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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by floatingbridge on April 8, 2011, at 15:32:34
If I don't feel good on abilify (low dose) or seroquel, does that suggest or fairly predict that risperdal might not make it into my pharma-kit?
Not adding nothin' yet. Just looking ahead at new possibilities.
(I see others finding it useful, even taken as needed.)
Thanks for reading,
fb
Posted by Christ_empowered on April 8, 2011, at 22:41:06
In reply to short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by floatingbridge on April 8, 2011, at 15:32:34
I dunno...Abilify is strange b/c of the anxiety+agitation+akathisia. Seroquel at low doses is like a super sedating antihistamine, not so much an antipsychotic (it'd be cheaper to just take hydroxyzine or benadryl).
I didn't really like Risperdal, but then again I took 4mgs with depakote. I felt blunted and it gave me twitches. I've heard that really low doses are kind of like a tranquilizer. I guess if you keep it as-needed and low-dose it, you wouldn't have to worry too much about dysphoria, eps, weight gain, or prolactin-level increases.
I guess try it and see? Its generic now, so its a bit cheaper (especially if you have good insurance), and doctors never hesitate to write an antipsychotic Rx for any reason.
Good luck.
Posted by floatingbridge on April 9, 2011, at 8:41:58
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by Christ_empowered on April 8, 2011, at 22:41:06
Thanks CE. Can't remember seroquel dose, but maybe high b/c it was not (!) sedating.
I'm glad to see you improving :)
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Posted by mtdewcmu on April 9, 2011, at 17:04:48
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by Christ_empowered on April 8, 2011, at 22:41:06
> I guess try it and see? Its generic now, so its a bit cheaper (especially if you have good insurance), and doctors never hesitate to write an antipsychotic Rx for any reason.It's not just a bit cheaper. It's a lot cheaper.
Posted by mtdewcmu on April 9, 2011, at 17:07:42
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by mtdewcmu on April 9, 2011, at 17:04:48
At least, it's much cheaper at Costco. Drugstore.com is charging a lot for it.
http://www.costco.com/Pharmacy/DrugInfo.aspx?p=1&Drug=risperidone
>
> It's not just a bit cheaper. It's a lot cheaper.
Posted by hyperfocus on April 9, 2011, at 22:42:12
In reply to short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by floatingbridge on April 8, 2011, at 15:32:34
From what I've read on PB it's hard to predict how a person will respond to APs (apart from the inevitable sedation.) There's a huge amount of variation in response to different drugs from the AP family it seems. You might not respond to Abilify and respond to Risperdal, or vice-versa. Abilify is popular as an augmentor for treating depression and bipolar. Risperdal is also used in a wide variety of scenarios from OCD to social phobia to bipolar, so basically they're both doing a lot of 'stuff' to your brain. Risperdal at low doses seens to universally have an anti-anxiety/tranquilising effect - although you may or may not like it. What part of your illness are you hoping to treat with it? btw there's a lot of stuff on the 'net about amitriptyline besing used to treat the anxiety and depression and insomnia of PTSD - just reminding you if you want to bring it up with your pdoc.
Posted by floatingbridge on April 10, 2011, at 1:09:47
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » floatingbridge, posted by hyperfocus on April 9, 2011, at 22:42:12
Thanks hp. I've mentioned amitriptylene to my gp. She's game, but after Lyrica nightmare wants me to do nothing and see. She mentioned doxepin too.
My pdoc hasn't been too keen on it. Doesn't think I'd tolerate the sides (?) well. Nor does he think I'd feel good on an AP.
Sometimes, I just get very, very worked up inside, like tangled and confused and convinced I am in a very special category
of 'bad'. Singled out for punishment, cast out by God, creation, everything my fault, the ptsd my fault because in the words of Cormac McCarthy 'what's wrong with [me] is wrong all the way
through me.' Just the wind could knock me over. Your basic intense self-loathing. In addition, when I can't sleep, I panic, and I believe sleep is the only
way to truly stop the psychic pain.Some babblers use rispedal as needed to just stop that over the edge intensity. If I could just get that safety med. Right now, and for years, I've only had xanax. That does work, but I feel it's really further destabilizing. So I stay way below my xanax script in case of emergency, then dash 1-2 mg. I can sleep, but I don't want to do that anymore.
This all makes sense to you? I'm just talking off the top of my head. I don't self-injure, no suicide attempts, just at times I need something to just stop what feels like disintegration plain and simple. I usually don't act out (unless on Lyrica. Ha. Ha. :( ), just avoid and clam up.
Thanks for asking.
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Posted by SLS on April 10, 2011, at 5:26:00
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by Christ_empowered on April 8, 2011, at 22:41:06
> I dunno...Abilify is strange b/c of the anxiety+agitation+akathisia. Seroquel at low doses is like a super sedating antihistamine, not so much an antipsychotic (it'd be cheaper to just take hydroxyzine or benadryl).
That might be a bit of an exaggeration. I saw someone have a miraculous recovery from a mixed-state once Seroquel 50 mg was added to Risperdal. That's no antihistaminic effect.
