Posted by SLS on February 17, 2003, at 23:01:48
In reply to Re: Abilify, posted by BethM on February 17, 2003, at 19:16:30
> I started abilify in December and at first it made me feel wonderful. The schizoaffective fog disappeared after eleven days and I thought it was a miracle drug. But then it made me crazy manic and delusional. I don't know what to do now. That medication was my last chance at sanity. Advice, anyone?
Hi Beth.Have you ever tried Klonopin (clonazepam)? Combining an antipsychotic with Klonopin can be a potent antimanic treatment. What you might need is something that addresses the manic part of schizoaffective disorder (Depakote, Neurontin). It seems to me that mania is triggered first, followed by schizoid delusions and hallucinations. Which other antipsychotics have you taken? Zyprexa and Risperdal are good for this disorder. How much anxiety do you experience?
Some of the antipsychotics are known to produce mania. I've seen it happen with Zyprexa and Geodon. Abilify might be even more likely to do so because of its combined agonisms of 5-HT1a and DA2 receptors.
You might consider adding Klonopin or Ativan (both benzodiazepines) temporarily to reduce the manic psychosis. It should act quickly. I would like to note that someone I know who has schizoaffective disorder did poorly on Klonopin. She might be an exception, though. She does better on Ativan. Right now, she is taking Neurontin, Risperdal, and Effexor.
If you haven't tried Zyprexa yet, it might be best to switch over to it now. A last resort would be Clozaril (clozapine). You would need to take blood tests every two weeks, but it is often used successfully when other antipsychotics have failed.
Good luck.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:201260
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030214/msgs/201324.html