Latuda/Lurasidone Experiences

Please post your Latuda/Lurasidone experiences here, positive or negative.

My experiences:

I found that I gained some weight on Latuda. It also was ineffective for my depression at lower doses. However, I could not tolerate a dose higher than the minimum 20mg, as 40mg made me too sedated and I slept for 12+ hours a night.

As far as mania goes, I did not actually get mania on Latuda! I only got depression. However, I think if I stayed on Latuda long enough (i.e., longer than a few months), I may have gotten manic.

Some people love this med, though, so don't let my experience dissuade you! Some say it's a miracle med! I just want to provide my experience so that you have an idea of possible side effects.

I have been on Latuda for about 1.5years. My dose was titrated up to 60mg for a while but I was blunted and it was brought down to 40mg which helped. It got rid of my anxiety completely which was awesome. I don’t know if it did anything else for my mood but my pdoc thinks it was helping with depression. Unfortunately after more than a year on it I developed Akesthesia and have tapered down to 20mg. So far, so good. I am feeling all emotions more acutely (I think normally) and I have some anxiety but manageable. Latuda made me sleepy when I first started it but that side effect went away in about a week. I’ve gained about 8lbs on it and am struggling to get those off. At only 5’2” 8lbs actually makes a substantial difference in how my body feels.

I feel you. I am 5'7" and the 8 lbs I gained on Geodon made a big difference for me as well. It took a lot of work to get it back under control. I imagine it hits you even harder at 5'2"

My psychiatrist added a starter dose of 20 mg Latuda about six months ago, or so (I forget exactly). I noticed very soon after that everything in life seemed clearer and my motivation increased. I'll confess that a few months in, I gradually started to become manic. My psychiatrist chose not to touch my Latuda 20 mg. Instead, as usual, he increased my Seroquel XR. It had been my psychiatrist's hope that the addition of Latuda may eventually help DECREASE my Seroquel XR dose. No luck, so far.

My conclusion about MY experience with Latuda is that it works primarily as an antidepressant. If the time comes that I need a medication with more antidepressant qualities (for pure depression, not mixed) maybe then the Latuda will be increased. In the meantime, not.

Since I'm only on 20 mg of Latuda, I have personally not experienced any side effects. As for weight, I have actually lost about 6 lbs since starting Latuda. I was a little up at a point, but then lost what I gained. Unlike many, I don't even feel that Seroquel XR is overly weight unfriendly...again, for me. At 600 mg of Seroquel XR, I do get a bit hungrier, but any binging tends to be more mood-related, than medication-related, for me. I have probably gained about 10 lbs on Seroquel XR (doses of 450 mg to 600 mg) during the last 4 or 5 years. Not months. I tend to feel that that weight gain may be similar as it could be, even if not on bipolar medications. I have been about my current weight 18 years ago, before ever taking a bipolar medication. I figure that in my late 40s, being my current weight is not that bad.

I went on Latuda during a mixed episode. A cocktail of latuda and lamictal and propranolol and ambian. It made me sick so I switched to taking it at bedtime and slept though the side effects. It's been a miracle drug for me. After a year and a half I dropped the lamictal because I was feeling too flat. Still stable after 5 years on it but I have gain considerable weight on it so it's not side effect free. Recently the ambien pooped pout so we'll see if it keeps me stable as I'm not sleeping, a big trigger for me.

I took it for a couple years and it helped me out of a prolonged depression.

It wasn’t weight neutral as they market it for me. When I did taper off it my mind was much clearer.

I’d probably take it again in the future but try to keep myself on lowest dose (20 mg)

I tried this when it first came out. I didn't make it past the starter dose because it made me feel awful. I couldn't put how I felt into words, just awful. I think now it probably was akathesia that was different than my other experiences with it. I was just a couple of months out from being hospitalized from akathesia from something given during surgery combined with a mixed episode and this was nothing like that. I may not have been able to recognize a more normal akathesia at that time. I also was still on some meds for akathesia so it may have been muted by that. Regardless, hated it and stopped.

I know this drug helps tons of people. In the months afterward I was IP again and saw people loving it. I took a class through NAMI and there were a few people taking it who were doing incredibly well in my class. It just wasn't for me.

I've been on it for 4 years at the max dose of 120mg.

It makes me really tired about an hour after I take it so I take it when I want to sleep at night.

It helps somewhat with my depression but it's not enough to be on it alone.

I have dry mouth on it and other side effects like that but they're manageable.

I found that since I started it, my mind can be literally empty. I have nothing to say and I can think about nothing at all, it's very strange.

People tell me I seem uninterested since I give very little feedback that I'm paying attention when in fact I'm fully engaged. So I conciously make an effort to nod, make eye contact, and other things that should come naturally.

I would say it is average for me. It partly works but it's not enough alone to get me out of my depression.

I was on this only for a short while as it had no positive effect.
Main side effect:
Severe agitation
Hand tremor
Severe irritability
Sui ideation
Pushed me into a long mixed episode that didn’t resolve until I stopped the Abilify.

i got foggy and dizzy on this, similarly to abilify.

This one made me lactate.

I had the most horrible experience with Latuda. I am Bipolar I and I was in a depressive episode after just coming off Haldol. My dr put me on 40mg Latuda. Immediately I felt energy. I was excited. Then, I couldn't sleep at night. So she added Temazepam 30mg for sleep. It did nothing. I would stay awake two days and then sleep a whole day. Then I realized I was becoming manic. So I called her and told her my issues. She raised my dose to 60mg. My blood sugar rose to 152 I developed diabetes. Next I bursted into a full-blown manic episode. I told her it was making me manic, hurting my stomach really bad, making me burp, and I was afraid of the crash. She said I had anxiety and increased my hydroxizine to 50mg 3x day. Did nothing! Still not sleeping. Painted and redecorated my entire house. Spent a lot of money. This went on for months with me seeing my doc every two weeks and she next reduced my Vyvanse to 40mg and then said I was wanting instant results and I needed to be patient. I had gained 30lbs. Finally yesterday I lost it and knocked a plate out of my husbands hand, food was everywhere. There is still mashed potatoes on my ceiling. Up all night again, painting picture frames. By 5am after 3 hours crying I'd had it. I called the on-call doctor and begged her to take me off of it! I told her I was becoming violent and was scared I would have to be hospitalized. Keep in mind in September of last year I was in college getting good grades and stable. After a breakdown and suicide scare the hospital took me off my anti-manic Tegretol for no reason and thats when all the problems started. It's been one bad med to another ever since. So its midnight and I didnt take my Latuda today as per dr and I still cant sleep. I'm thinking Seroquel and Depakote for my next med combo. I need some sleep! I've had enough of this manic crap. I HATE being manic. I dont know why some people like it. I hear voices. My thoughts race 100mph. I cant sleep. I'm mean to those I love when I crash. And I get psychotic features toward the end of every episode. Im calling tomorrow morning to switch to a new Dr. I wonder what meds they'll try next...