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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TrishP on December 7, 2006, at 14:51:05
Ok - not sure I'm staying on the Abilify. I'm eating like a horse!
The only things that really worked for me in the past were Wellbutrin & Effexor combo.
My doc is pretty set on me taking a mood stabilizer. I guess Klonopin doesn't count?
Topamax is out. Trileptal is out.
Risperdal was ok at low dose.
Would I get fat on a low dose of Well/Eff/Risperdal? OR could I use Klonopin as a mood stabilizer?
Posted by Quintal on December 7, 2006, at 15:09:22
In reply to Is this good?, posted by TrishP on December 7, 2006, at 14:51:05
I've heard of Klonopin sometimes being used as an anti-manic, but benzos can make a person more depressed or emotionally unstable over the long term. I think this happened to me, though I wasn't aware of how much Klonopin was affecting me in this way until I came off it.
Q
Posted by Phillipa on December 7, 2006, at 23:00:43
In reply to Re: Is this good? » TrishP, posted by Quintal on December 7, 2006, at 15:09:22
How bout low dose lamictal? Love Phillipa
Posted by SLS on December 8, 2006, at 5:57:37
In reply to Is this good?, posted by TrishP on December 7, 2006, at 14:51:05
> Ok - not sure I'm staying on the Abilify. I'm eating like a horse!
I have been taking Abilify for a few years, and have not had this problem. Increased appetite is listed as an infrequent side effect, however.
Sometimes, people eat more when they begin to recover from depression. Food tastes better and their appetite begins to return. This might be a passing phase in such a case.
As was stated, Klonopin is effective as an antimanic agent, and might even have some undetermined mood stabilizing properties, but it can produce a mild to moderate increase in depression.
Why do you need a mood stabilizer?
Have you tried Lamictal yet?
- Scott
Posted by TrishP on December 8, 2006, at 6:54:12
In reply to Re: Is this good?, posted by Phillipa on December 7, 2006, at 23:00:43
> How bout low dose lamictal? Love Phillipa
Even at 12.5 mg I still had itchy, red gums on my way to canker sores and blisters. I was too afraid to forge on. It's really too bad - it is a great mood stabilizer for me. But, I can't walk around with bleeding, red, itchy gums.
Posted by TrishP on December 8, 2006, at 6:56:32
In reply to Re: Is this good? » TrishP, posted by SLS on December 8, 2006, at 5:57:37
> > Ok - not sure I'm staying on the Abilify. I'm eating like a horse!
>
> I have been taking Abilify for a few years, and have not had this problem. Increased appetite is listed as an infrequent side effect, however.
>
> Sometimes, people eat more when they begin to recover from depression. Food tastes better and their appetite begins to return. This might be a passing phase in such a case.
>
> As was stated, Klonopin is effective as an antimanic agent, and might even have some undetermined mood stabilizing properties, but it can produce a mild to moderate increase in depression.
>
> Why do you need a mood stabilizer?
>
> Have you tried Lamictal yet?
>
>
> - ScottI do like Klonopin. It helps me sleep and is great for giving me a nice calm mood, but it does make me depressed after a while.
I guess I need a mood stabilizer to keep me from getting hypomanic - especially if I take any of the antidepressants.
Posted by SLS on December 8, 2006, at 8:30:57
In reply to Re: Is this good?, posted by TrishP on December 8, 2006, at 6:56:32
> I guess I need a mood stabilizer to keep me from getting hypomanic - especially if I take any of the antidepressants.
Why don't you list which mood-stabilizers you've tried already.Even a drug like Keppra has demonstrated efficacy.
- Scott
Posted by TrishP on December 8, 2006, at 8:35:57
In reply to Re: Is this good? » TrishP, posted by SLS on December 8, 2006, at 8:30:57
> > I guess I need a mood stabilizer to keep me from getting hypomanic - especially if I take any of the antidepressants.
>
>
> Why don't you list which mood-stabilizers you've tried already.
>
> Even a drug like Keppra has demonstrated efficacy.
>
>
> - Scott
Trileptal - messed up my female hormonesTopamax - great for 2 years but then hurt my bladder
Lamitctal - gums blisters
Abilify - good, but brings on irritability
Risperdal - never took on a continuous basis - just for crisis - worked well
That's about it. I haven't tried Keppra. Is it a mono-therapy drug or is it something that I would add to the Abilify? I wonder if it has weight gain issues.
Posted by SLS on December 8, 2006, at 9:18:27
In reply to Re: Is this good?, posted by TrishP on December 8, 2006, at 8:35:57
> That's about it. I haven't tried Keppra. Is it a mono-therapy drug or is it something that I would add to the Abilify? I wonder if it has weight gain issues.
What benefit are you receiving from Abilify?Take a look at this abstract regarding Keppra (levetiracetam). It describes a case that ended up responding to Keppra monotherapy after years of experimentation with polypharmacy. The dosages used with this patient were approximately 2000mg. When I tried Keppra, I did not gain any weight from it.
- Scott
----------------------------------------------1: Epilepsy Behav. 2004 Dec;5(6):1017-20.Click here to read Links
Monotherapy treatment of bipolar disorder with levetiracetam.* Kaufman KR.
Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 125 Paterson Street, Suite 2200, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. kaufmakr@umdnj.edu
Bipolar patients with early-onset, comorbid substance abuse, rapid cycling, and mixed episodes are difficult to treat and frequently require rational polypharmacy. When polypharmacy is unsuccessful, the clinician must consider the off-label use of newer psychotropics. Levetiracetam is a novel anticonvulsant with antikindling, inhibitory, and neuroprotective properties that is effective in an animal model of mania. This case report describes a patient with treatment-resistant rapid cycling bipolar disorder who failed 15 psychotropics, individually or in various combinations (maximum of 6), but ultimately responded to levetiracetam monotherapy and remained without bipolar features during 1 year of maintenance treatment, excluding 1 week during which the patient was medicine noncompliant. Further, methylphenidate used to treat comorbid attention deficit disorder did not precipitate manic features. Levetiracetam should be further studied for its potential use in the treatment of bipolar disorders.
PMID: 15582854 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by Sebastian on December 11, 2006, at 16:22:53
In reply to Is this good?, posted by TrishP on December 7, 2006, at 14:51:05
Risperdal will make you eat. A smallar dose of Abilify might be better. At 10 mg I noticed eating too, probably from my anxiety. At a lower dose I did not eat, I may have ate less. I'm talking about 2 mg every three days worked beast for me. But it works better if taken with zyprexa, for the anxiety.
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