![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by pretty_paints on January 28, 2005, at 11:31:16
Hi,
I am feeling really lousy. I just went into town and it feels like everything's coming at me. Too many noises, background noise in my head. Can't think clearly. I feel like I can't write or speak, I've lost my brain. I had a MASSIVE headache when I came in, it's like some kind of sensory overload. I led on my bed for a while with duvet and now feel calmer. Too many people analysing me. My pdoc doesn't even want to see me any more. I'm supposed to be starting on Abilify but she wants my GP to prescribe it. Why? She hates me. And she hasn't given him enough instructions so she obviously doesn't care. He can't get in touch with her, so shes obviously AVOIDING me. Why is she being so cruel? And now I feel miserable too coz I did some other posts on here earlier and hardly anyone responded, so nobody here cares either, or you are just trying to ignore me.
I feel yucky :(
Posted by partlycloudy on January 28, 2005, at 12:11:10
In reply to Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by pretty_paints on January 28, 2005, at 11:31:16
(((pretty_paints))) I am sorry you are having a bad day. I have a really hard time with sounds getting to me too. Just ambient noise can be so distracting and unnerving! I bought a white noise machine for work because others' conversations were keeping me from being able to concentrate. It helps somewhat.
What's this about your p-doc wanting your GP to prescribe this med for you? That seems odd.
(nice to meet you!)
partlycloudy
Posted by ed_uk on January 28, 2005, at 15:13:23
In reply to Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by pretty_paints on January 28, 2005, at 11:31:16
Hello Katie,
Please don't be sad, increase your Seroquel dose back up to what it was before. The lower dose does not seem to be enough for you.
Once you are taking the full dose of Seroquel again you could add a low dose of Abilify eg. 5mg. Then, you could start to decrease your Seroquel VERY GRADUALLY in small steps. Once you have stopped the Seroquel completely you could increase the dose of Abilify.
>And now I feel miserable too coz I did some other posts on here earlier and hardly anyone responded, so nobody here cares either, or you are just trying to ignore me.
That could have been written by me when depressed. It's not true that people don't care. I care :-)
What dose of Seroquel are you on at the moment? What dose were you on before, was it 750mg?
Ed xxxxxxx
Posted by sabre on January 28, 2005, at 16:25:12
In reply to Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by pretty_paints on January 28, 2005, at 11:31:16
Hi Katie
I'm sorry you felt ignored.
I know that feeling of the outside world being too much to cope with. Shopping centres are my pet hate ....too much noise, crowds, smells, bad music...guaranteed to make a social phobe panic.One possibility crossed my mind concerning your pdoc's behaviour. She might be having difficulties herself eg ignoring your dr's phone calls isn't exactly a normal way to deal with something she doesn't want to face. If she had it together she would face you and give you an explanation as to why she doesn't want to see you. She could also talk to your dr and provide a reasonable excuse. Who knows, perhaps your pdoc needs a pdoc? Avoiding phone calls and figures of perceived authority.....sounds familiar to me...socially anxious??
If this is the case you might be better off with an improved pdoc model!
sabre
Posted by TheOutsider on January 28, 2005, at 18:01:03
In reply to Re: Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by sabre on January 28, 2005, at 16:25:12
Hey Katie
Sorry that you are having such a bad time!
I have had a really horrible week to.I didn't reply to your last post because I was really tired and it was mainly about Seroquel which I don’t have any experience of.
Ed’s advice about slowly replacing Seroquel with Abilify sounded good.
Perhaps the reason your feeling so bad is something to do with lowering your Seroquel dose? Could you be experiencing withdrawals ?
If it is withdrawals then its just your body adjusting, and hopefully it will soon pass.I’m a bit concerned about the fact that your starting Abilify because I’ve heard it can be quite activating.
Hope you feel better soon
Tom
Posted by Phillipa on January 28, 2005, at 18:27:57
In reply to Re: Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by TheOutsider on January 28, 2005, at 18:01:03
Prettypaints I'm so sorry you're not adapting to your new med. But, even though I have no experience with it, I've heard that Amblify is activating. Feel better. Phillipa
Posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 10:25:13
In reply to Re: Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by Phillipa on January 28, 2005, at 18:27:57
Hi guys,
Thanks for being so sweet and understanding. And Phillipa and Ed, thanks for your babble mails!!
Ed I was going to increase my Seroquel dose but then I went to see my GP again and he said we shall start Abilify now. But he says he still is unsure of how exactly to do it and says the letter from my pdoc does not give him enough info, so he is going to find out and I'll go see him again next week. I think he is just being ultra-carefull coz he's never prescribed the drug before. Personally, I don't really think it matters TOO much how you do it. Just gradually reduce Seroquel and then gradually introduce Abilify until I get to say 15mg.
Anyway, he has given me 10mg to take in the morning, and I am on 450mg Seroquel at night. It is my second day taking the Abilify today.
I am still feeling awful, although more in my body now than in my mind. I feel sick as anything and keep feeling like I'm going to vomit. I have stomach pain, and it is really miserable. I think that is distracting me from all the blah in my head. Going out in the car is a nightmare, I keep thinking I'm going to be sick. Maybe it is the Abilify (although I still felt sick before I started it, just less so). Or maybe it is the two in combination. I don't know. I don't feel any change at all in my head though.
