From reading posts it strikes me that a lot of folk here are on activating meds like abilify. And the major gripe with that particular med seems to be restlessness/akathisia.
Furthermore it seems like a lot of folk seem to just put up with said restlessness. Or at the most they take a benzo or beta blocker.
I appreciate different countries have different guidelines but here in the uk akathisia is actively treated. The med of choice is procyclidine (a med sometimes used in Parkinsonian diseases). This med can be very effective. I gather procyclidine is not available in the us but a similar meds are.
I think what I am trying to say is don’t put up with the restlessness/akathisia. That stuff is torture. Speak to your doc and get relief. This condition is hard enough without side effects ruining everything.
My psychiatrist offered me something for abilify anxiety, but when I googled it, I was put off by the side effects. I can’t remember what it was called now.
But, as long as l-theanine keeps it bearable, I’ll stick with that. If it stops working then I’ll mention procyclidine to them.
Lowering the dose to half temporarily can also make the side effects subside. Every time I start getting restless on Latuda I just take half the dose for a few days and start right back up again. It really helps
I cannot stand experiencing Akathisia and or restlesness or extra Anxiety, and I really dont want to take Akathisia meds like cogentin or other meds because they carry their own side effects - im already on a beta blocker and Klonopin - 2 meds sometimes used for Akathisia.
It seems like a good portion of the newer type Antipsychotics cause agitation and Akathisia.
I’m just going to ask my pdoc to have me try something else. I feel like my current pdoc (who pushes Latuda) and my last pdoc (who pushed Abilify) are just overly hopeful and excited that these newer meds are a miracle since they’re less likely to make people fat. But like, there are worse things than being fat. Like feeling like you’re going to explode and splatter all over the walls.
I just took the 5 mg last night with my Ativan and it knocked me out, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. I would much rather have it do that then give me the restlessness it was giving me before, especially since I get insomnia.
I tried procyclidene once, I didn’t have really bad restlessness but the drug made my mouth so dry I stopped taking it. I don’t like taking pills everyday.
It’s activating in lower doses and sedating in higher doses. I’m on 10mg and find it to be activating. I’m lucky that it works at that dose as I couldn’t tolerate a higher dose(i tried).