A month ago I was in a similar situation: depression plus anxiety that was becoming acute. My long-time and much-trusted psych put me on Latuda and, as I related in a different discussion, I could feel my mood lifting within hours.
Now a month has passed and it's felt like a vacation from that terrible anxiety. Over the past couple of days I've felt traces of anxiety trying to come back -- I'm currently on 40 mg daily dosage of Latuda.
The cause might be my environment -- I'm recently retired and home alone (except for my loyal dog Fred) and feeling the isolation. And, I'm life-long BPII with hypomania and major depression plus generalized anxiety. (Gawd, it's depressing just writing that! Let me quickly add that my life has many positive aspects!)
My doc told me not to worry about tardive. In 30 years of practice he's not had a single patient develop it.
Others have described various Latuda side effects: reslessness or somnolence, weight gain or loss. None of these have affected me. But when I began taking Latuda I broke out in hives! Plus I developed a chest wheeze. These could be seasonal allergic symptoms, and they are receding now that I'm taking antihistamines, but I've read that Latuda has been associated with these symptoms.
Even if it means living with hives (!) I would not discontinue Latuda. I'm only hoping its benefits persist. According to my doc, if Latuda works for you (and it does for a significant minority of his patients), it should continue working, and require no raising of dosage once you achieve an optimal level.
Good luck in your anti-anxiety quest! You are not alone.
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