[grandmaof3]

Hi Everyone. I just spent the last 10 days in the psych ward. My new pdoc sent me there when I told him that the zyprexa wasn't helping me anymore because I was having more problems with hallucinations; auditory, visual and tactile. My old pdoc wouldn't have done that. He would have prescribed a new med and went from there. My diagnosis that I've had for the last several years was bipolar 1 with psychotic features. I saw 3 different pdocs in the hospital and they collectively diagnosed me with schizophrenia on top of the bipolar 1. This I find really disturbing. Its like before I was just bipolar and now I am bipolar and crazy too. They put me on a new med I have never heard of before called Fanapt. They titrated my dosage up over 4 days so now I am on 12 mg bid. I'm still on all the rest of the meds I was on before. I looked Fanapt up in my drug book and after reading the side effects and adverse reactions I'm almost scared to take it. It warned against taking it with paxil, which I take. It also warned against taking it with other meds that prolong the QT interval such as Geodon, which I take a lot of. The book said this could cause lethal arrhythmias. It also said to use with caution on diabetics because it can cause dangerously high blood sugar. I wonder did these docs even look at my med list or my medical history ? When I went to get my prescription filled I asked the pharmacist about it and he said that I would "probably" be fine that those adverse effects were rare. He also told me to monitor my blood sugar and my blood pressure because it can cause hypotension. Well good, maybe I can stop taking my blood pressure pills. What do you think ? Has anyone heard of or taken Fanapt before ?

[glok]

Hello, grandmaof3. My suggestion is to talk to your treatment team about your concerns. You have the right to know they have thoroughly considered the issues you raise.

I wish you well.

[~Christina]

I was on the med before ... I gave it a month I just didnt like it I felt foggy and I had no desire to interact with anyone in my life .. But thats just me ... I know a few people that love it and it has helped them so very much.

Lots of people with Bipolar wind up with the schizophrenia label also ... Its just words . loads of BP meds are being used as off label .. so the same goes with schizo..

Talk to your pdoc to verify what the pdocs said while inpatient .

Take care

[wildflowerchild25]

I agree, just labels. It doesn't change who you are. If you don't think you were crazy before, you're not now just because you may be schizophrenic.

As for fan apt I don't know anything about it personally but if you have concerns I would share with your personal treatment team. Sometimes hospital doctors are so focused on the short term stabilization they don't look at the long term effects I things. The lat time I was in the hospital they had no intention of switching my mood stabilizer even though it was clear the one I was on was doing nothing. I had to advocate for myself. Not only that, but they put me up to 100mg of lamictal in two days I let that to only because I had been on it before with no negative reaction but I thought that was pretty crazy, and so did my outside pdoc.

Keep takin the new med until someone says differently though. I don't know what withdrawal from fanapt might be like.