Hi
I was wondering which antipsychotic medications have allowed people to either go back to work or study at school/college. I’ve been on antipsychotics for 8 years now and would really like to go back to univeristy. However my current antipsychotic, Amisulpride, doesn’t give me the ability to concentrate on a single subject for long enough to allow study. Any information regarding this would be greatly appreciated.
Also, any information on antipsychotics that will allow the ability to concentrate on things, such as reading books or playing video games. Thanks!
I am currently trying to trim down my daily meds - can once trade better on a lower dose. Is not without its risks though.
On geodon, I worked two jobs and went to university. On Latuda I can not read a lot but I still work.
i’m sorry but i take amisulpride on a low dose and it helps with all of that, too much though and it gets harder to function, i take 200mg a day breakfast and dinner, have you tried a lower dose?
I actually take 50mg a day, I’m very lucky in that respect. My cognition is fairly well, I am able to articulate myself and have my schizoprehnia symptoms alleviated. However, I am able to concentrate for long periods of time. This is where the problem lays. Are you able to read books for prolonged amounts of time?
Does anyone know if Geodon is available in the UK? Research on its availability is throwing contradictory information at me!
I’m hearing a lot of good things about Geodon regarding motivation and concentration. The only problem is, I don’t know if it’s available in the UK…
It’s also called Ziprasidone or Zeldox I believe.
Also goes by the funny name, Zipwell! lol!
Could you tell me how long you have been on Amisulpride and how long it took for you to be able to do these things? I have only been on it 6 or so weeks, so that may be a reason.
Rexulti is my favorite. I’ve tried most of the second gens
Interesting. I’ve heard only a bit about it. How would you say it compares to Abilify?
If you’ve only been on your med for six weeks, give it time. When I first started my med, I slept all the time and couldn’t concentrate at all. But now, after three years, I can function great and I’m even reading for fun again. I’m on Geodon 60 mg. I personally think your dose matters more than which med you’re on. When I was on 180 mg of Geodon, I couldn’t function no matter what.
I think Geodon seems to be quite effective in reducing negative symptoms, the only problem is that it hasn’t got a release date for the UK. It’s a medication I would really like to try.
I wouldn’t know. I never had negative symptoms.
Try the antidepressant Trintellix. It has 5ht1a partial agonism and 5ht7 antagonism which helps with clarity of thought and cognition.
Latuda improves cognition by the same mechanism so consider switching to latuda.
It might be the illness which is making it hard for you to concentrate.
On my current med cocktail of seroquel and rexulti I find it much easier to concentrate. Rexulti increases dopamine metabolites in the prefrontal cortex so that may augment your concentration.
Also dont be too hard on yourself if youre not the exact same as you were pre sz, some of us are luckier than others when it comes to the retention of our faculties.
Lowering the dose of medication is another option though I see you are already on a low dose…
Read this article about cognition in sz pay special attention to the section on attention and vigilance. That should give you some perspective on what you are going through and whether or not it is going to get better.
Trntellix sounds like a good idea, I will further investigate it. I’ve been on Latuda before but the Akathisia and stress after taking it were not worth the hassle.
I’ve been hearing good things about Rexulti. Is it possible to give me a general run down on how beneficial it is for you? Including dosage?
Thanks for the information, all of it is great. Being able to deduct what medication would be best has been a long and arduous journey! But I’m sure I’ll prevail!
Trintellix sounds promising from what I’m reading. The only question I have, is will it cause any psychotic effects?
I was hospitalized in May, thats when my psychiatrist started me on Seroquel and Rexulti (I was previously on Zyprexa). I’m not sure which of the two is responsible for improving my concentration but after getting on seroquel I definitely felt like my mood was elevated; I was able to read books in my room in the psych ward. It sort of crept back gradually, but the change happened in a matter of a few nights. At this point the Rexulti was only 1mg and Seroquel was 400mg and Brintellix was 5mg.
When I was on Zyprexa in the spring I took a single community college class and I got a B. I was still suffering bad negative symptoms at that point and that made it hard for me to study. I think if anything this indicates that Zyprexa is ok for cognition/studying. I could concentrate pretty good on it.
I really struggled with concentration during this past year when I was trying out different meds. On geodon I found it very difficult to concentrate, on zyprexa I found it a bit easier.
I’ve only had sz since June '15 so my situation isn’t necessarily the same as yours, you’ve had sz for 8 years. Maybe the improvements in concentration were just a result of a significant amount of time passing…
…But I really feel like it was the med change that helped me recover from the negative symptoms. Cognition got better later on when I lowered seroquel.
My cognition was also bad until I lowered the dose of medication without supervision from my pdoc a couple weeks ago. I used to be on 800mg seroquel xr at 7pm and 2mg Rexulti around 8am. Now I’m on 400-600mg seroquel and 2mg Rexulti. My ability to concentrate got alot better after that.
Sz basically gives you add doesn’t it?
According to wikipedia Rexulti failed phase 2 trials for adult adhd…
Maybe that means you need to start looking outside of antipsychotics for your attention deficit cure.
I know the brintellix has really improved my ability to analyze. Consider trying it or another antidepressant.
One of the reasons I asked my pdoc to put me on seroquel is because it improves attention
So seroquel or quetiapine improves your attention span…I think it has improved mine. So seroquel is the missing link here, you need to get on a medium dose of seroquel, probably over 400, yeah between 400-600mg and then you should see an improvement in your attention span. Do some research on quetiapine and attention span and find out for yourself…
