Week 4 on Rexulti, worst

I'm on 5 mg of Lexapro, down from 10 which I took for 10 years and I think it may have pooped out. Four weeks ago, they switched to Rexulti since Ability was having some weight issues so I stopped taking it. I was never on an antipsychotic until this August. Abilify was pretty good at first but I did start to get akathisia and the weight gain was bad. No weight gain on Rexulti but it's giving me what I think are some of the worst experiences in my life.

The first week I had a lot of anxiety but I rode it out and the second and third weeks were close to good. But last week, wisdom tooth removal and an early doctor's appointment screwed up my sleep schedule (I'm a night owl with no full time job, so 6:30-3 pm is what usually works best).

Since taking Rexulti with Lexapro this week at night was making me so restless and feeling I was crisis mode, my PA said to take them at two separate times. I took Lexapro last night and was having a good morning until I took the Rexulti.

I felt I was back in the absolute worst phases of the major depression I had 20 years ago. Nothing would bring me enjoyment and I felt not myself. I always feel I'm an alternate universe when I take the Rexulti but if I fall asleep, I sleep long and it's okay. I felt so completely off, then my partner called and said he might not be home for lunch and instead of saying "okay," I burst out crying uncontrollably. The amount of devastation over something so minor is so totally unlike me. I've cried uncontrollably three times since taking it today. Every hour that goes by the affect of it is lower and lower and I feel more familiar. I'm always looking forward to the time of day that's furthest from the Rexulti.

I'm not going to stop it cold turkey but I don't think it's right for me. I soldiered on through four weeks and it's getting worse and worse. My solace is knowing that one day I'll be on the right med. I'm diagnosed bipolar, mixed/"moderate" not "severe" and am likely bipolar II (never had mania) and fit all of the signs.

Since depression is a greater struggle for me than hypomania, I keep thinking there may be something out there that can help me. I've never really been on a mood stabilizer like Lamictal, Depakote, Lithium, etc. and hope to one day try Lamictal since it sounds like it could be what I need. I was fine on 10 mg Lexapro for 10 years then a bad bout of insomnia led to a mixed hypomanic episode (first in my life), which led to Abilify, which led to Rexulti which is just awful.

I really hope that I'm not just this messed up as I'm feeling right now and love hearing stories of everyone else's success. I called my doctor and I know I can't take 0.5 Rexulti ever again especially not with holidays coming up. I need to start tapering off ASAP and figure out a backup plan to stablize. I also need an anti depressant that works since Lexapro isn't doing what it used to.

Has anyone else with BP2 had bad experiences on anti-psychotics? My sister had reactions to Geodon so horrible she had to be hospitalized, Risperdal was weird for her, but then Zyprexa was good though she gained weight and ultimately Seroquel worked.

Thanks for listening.

Brian

It does sound like that drug doesn't work for you.
Get the Pdoc to try something else.

I'm taking Trileptal, Lamictal, Latuda and Busbar. They just added Lamictal in the last 6 months and just increased it about 3 weeks ago. Trying to get out of severe depression as well. I understand how you feel

That's not good to hear. I tried abilify and had akathisia. Now on zyprexa but cholesterol is waaaay too high. Dr switching me to Rexulti. I'm trying to remain optimistic. Got another 2 weeks before I start Rexulti.

Could you take rexulti near when you are going to bed? You might miss out on the side effects that way. I know I couldn't possibly take most of my meds in the daytime without feeling horrible.

Good idea!

I tried that a few times this week and was completely unable to sleep. When I first got on it, I would fall asleep after taking it and after 1 week, it was sort of okay and predictable. Since my sleep schedule got messed up this week from surgery, painkillers, I tried to take it at a new bedtime and felt I was in crisis. Yesterday morning, it was unbelievably bad. My doc said to try taking just half a pill a day and if it's intolerable, I could stop taking it since my dose is so low and I haven't even been on it a month. But I know I need to be on something stabilizing. As a migraineur who rapid cycles (I'm used to every day feeling like pits and valleys and when at my lowest I will go from "everything is fine" to "OH MY GOD" sometimes each minute), it seems like an anticonvulsant would be the way for me.

I drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day and smoke around 1 pack of menthols and along with 10 mg Lexapro that had given me enough control/predictability and a really good life for 10 years. 5 mg Lexapro may be too low for me right now but I think in many ways it's pooped out on me so I'm very much in need of both a new AP and a stabilizer.

Thank you for your response,

-B

Please call pdoc asap. When i react to med that badly I have to completely stop taking it because it puts me on the verge of self harm... or worse. I'm not doing so great on my meds either right now and the holidays with my ignorant family is making me feel very bad right now.

Thank you for your feedback. I was able to tolerate half a dose a bit better and felt more like my normal self as the day went on. My doc said if it was not tolerable I could stop since my dose was low and I'd only been on it a little and that I need not worry about terrible withdrawal.

I also feel my antidepressant dose is too low and may have pooped out because I feel rather bad right when I take it; it seems to make me more connected to the moment (as they say antidepressants don't make you feel "good" they just let you feel what you feel) but that's not great when I feel anxious and obsessed with not only my physical/neuro state but also creeping existential anxieties. Like out of nowhere, I'll think that nothing really matters, but I know that's not true and I recoil from the thought.

I had a sense of overall wellbeing for 10 years on 10 mg Lexapro for migraine. I barely thought about psych issues and just thought everything was fundamentally okay. It wasn't perfect but I processed everything in terms of sleep schedule and knew if I felt down I just needed a nap and that things -always- got better or normal. Having that shaken and obsessing over myself, my life, what happiness is, what X drug does, why certain times of day feel so "off," while others feel so normal, what this means about me as a person and my prospects in life... tough times.

<3

It might be good for you in ways that did not work for me. It feels like it stamps out a lot of brain activity that could lead to mania but in my case having coffee and having some euphoria now and then have worked wonders since I only had one episode of hypomania which was brought on by extreme insomnia. Generally as long as I get a solid amount of sleep, things would work themselves out on their own and Lexapro was enough. The Rexulti just made me feel too unfamiliar in a world so fixed, cause I get existential anxiety and need a little wonder and enchantment to get out of that. :-)

antipsychotics aren't for everyone.

I'll have to come back and tell you how it's affected me in a few weeks after I've been on it a while. I see my Pdoc on the 4th I believe.