Quote:
Originally Posted by still_crazy
no personal experience, just...sorry. really. your pdoc is probably thinking of the antipsychotics (especially the newer ones) as a class, not latuda specifically, in saying that they're helpful for mania and depression. to be fair...
i was prescribed abilify when it was -very- new, as in...only approved for Schizophrenia in adults, no media blitz, nothing. just a new antipsychotic with a 'novel mechanism of action.' it was the last one i tried at the time, and it helped...and it even helped my depression. i told my pdoc that it had helped my depression, and he acted as if i was making things up. now, of course...everybody and their mama is on abilify...as an add on for depression.
having said all that, i find it a lil bit...disconcerting, that your pdoc is just throwing a very new, very expen$ive drug your way that isn't approved for -your set of problems- . overall, do you think your pdoc is professional, competent, etc.? i have also seen that pdocs often love shiny new pills, even with ridiculously old drugs that have obviously just been repackaged, as with the stimulants approved for add/adhd. i mean...what's the actual justification for prescribing a $$$ pill over a $$ or even $ pill? blah.
sorry about your situation.
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Thanks, still_crazy! I do believe my psychiatrist is competent. He has helped me a lot over the years and has kept me out of the hospital for almost 9 years, while other pdocs in the past (hospital, IOP, others) did no good at all. My current pdoc of several years is an older doctor (73?) and has always tended to stick to the more tried and true. Latuda would be a newish thing for him. He may be making a mistake. Who knows! Or if I'm lucky, it may be helpful. In either case, I communicated with him what the Latuda Med rep said.
Apparently, my pdoc had attended one of the major seminars/conferences? that they all attend on new drugs, etc. This is what seems to have inspired this recommendation for me. I have no idea what they did/didn't say about Latuda at that conference.
I am wary of medications specifically touted as especially good for bipolar depression, and not as much for mania or mixed states. Lamictal at higher doses, and without adequate antimanics, is activating for me. Abilify was activating. Once I was on both together and they sent me into a two-year period of manic hell with psychosis. It is a little scary to hear of another "mostly for bipolar depression" med. Although he is adding it to my current mix and not a blanket substitute. We'll see.
Seroquel XR seems to be a good all-around antipsychotic in that it is very good for mania, bipolar depression, and mixed features. Seroquel XR is not THAT bad, but I'm already up to 600 mg, and it is making me gain weight at these higher doses. I'd likely live with the weight gain, but my cholesterol and triglycerides are both high. My glucose level is inching up too, to just over normal range. The more I gain, the more these levels go up.