Do you take an antipsychotic? For how long?

ive been on many antipsychotics: thorazine, geodon, abilify, risperdal, stelazine, seroquel, shots of haldol in the hospital.

All of them gave me side effects, akathesia, weight gain, high blood pressure, edema, blood sugar problems, insomnia or too much sleep, never proper sleep.

I won't go back on them unless I have a major break with reality.

I am bipolar II and I am on 10mg of abilify and 150mgs of effexor, and i think they are starting to work, finally.

I'm rapid cycling BP II and my antipsychotic is Olanzapine (Zyprexa). I've been taking it for less than a week.

jadedmoonbeam, I was told when your given a drug that is intended for one thing but used for another its call off label.

i take 500mg of seroquel all the time, every day

Lotusflames... how is that? I'm concerned that I'm heading in that direction... I'm currently on 350 a day, and worried that it always seems to increase rather than decrease.

There is an article by Dr Nassir Ghaemi on medscape.com talking about the over-prescription and continuous use of anti-psychotics you may find interesting:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/737587

Martina....in the same boat as you. I have bipolar, and one of my girls has BPD which is horrible and more traumatic for me than anything about myself. So worried about her!
I take depakote and 10mgs of abilify, and it all seems to work like clockwork for me....well that's putting aside the symptoms, plus that I have been told that I'm stuck on meds for life. But things could be a whole lot worse...one of us could have some terminal or debilitating illness such as being in a wheelchair. That's how I choose to see it. PS....hate zyprexa....put's a ton of weight on you agreed! Abilify's so much better.

Tsunami, I don't really want to join that website and you have to be a member to read it. Could you paraphrase the article maybe? I'm very interested.

I will admit, and this is NOT a slam at anyone who has been psychotic.....if they didn't call them antipsychotics, I might not be so averse to taking them (along with the side effects) I've never in my life been psychotic. I know they're for more than that, but it's hard to get over that.

When I became manic (psyotic) the first (and thank God the only so far) time, the hospital gave me Haldol (this was 1993). All the pdocs kept me on it until last year I got a new pdoc who put me on Lithium and Lamictal. I have tardive dyskinsiea (spelled wrong) and bouts with akaesia (also spelled wrong). I am glad I am off Haldol. Now the Lithium screwed up my thyoid and I'm in the middle of getting I guess you would call it hormone replacement. That hasn't been any fun either.
Anyway, now I am not on an antipsycotic. I do not want to be on one, either.
Thankfully my pdoc is ok with that.
I was told I am a type 1 bipolar. But I am different than the bp's here. I don't get depressed-I get suidical. And the time I was manic I had no control of my behavour I remember bits of what I did. Oh, I never want to do that again! But see I've went years and not had any bp problems.
I did when I went from Haldol to Lithium. But I've been ok since I talked to the pdoc in the hospital and she gave me a antidepressant. I feel lucky. I understand what others go through.
And it's a shame they can't find better drugs for us.