I will try to keep this brief. I was always depressed and my senior year of college (a year ago) I had a major psychotic break where I literally thought I was flying through the universe. I was hospitalized in for two weeks, and I have been trying to fine tune my meds. I am working closely with my Pdoc, but am getting very discouraged. Any input would be appreciated. Could be Schizo affective per PDoc
Lithium is what brought be out of my mania, and I have been on 900mg er every since.
I have gone thru Latuda. Could only get to 60 mg. I took with food, but still felt ill most of the time.
Cannot take Lamictal due to headaches.
Tried Vryalar and I felt like I was crawling out of my skin.
I am now up to 4mg of Rexulti as of last weekend. My Paranoia is the highest it has been since my hospitalization. Saw my Pdoc Friday and he said too soon to tell on the increased dosage and I can go from 7. out of 10 to 3 out of 10 in a matter of minutes. He added a small dose of Lexapro to help with my depression.
Rexulti has been the best drug from a side effect profile. If I could rid myself of the paranoia I would almost be normal.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Really appreciate it.
It takes time. I do well on risperdone but switched to Invega. At 156mg shot it had no effect but being bumped to 234mg made a huge difference. I like it even better than the persons except for it wearing off a few days before the shot is due.
I don’t take my lamictal because I don’t feel like I need it.
Thanks for all of your input. I am trying to stay positive, going to work everyday. Have any of your Pdocs every combined Antipsychotic together? I am trying to stay calm, put I am so scared by my fears, I may have to go back to the Pdoc on Monday. Never had this problem since my hospitalization a year ago.
Paranoia is something antipsychotics have never helped me with. Sometimes taking some as needed Ativan can help it but mostly I try to adjust my schedule to reduce it. If I’m at home I can still feel it a bit but nowhere close to being out.
If I’ve had a few really bad days with it I try to stay inside for a day or two to calm it down. I’ve learned which types of environments trigger it for me and do my best to avoid them. This can be as simple as cutting through a small side street instead of walking along a busy one. If I’m at a cafe I like to sit with my back to the wall. Small things like this build up over time and I can still do most things but slightly modified. Learning how the paranoia presents itself has given me a sense of control over it.
Thanks for your input, but my paranoia is not controllable like normal. I think someone may shoot and harm me at any time. Hoping my increased Rexulti will help, but have not had this issue in a year …I have been on Rexulti for over 4 months.
If the antipsychotic is not treating your symptoms sadly it does not matter what the side effect profile is, it means it is not the med for you.
I’ve also tried many APs and I agree rexulti is the best so far side effect wise. I get pretty much no side effects now. I’m on 2 mg.
I am learning now it is better to find a med that works for you, and then find a way to manage the side effects for example a beta blocker to get rid of akathisia, rather than trying to make a med that doesn’t give you side effects work for you when that may never happen. Though it doesn’t hurt to try all the doses you can of it.
Thank you all for your kindness. This is my 3rd Atypical - Latuda, Vraylar, and now Rexulti. I am experimenting with my lithium dose over the weekend to see if it can help while the higher dose of Rexulti has full effect. My Lithium has always been at 900mg (post hospital) and I tried 1200mg yesterday and 1200 mg today. My blood level is always at .80 or lower so I know I have some wiggle room. If I am not better I will see Pdoc early this week.
I had no paranoia with Latuda, but the constantly feeling ill was too much after 9 months on it.
Has anyone tried Saphris with positive results?
I work everyday in an office/research environment and I cannot loose anymore cognitive skills than I already have. My short term memory is now horrible.
My pdoc has htold me in the past that my lithium dose has been very stable and it at the low end of theraputic. With her permission we tried once to lower it by 225 mg per day, and I began thinking about quantum physics. I raised immediately back up, and it stopped.
I am trying to make it thru the weekend till tomorrow when I can call. Today since raising my lithium (to my early post hospital days) seems to have leveled me out a bit. Trying to give the Rexulti dose increase the two weeks it needs to see if it is at least effective. Thanks for checking on me
Give enough time for your medication to work. As others have already said here - sometimes it takes a little while for the medication to kick in. Don’t be discouraged about the number of AP’s you’ve tried. It personally took me 5 different AP’s to find one that works for me. I’m sure there are people who’ve tried more. Just hang in there. Keep talking to your pdoc, being as open and honest with them as you can. Good luck.
Thank you all. The additional 225mg of Lithium seems to be helping my paranoia. It is so hard not to be discouraged. I know my journey has only been a year and so many of you have been fighting it for years. I just want to be as normal as possible, be able to get my own place (move out from my parents) and have a fulfilling career. I was supposed to be a Physicians Assistant, but my condition has made that choice not a good one due to the varying hours. I just graduated and have my 1st real job, and I just want to be normal like my friends. Everyone has been very kind and helpful. Thank you.
I can empathise about the paranoia as i use to have it real bad but luckily i was able to shake it, I hope your med works well, may take time to work but idk, listen to your dr and keep on keeping on
Just wanted all to say thanks. I increased my lithium to 1125 mg er per day, and rexulti is at 4 mg per day. The most stable I have been in a year, and since my diagnosis and 2 week hospitalization. Love the rexulti. Bi-polar with schizo symptoms.
My Pdoc is very happy with my progress, I only tweaked the lithium over the weekend (when I was having a bad time) I need higher lithium with rexulti for some reason. Only problem is increased skin issues.
