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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by AnneL on March 1, 2007, at 11:13:44
Hi P-Babblers,
I have been away for quite a while. Finally went to see my daughter's pdoc whom I have great respect and admiration, and I am willing to try her recommendations. My cocktail thus far, is Effexor 225 mg. (been on this x 7 years), clonazepam 1 mg. at bedtime (same amount of time), new med: Rozerem for sleep, Provigil 50 mg. (1/4 tab) on when awake (I am a night shift person) and today I started Abilify 2 mg. to see if this gives me mood stability and stops the crash and burn cycle.Anyone with experience taking low-dose Abilify? I am to start at 2 mg. x 3 days and go up to 5 mg. if I do not have side effects. Of course, I was instructed to call if I experience any motor problems, muscle twitching, etc.
I am a little scared of possible EPS, but i think the dose is so small. Another concern is akathesia. Any and all responses would be appreciated. Thanks! AnneL
Posted by med_empowered on March 1, 2007, at 11:22:22
In reply to It's been a while. . . New Cocktail -Abilify, posted by AnneL on March 1, 2007, at 11:13:44
I don't have experience with doses that small...below 10mgs, abilify was kind of nice, at least for a while. At 10 and above, it really is just another antipsychotic, at least for me--dysphoria, akathisia, so on and so forth. But..low-doses seemed better, so maybe that will be good for you.
Have you tried lamictal or trileptal? They're more conventional mood stabilizers that don't cause EPS; I imagine if 2-5mgs/day of abilify is enough to help you out, then a standard or even low-end dose of an anticonvulsant might also do the trick.
Posted by AnneL on March 1, 2007, at 18:10:43
In reply to Re: It's been a while. . . New Cocktail -Abilify, posted by med_empowered on March 1, 2007, at 11:22:22
> Have you tried lamictal or trileptal? They're more conventional mood stabilizers that don't cause EPS; I imagine if 2-5mgs/day of abilify is enough to help you out, then a standard or even low-end dose of an anticonvulsant might also do the trick.Hi, Thank you for your reply. I tried Lamictal titrated up to 200 mg. daily and I had problems with disinhibition (difficulty censoring angry, non "PC" statements at work). It was theorized that the combo between the Lamictal and clonazepam may have caused this. But it could have just been the Lamictal - I went back to myself once I discontinued the Lamictal.
From what my pdoc said there is a lot in the literature to suggest that low-dose Abilify may have some benefits for mild mood instability and to prevent the crash and burn. I don't know whether or not I want to give this a go or not - I don't like the thought of toughing out akathesia.
:) AnneL
Posted by Jeroen on March 1, 2007, at 22:53:56
In reply to It's been a while. . . New Cocktail -Abilify, posted by AnneL on March 1, 2007, at 11:13:44
ya, i took 5 mg , side effects i got were bad sleeping, very bad, and blurred vision, when increasingto 10 and 15 mg, the blurred vision worsened, i had akathasia on 10 mg and higher, also TD symptoms, blepharospasm but that went away after quiting the abilify, but not on geodon, geodon causes dystonias in people like 50% (because of the warning as last resort)
Posted by Phillipa on March 2, 2007, at 12:10:46
In reply to Re: It's been a while. . . New Cocktail -Abilify, posted by AnneL on March 1, 2007, at 18:10:43
So wierd as when I tried lamictal last summer at 50mg I became very angry but never thought it was the med. Love Phillipa good luck
Posted by rina on March 2, 2007, at 21:26:08
In reply to ya, posted by Jeroen on March 1, 2007, at 22:53:56
How do I tell my pdoc to stop the lamictal? I have been taking it for two years now and I think it has ran it's course. I don't want to take it anymore. He seems to add to it instead of hearing me when I say take it away.
This is the end of the thread.
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