Hey guys! So the risperidone has revealed to me what it means to be truly stable; well, as stable as I can be. Things are good. But my post here is about a friend and if you have a mood disorder, probably schizoaffective on these forums, I could use your input to help a friend.
She was quickly and haphazardly diagnosed with bipolar disorder but her treatment has not progressed in years. It is likely a misdiagnosis, though, she does have a sort of histrionic personality and does struggle with depression - badly. She has tried lamictal, depakote, and of course lithium. She has also been on high doses of most available SSRIs and SNRIs. Now, she should definitely talk to another, more experienced psychiatrist, rather than the one who diagnosed her after one session. However, in the meantime, I thought I’d ask you guys… if you have an affective disorder or a mood component, what has worked for you? CBT? DBT? Mood stabilizers? Other anti-depressants? Latuda (the newer AAP)?
I probably have bipolar type 1 with some SZ to make things real interesting.
In the past I was on lithium (did nothing for me) Depakote ER (very potent and effective med for me, especially if you dont have pure or classic bipolar) Tegretol - I dont know how well it works, but a usually effective mood stabilizer.
I am currently on low dose Risperdal and Lamictal - 2 very effective mood stabilizing meds - I also take Klonopin for anxiety.
I hear good things about Latuda, especially for bipolar depression - For me Lamictal at low doses has been a Godsend
Thank you so much, Wave! I am on Risperdal as well, which has made life much more bearable. While I’m not a psychiatrist, I really want to suggest things for her to discuss with her new psychiatrist. On her own, she doesn’t speak much, which I’m sure we all understand. Also, Klonopin is great for anxiety, but too many people see it as a party drug which isn’t the case.
I am schizoaffective bipolar type. Diagnosed in 2007. although abilify is supposed to be on the low end of the scale for it’s success it is definitely the one drug that I cannot do without. I am also on Seroquel, but I only take it at night. I recently took the Seroquel in the morning, thinking that I was taking the abilify. It’s a long story, but basically, I mixed them up. That actually not only made my symptoms worse, but I even having symptoms that I don’t usually have.
Perhaps sometimes less is more. At least it seems to be that way in my situation.
Thank you, Jillian! I agree about the less is more thing as well. For me, for example, 40 mg of Prozac was numbing while my current 30 mg is not and relieves depression. They put her on Seroquel as a “last resort”, but it’s a daytime dose and the effects are negative.
Exactly, it was giving me negative symptoms and making the ones I already had worse. I need to take it, no doubt about it, but when I take it I need to be in my pajamas and ready for bed. The main symptom it seemed to be making worse was the disorganization, confusion etc… To an outsider it looked like I had no motivation. This error lasted three days and almost put me in the hospital.
Latuda has worked for me. It doesn’t make me feel like I’m drugged and I don’t have too much confusion like I did on other meds. That being said I have never had an official diagnoses of SZ or a mood disorder. I’ve just been treated for it.