this is something not to ignore. Can you get your doctor and see what recommendations he/she has. I know from social you are considering school. That is stressful in itself. You can write me if you like. Will you be going home for the holidays? Trigger maybe of the old home town? Love Phillipa
Posted by ed_uk2010 on December 18, 2010, at 8:55:16
In reply to Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 17, 2010, at 20:38:37
>I don't want to go above the FDA max for abilify...
No, I don't think you should, because I don't think it would be beneficial. I do think you need to speak to your doctor though, because some changes may be needed.
By the way, why do you say benzos are out?
Posted by Christ_empowered on December 18, 2010, at 12:26:26
In reply to Re: Do I need more meds?!?! » Christ_empowered, posted by ed_uk2010 on December 18, 2010, at 8:55:16
Hey, Ed. Benzos are out b/c I'm with a Public Health doctor. I'm pretty sure they don't Rx benzos, even for short-term use, so he'd probably want to do something with the neuroleptic (raise the dose, add in a low dose of something else).
The thing is, I'm really not looking to take multiple neuroleptics. I'm already at the FDA max for Abilify, so if I add something, it needs to be something besides an antipsychotics, even if the antipsychotic is the most "atypical" drug known to modern science.What would you suggest, Ed? Depakote and lithium are both no-gos--I don't tolerate depakote well and lithium scares me too much. I thought about an antidepressant, but...I've never had much luck with them (except Tofranil, which ended up making me kind of surly) and I don't want to be flattened out (I mean, I already take a high dose neuroleptic).
I'm thinking/hoping/praying this is a short-term problem. Do you think Lamictal might help?
Posted by ed_uk2010 on December 18, 2010, at 12:37:49
In reply to Re: Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 18, 2010, at 12:26:26
Hi Med,
>Benzos are out b/c I'm with a Public Health doctor. I'm pretty sure they don't Rx benzos...
What, not at all? I thought a couple of weeks of clonazepam might help eg. 0.5mg twice a day. It's up to your doc, of course.
>he'd probably want to do something with the neuroleptic (raise the dose, add in a low dose of something else).
I don't think raising the dose would help, and I'm not sure that Abilify combines well with other antipsychotics. Perhaps because it's a partial dopamine agonist? I suppose you could switch to a different AP but since Abilify generally works well for you, I was thinking that a low dose of a benzo might be beneficial for short-term use only. It might be a temporary problem that you're going through. Could be too early to switch to a different AP. I have no idea what would happen if you added say Zyprexa to Abilify. It could be useful, for a limited time, but I really don't know. In fact, I don't know of any evidence which supports combining Abilify with other APs.
>Do you think Lamictal might help?
I suspect not. I think benzos are more useful as adjuncts to antipsychotics, but only for a few weeks max.
Anyway, take care of yourself.
Posted by Maxime on December 18, 2010, at 19:47:33
In reply to Re: Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 18, 2010, at 12:26:26
> > I'm thinking/hoping/praying this is a short-term problem. Do you think Lamictal might help?
>
>Hi, I can't help you with your meds. I wanted to say that for some reason, I do believe that this is a short-term problem. Weird things happen around the holidays.
I hope you feel better soon.
*hugs*
Posted by morgan miller on December 18, 2010, at 23:43:03
In reply to Re: Do I need more meds?!?!, posted by Christ_empowered on December 18, 2010, at 12:26:26
Why does lithium scare you? It could be helpful at a dose as low as 300 mg, a dose that is much less likely to cause any issues.
I would try to find other options before trying Lamictal. Lamictal can be stimulating, it doesn't sound like something you need right now. This is the same reason why an antidepressant might not be a good idea. Your doctor hopefully knows best, so he will be the one to decide what might or might not be good for you currently.
What about adding a small dose of Zyprexa to the mix? Just for a short while.
This is the end of the thread.
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