[Woolly Bugger]

I've had a lot of anxiety lately and my psychiatrist wants to try Latuda, which he thinks will help. His plan is to slowly wean me off of Abilify and replace it with the Latuda over a long period of time, possibly up to a year. This seems to me to be a good plan, but I just wandered if anyone else had gone through the change.

Also, I am concerned about tardive dyskinesia. This spring I started to move my tongue over my teeth and inside of my mouth quite a bit, as if I were dehydrated. This became rather compulsive for a while, but eventually went away. Although this behavior has just come back in a milder form, my doctor is not worried. He says that tardive dyskinisia is a permanent side effect that doesn't come and go. Nevertheless, I am a little worried and am thinking of taking neither Abilify nor Latuda if there is a risk of having the side effect permanently.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Daonnachd]

Remember that if only 1 of the participants in a clinical trial develops a side effect, it has to be listed as a potential. As with any med, it's a question of cost/benefit with both being less than certain. A slim possibility of tardive disk vs. greater probability of relief from current symptoms comes down to your choice.

Now, I've been on Latuda for two weeks. (Maybe three, ECT has left me unsure of some things.) So far, I'm not feeling like it's a miracle drug, but it may need more time. Meds have been a long struggle for me anyhow. (Too long a story for here/now.) I am relieved Latuda's neither a guaranteed weight gain nor a powerful soporific.

Last point: It doesn't seem necessary to use such a long replacement schedule. I don't know the half-life of Abilify, but that shouldn't take more than two months to get out of your blood, three at the most. After that, you should be able to get up and running with Latuda in only a few weeks.

Good luck as you sort it out.

[JohnCalifornia]

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.