Posted by Ritch on December 25, 2002, at 8:53:27
In reply to Re: do anti-psychotics make ADD worse??, posted by cybercafe on December 24, 2002, at 13:56:02
> > Have you tried other meds that are not AP's (DA/NE receptor antagonists) for your bipolar (lithium/Depakote/etc.)? You could try increasing the Ritalin, but if a "midrange" 30mg isn't doing *anything*, then I would strongly suspect the olanzapine is completely blocking its effect. If an AP is required-what about a switch to low-dose hs Seroquel istead?
>
> yeah i tried valporate and gabapentin ... i think i still cycled a bit on valporate, and i spent more time in mild depressive states ....
>
> with zyprexa i don't feel depressed as much as apathetic ... i just don't want to get out of bed... once out of bed i just don't want to do anything
>
> 30mg of ritalin SR (which i've read is much weaker than normal immediate release) definately does some good ... i guess i can only hope another 10 mg makes a big difference
>
> i don't want to change antipsychotics or even risk going off zyprexa because i feel i have been lucky that my EPS faded quickly and don't want to try my luck again
>
> i dunno...i can't figure out if i should ask my doc for a better stimulant or to add an antidepressant, ug
>
> thanks for replying Mitch :)
>
From what I remember, I have read quite a few squawks about Ritalin-SR. You might ask about trying some Adderall instead. Maybe 20mg of XR. People often get a more robust response to a different stimulant. I have heard that is the smoothest amp-stim you can get. I only tried the regular version of Adderall and it was pretty even (over 8-12 hrs or so). You can also get the generic version of that fairly cheap. Have a good holiday---Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:132899
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021223/msgs/133134.html