Vraylar - My Review

Medications
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I have not been on Vraylar for long - a couple of days now, and I am still on the Risperdal - the cross tapering and Risperdal withdrawals have been Hell on Earth!

I am taking the minimum starter dose of 1.5 mg - the dose goes up to 6mg, this is equivalent to 20mg of Abilify.

So far so good, no real Akathisia and no real anxiety that I notice at this low dose.

Vraylar is a bit activating but in a mild way, it kind of keeps me moving and I have been doing a lot more - washing the dishes, cooking, walking the dog, filling the bird feeder, playing the guitar, cleaning up around the house more, walking - etc…

So in this sense it really does help the lack of motivation (Negative Symptoms)
I really am supposed to begin taking 3 mg of Vraylar on Monday, but I am going to ask my pdoc if I can stay on the 1.5mg dose, this is the lowest dose for schizophrenia but still could be effective for me.

I am going to call my pdoc tomorrow because the mixture of Vraylar and Risperdal does not mix so well.
Everytime I take the Risperdal my heart starts pounding and I feel very revved up - scary feeling.
I am going to ask her if I can drop the Risperdal and remain on the 1.5mg dose of Vraylar.
I am afraid that if I go to the 3mg dose of Vraylar, its going to be very activating, giving me serious Akathisia and Anxiety -

Vraylar is similar to Abilify, but without the Anxiety and Akathisia at the 1.5 mg dose.
I really like it so far, it really does help Negative Symptoms and it is a gentle drug, it does not sedate me or over stimulate me - it gently pushes me to do more things!

No psychosis - and my moods have been even - Vraylar is an excellent antidepressant type AP.

There is a coupon that makes the medication free for the first time.
It is expensive without insurance but I really feel that a lot of people could benefit from it.

At the 1.5mg dose im happy with it so far, I dont know if I will feel the same at higher doses, so we shall see.
Vraylar has a very long half life so side effects may show up weeks later.

My pdoc is montoring me every week for a while.

I will continue to update my experiences with Vraylar, hopefuly it will work long term.

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Thanks for the heads up. You think it would be worth switching from Abilify? Sounds like from your review that it’s an improvement from Abilify but is it worth to make the jump?

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So far so good, @Wave. Thanks for the detailed account. A couple of days is early, I agree, and I hope it keeps up for you.

Sorry about the ick cross-tapering effects. Hopefully you can drop risperidal soon.

I’d love it if my meds prompted me to fill the birdfeeder. We’re going on about a year of neglect here.

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I hope it is effective on voices and intrusive thoughts. Maybe I will try to switch from Abilify. Not yet though, Vraylar has not come to Sweden yet.

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Glad it’s working out for you @Wave

Hope it continues to work well.

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I’m glad you are off to a good start.

I hope you continue to benefit from it!

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I coud not tolerate Abilify, so it was a good jump for me - everyone is different.

Listen to your doctor see what he or she thinks.

Switching meds is risky business - but I had to do it, my pdoc was on board.

Risperdal was destroying my health.

It is way too soon to tell - but so far off to a pretty good start - except for the cross tapering.

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Keep us updated Wave, a lot of us are looking forward to trying Vrylar in the future…

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This is definitely on my radar. I’ve no idea when it’ll be in Europe though. Thanks wave, keep us updated.

Fingers crossed it works out for you.

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It was strange, after I took my dose of Vraylar today, I felt sedated for hours - this was the first time feeling this way.

Maybe the Vraylar is starting to build up in my system.

The thing is, Im still on the 1mg of Risperdal.

It takes time to adjust to a new med I guess.

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It is a bit early to tell. Improvements could be placebo effect. Keep us updated plz. Also If u have anhedonia does it help?

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I have some anhedonia - so far and I know its early, its not helping with this.

What it has been doing is giving me a lot more motivation - I did a million things today around the house.

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Also, Vraylar is a very activating drug.
It makes you want to move or do things - giving you more motivation.
It is not Akathisia, because I can sit still if I want to, but this drug gives you more energy without the anxiety at the 1.5mg dose.

I accomplished a lot of different things today, plus I walked for over 12 miles today - over 33000 steps!

Maybe I need some time to adjust to it.

But so far I am liking the extra energy I am getting from this med.

I lowered my Risperdal dose down to only 0.5mg, so I will be able to judge how Vraylar is working for me a lot better.

I should be off of the Risperdal for good in a couple of days.

Hopefully I wont burn out from it.

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The anhedonia could be caused by Risperdal. It’s all looking optimistic, but as you said it’s very early days.

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Yeah thats true @everhopeful - its too soon yet.

I will continue to post updates - as time passes.

Hopfully things will get more clear.

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Thanks for your review wave this are awesome news. I can’t wait to try vraylar. please keep us update wave. I hope it works on anhedonia as well. Good luck to you :wink:

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I am starting to feel a more calming effect from being on Vraylar.

It was not stimulating at all, after taking the dose this morning.

I can honestly say that it is pretty good for my anxiety - I went to the Supermarket today and was not anxious at all.

It kind of felt like I was on Zyprexa - A very mellow, mildly drugged up feeling - but in a good way.

I had lots of energy this morning before I took my dose, and even got a chance to listen to some music on youtube -

after I took the Vraylar, I felt an inner sense of calm - a good feeling for me.

So far this drug has been activating at times and calming other times.

My pdoc said that it does not trigger anxiety in her patients taking it.

So far at the 1.5mg dose - No anxiety.

It was very activating for me, the first couple of days on it - yesterday and today I am feeling more calm on this drug.

I will continue to post updates on how Im doing on this drug - I am currently taking a low dose of Risperdal with the Vraylar - 0.5mg - in a couple of days I will be off of the Risperdal completely.

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Excellent Wave, glad you’re having good luck with this med!

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Thank you @lovemyson - its always good to see you around here

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If you don’t mind me asking what is the sexual side effects profile?