I feel very slightly activated but it is not pleasant. I feel like I can't sleep or relax. But it's weird, in the evening I take the Seroquel and then I'm zonked, but in the morning I take the Abilify and then I'm a bit zingy. At least it fits in well with going to bed/getting up.
Anyway, I will let you know how things go.
Lots of love, Kate xxxxxxxxx
Posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 10:31:14
In reply to Re: Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 10:25:13
Oooh also my doc said to me that the Abilify cost £100 per pack!! Woweee. Luckily I only have to pay 6 quid. Anyone else have drugs that apparently cost a lot?!
Posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 11:43:05
In reply to Re: Feeling bad :( someone please answer??, posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 10:31:14
ARRGH. I am going a little bit crazy. I'm feeling restless. Don't know what to do with myself.
The last time I felt like this was when I was in hospital, ON RISPERIDONE. Oh I hope this is not going to be similar to that. All I did was wander round aimlessly, restless as anything.
At the moment I'm going mad. I'm itching like a mad thing!! I've torn off my clothes coz it feels like there are insects inside them biting me. So I'm sat here in my knickers (lovely image there, ha ha) typing to you. The cream is useless. Grrr.
And I have just got the hiccups which absolutely tops things off.
I just don't know what to do with myself. So far this afternoon I've gone from lounging around on the bed, getting the video camera out and filming my dad making a blue-peter-type model of the big hill outside our house (ha ha - he really is), filming MYSELF moaning about how ill I'm feeling and how itchy I'm feeling and generally whinning on! Then I went and watched some Skiing championship on the tv for like 10 minutes, then I made some drinks for everyone but I've lost mine and now my tea has gone cold. Then I wandered round the house with my blanket round my head looking like a nun. Then I filmed myself pretending to be a nun. Hmm, I found it funny, no-one else did. Then I filmed my brother, who got annoyed with me and put his hand over the camera lens. Then I had a sudden thought that my blanket was causing all the itchiness so I shouved that in the washing machine. Then my dad got so fed up with me he ordered me to sit down and do some typing for him. Ha ha, that lasted like a minute. Then I was downstairs moaning to mum that I had nothing to do, so she suggested I wash the strawberries for tea. But I couldn't be bothered to get them out of the fridge. Dear oh dear.
So here I am now sat on my little stool in my knickers. Am I going crazy!!?!? Arrrghh. I think so. I'll be running naked round the streets next! Lol. Only kidding.
Anyway, now I am writing on here to you coz I'm so utterly bored. Expect me to write a good few more times before the day is through, if this restlessness continues.
Honestly, these stupid tablets :S....
Posted by Fathe on January 30, 2005, at 16:54:01
In reply to Argh...3 hours later, posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 11:43:05
Oh Pretty Pants, I feel so bad you are having such a rough time; I cannot offer any solutions to what ails you as I am not familiar with those meds but your last statement of writing a few more times before the day is out is OK by us. Please keep writing to us all...it helps you and that is what matters. Knowing people care is sometimes more important than anything else.
Hang in there and lean on us as much as you need to. This forum has helped me immensely
Posted by Phillipa on January 30, 2005, at 17:06:54
In reply to Re: Argh...3 hours later » pretty_paints, posted by Fathe on January 30, 2005, at 16:54:01
Prettypaints, You have a way of making your situation sound very amusing. You keep your sense of humor even when feeling so much anxiety. That's really good. I can imagine your family's reaction to what you did. I don't know what to say to you other than I'm glad you have a support system and you're not alone. How can you drive a car or even go out if you feel so bad? I know I couldn't. Maybe Ed will be able to help you with some medication answers. He's the expert on that. Fondly Phillipa
Posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 17:33:42
In reply to Re: Argh...3 hours later, posted by Phillipa on January 30, 2005, at 17:06:54
Ah thank you both of you, your posts were so lovely!
Phillipa, I don't drive, I'm just the passenger! And I went out coz I was going totally stir crazy in the house!!
Actually I've managed to calm down a bit. After writing my post I realised it was totally ridiculous to be running round in my knickers, itching like a big monkey, so I had a bath and after I got out I felt better. I did have some muscle spasms in my legs as I was drying myself, weird, like when you have to contract and relax your muscles really fast (not good, i had that on rispiridone), but it went away.
Then I sat in the back room and did the typing for my dad. And old mate came on msn, so I chatted to him, and now I'm more relaxed. We've got this hill out of the back of our house, and my dad has spent the whole evening in the room with me making a 3D model of it out of cardboard and paper mache! It's really good.
Anyway, night night for now dudes. I'll post again soon. xxxx
Posted by ed_uk on January 31, 2005, at 7:39:34
In reply to Argh...3 hours later, posted by pretty_paints on January 30, 2005, at 11:43:05
Hi Katie,
How are you? Do you still have the nausea, abdominal pain, itching and restlessness?
I think it would be useful to reduce your aripiprazole dose down to 5mg/day for the time being. Aripiprazole often causes restlessness, nausea and abdo pain as side effects. You can ask your doc for some procyclidine to take if you need it for the restlessness.
I also think that you should increase your Seroquel dose. Were you taking 750mg before? The itching could be a withdrawal symptom. I think you should increase your Seroquel dose (eg. to 600mg/day in two divided doses) until the iching goes away. Then you can reduce the dose more gradually next time.
Ed xx
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.