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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Thrud on November 7, 2001, at 0:29:22
...not about me (dang!), rather about my mother.She has paranoid schizophrenia and was on an old drug (Navane) for over 10 years. At the time it was the only med which would control her symptoms to a reasonable degree.
It was not very good at suppressing her paranoid thoughts (and she would talk to herself a great deal about these thoughts) or her mood (she always seemed depressed). Over time it gave her very bad tardive dyskenesia.
After much effort I got her to see my excellent pdoc, who put her on Zyprexa. After barely 2 months her TD has decreased by about 80%. She also talks to herself about 80% less (I am presuming this corresponds to a significant reduction in paranoid thoughts) and her mood is brighter. There has also been a notable improvement in her overall intellect and lucidness.
She complains about her increased weight but I don't think she has been able to take a step back and see the change that has come over her and what a small price it is to pay.Now, if they can come up with a next-generation med for PD with depression that delivers such a leap in performance I might be able to write a similar post about myself!
Thrud
Posted by judy1 on November 7, 2001, at 10:09:32
In reply to Some good news for once....., posted by Thrud on November 7, 2001, at 0:29:22
I'm very happy for your Mom. Also, I've found risperdal didn't put on nearly the weight that zyprexa did for me. But I would imagine that with such success you probably wouldn't want to change her meds. I'll assume you've given all the benzos a try, unless the depression is primary? Take care- judy
Posted by Thrud on November 8, 2001, at 0:08:45
In reply to Re: Some good news for once..... » Thrud, posted by judy1 on November 7, 2001, at 10:09:32
> I'm very happy for your Mom. Also, I've found risperdal didn't put on nearly the weight that zyprexa did for me. But I would imagine that with such success you probably wouldn't want to change her meds. I'll assume you've given all the benzos a try, unless the depression is primary? Take care- judy
Thanks for your reply Judy. Yes, it is good to know there are other options for my Mom if she needs it. At the moment our whole family is just breathing a sigh of relief (and thankfulness).
As for me, I have only tried Valium and Xanax. I take 3mg Xanax per day and I found the side effects to be much less than the equivalent dose of Valium. Still, I do get sexual dysfunction and a bit of short term memory loss from Xanax so I am keen to try Klonopin or Ativan but my pdoc wants me to stay on Xanax because he believes it has a superior antidepressant effect to the others. He may be right but sexual dysfunction and forgetfulness are strong depressants themselves. I will make that more clear to him next time we meet.
Although my depression is not primary I still find the need for an "activating" drug as well because the benzos do nothing for my very strong chronic fatigue. So I am on 200mg Lamictal as well. It has less side effects than the conventional ADs but basically performs the same "activating" function.
On this combo I can "function" well enough (i.e. work, socialize etc)but I can't say I get much satisfaction from life. I guess that's pretty much the same for most people here.
Thrud
Posted by judy1 on November 9, 2001, at 4:11:55
In reply to Re: Some good news for once Judy1, posted by Thrud on November 8, 2001, at 0:08:45
I've taken klonopin for 4+ years and I agree with your pdoc that xanax probably has stronger AD qualities. There's been some memory loss but I've had head injuries so I can't point my finger at klonopin. Ativan doesn't work well for me and honestly I was surprised about the sexual side-effects of xanax I wasn't aware benzos had that. Good luck- Judy
This is the end of the thread.
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