Regarding Abilify, it is my guess that it reduces the efficacy of coadministered antipsychotics due to its high affinity for D2 receptors and D2 partial agonism. It probably outcompetes antipsychotics with a low affinity at D2 receptors and would create a situation where the other AP is rendered ineffective or needs to be increased in dosage. Seroquel is a prime example of this. I know one woman for whom Seroquel 900 mg was only partially effective. Once Abilify 30 mg was discontinued, Seroquel 400 mg worked its magic.
- Scott
Posted by mtdewcmu on April 10, 2011, at 11:27:33
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » hyperfocus, posted by floatingbridge on April 10, 2011, at 1:09:47
> Sometimes, I just get very, very worked up inside, like tangled and confused and convinced I am in a very special category
> of 'bad'. Singled out for punishment, cast out by God, creation, everything my fault, the ptsd my fault because in the words of Cormac McCarthy 'what's wrong with [me] is wrong all the way
> through me.' Just the wind could knock me over. Your basic intense self-loathing. In addition, when I can't sleep, I panic, and I believe sleep is the only
> way to truly stop the psychic pain.That sounds like a shame attack. I get those sometimes when I am unexpectedly criticized. John Bradshaw has done some good work on shame, but I can't get myself to read any of his books the whole way through.
Posted by emmanuel98 on April 12, 2011, at 0:18:15
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » hyperfocus, posted by floatingbridge on April 10, 2011, at 1:09:47
I was an almost continuous mess and called my p-doc in a panic about suicidal ideation. He called in a prescription for risperdal. I took one and for the first time in my life I felt normal -- not high or eurphoric -- just okay. I remember driving home and thinking this is what normal people must feel like most of the time. Unfortunately. despite normal eating and dieting, I gained 12 pounds in a month. So much for risperdal. But if I could take it without gaining weight, I would.
Posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 0:14:35
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by emmanuel98 on April 12, 2011, at 0:18:15
emmanuel, it isn't useful for you on an as need basis? Does your depression present more as solid blocks?
I get these peaks if intensity that seem unbearable. The only med I ever took that made me feel good as in normal as in glad to be alive was dexedrine. That stopped working, well, maybe because my health just gave out. I think stimulant therapy isn't a health tonic :(
Posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 0:24:57
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal, posted by mtdewcmu on April 10, 2011, at 11:27:33
I haven't read the Bradshaw books. Why didn't you finish any.
No stranger to intense shame here :-/
Do you or anyone else reading ever feel like you are disintegrating? Sometimes I feel like, besides missing those bootstraps some pull themselves up by, I feel like I don't have a cohering agent. Is that like having an intermittent sense of ego? (Obvious, I'm tossing terms about trying to express this sensation. It's unbearable and frightening. And it all happens inside. I hate it. Hate it.)
My MIL says I have a fragile sense of self, that I'll take on any curve anyone throws
me. There's no pill for that, is there?
Posted by mtdewcmu on April 13, 2011, at 9:02:13
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » mtdewcmu, posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 0:24:57
> I haven't read the Bradshaw books. Why didn't you finish any.
>I have a hard time mustering the attention span to read a book. I had already read a couple in the self-help genre, so there wasn't enough novelty to get past the lack of attention.
> No stranger to intense shame here :-/
>Sorry to hear that.
> Do you or anyone else reading ever feel like you are disintegrating? Sometimes I feel like, besides missing those bootstraps some pull themselves up by, I feel like I don't have a cohering agent. Is that like having an intermittent sense of ego? (Obvious, I'm tossing terms about trying to express this sensation. It's unbearable and frightening. And it all happens inside. I hate it. Hate it.)
>I'm not sure I follow you. Maybe you should check out type 9 on the Enneagram. That's what this reminds me of. I'm a 9.
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/> My MIL says I have a fragile sense of self, that I'll take on any curve anyone throws
> me. There's no pill for that, is there?Some kind of amphetamine, I would think.
Posted by mtdewcmu on April 13, 2011, at 9:14:20
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » mtdewcmu, posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 0:24:57
Actually, the description of 9 on that enneagram site focuses on how they look from the outside. From the inside, 9s can lack a firm sense of self, which can cause them to be passive and have trouble making decisions.
Posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 11:57:32
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » floatingbridge, posted by mtdewcmu on April 13, 2011, at 9:14:20
Well, I look firm but feel I lack substance. The enegramn looks too esoteric for me. Besides, I have great difficulty answering Any questions.
Thanks. Too freaked for fun, though.
fb
Posted by mtdewcmu on April 13, 2011, at 12:46:52
In reply to Re: short question re: AP's + rispedal » mtdewcmu, posted by floatingbridge on April 13, 2011, at 11:57:32
> Well, I look firm but feel I lack substance. The enegramn looks too esoteric for me. Besides, I have great difficulty answering Any questions.
>
> Thanks. Too freaked for fun, though.
>
> fbI think the occult or new-age aspects of the enneagram are a bunch of horse manure. But I think the 9 types are valid and a good way to classify people. If you find your correct type, it can help you fill in some gaps in your self understanding, and if you can recognize other people of your type, it helps you relate. I know that my sister is a different type than me, for instance, and so I know that her advice for how to live my life is useless for me, because it's irrelevant to people of my type.
This is in contrast to the Myers-Briggs, which I don't find terribly insightful.
This is the end of the thread.
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