Latuda (Start Jan.2018)

Took a break from Latuda tonight = No restlessness, no rushing inside or the feeling of being in front of that black hole, not knowing if I'll fall in or if it will gobble me. I hate that feeling and always try to work my way through it since it lasts 2-3 hours. Doctors tell me it's the best medicine for me. Family compliment me :"You sound so much better...". For the past few months, I have been feeling depressed to the bone like never before and feel dead inside. I guess it doesn't show when I talk on the phone. So this mood is how life is supposed to feel ? Life is going to be boring if I refer to this emotion. I wonder how I could adapt to being the way "they" want me to be.

I would ask for a switch. What you’re living doesn’t sound good and happy st all. You deserve happiness.

I agree with wildflowerchild. Seems like a better match could be found. Have a lot of others already been tried? Or is this the first they've tried and they just want it to be a good one?

It sounds like no one is listening to you...they are judging you by how you are treating them, but not what the drug is really doing to you.

Latuda was the worst for me, gave me night sweats, vivid dreams, agitation, anxiety, 3-4 hours sleep nightly....3 days I was done.

Good luck sweety.

Dear Wildflower,
Thank you for this reply. As an AP does Haldol slow you down a lot ?
How about the Depakote, what is it used for ?
This will not be easy to ask for a switch. I think they all fell in for this new drug and the company's marketing must be strong.
Thanks again.

Dear Innerzone,
Thanks for confirming that a switch should be looked into.
I used to have only Seroquel as an AP. Lamictal as a mood stabilizer.
I was so slow on Risperdal and gained so much weight on Zyprexa.
I wonder what else could be good for me. Now this wonder drug (Latuda) seems to be very recommended so they say it's perfect for bipolar.
Any suggestions ?
Thank you for helping me in this.

[QUOTE=AlwaysChanging2;6131979]It sounds like no one is listening to you...they are judging you by how you are treating them, but not what the drug is really doing to you.

Latuda was the worst for me, gave me night sweats, vivid dreams, agitation, anxiety, 3-4 hours sleep nightly....3 days I was done.
Dear Always Changing,
Thank you for your review. It's like if they already have their mind made up about this supposed to be wonderdrug. I guess I will have to tell them that it can't go on like this. I'm taking 60 mg and wonder what else besides Seroquel would work right. I hate Risperdal and Zyprexa and don't know about others that could be good.
Thank you for sharing your experience.

This is my cocktail :
Latuda 60 mg
Seroquel 200 mg
Lamictal 200 mg
Amytriptiline 25 mg
Flexeril 20 mg
Synthroid 0.05 mg

I've wondered how to include this at the end of a message.

Thank you for your help.
Have a good day.

I'm on Latuda and had a lot of the restlessness as well. I'm on the lowest dose possible (20 mg, I think) and I also take Artane and Vitamin E to counteract that. I seem to be doing okay on it.

Everybody's experience is different, though.

Dear Fharraige,
Thank you for your comment. It seems like many people all go through different side effects and anxiety and restlessness is common.
Glad it works well for you at 20 mg. It seems like they don't want me to change or lower the dose of 60 mg. I'll have to sell my argument like a good salesperson to my psychiatrist.
Thanks again and have a good day.

Haldol does not slow me at all. I like it because it keeps the paranoia and delusions at bay. I have a slight tremor and I do seem to tap my foot a lot but the sinemet helps that (I cannot take cogentin as it blurs my vision). Also haldol seems to be the only AP that doesn’t cause me weight gain.

Depakote is a mood stabilizer like lamictal but more for the manic side of things. I did get hypomanic on it but not manic. It does not help me at all with depression but the lamictal seems to be helping on that end. Also not working my super stressfil job anymore helps.

Sometimes pdoc’s do get drawn into marketing but be insistent. If you do not feel it’s working for you speak up. What you described doesn’t sound like a good life at all.

FWIW, latuda gave me horrible anxiety and eventually pushed me into a short mixed episode before I finally said **** this and told my pnurse no more.

Yeah, I'd really try that salesman approach and try to get them to lower it. At least maybe first. IF it were to work for you at a lower dosage, they could still "have their way", so to speak (and a win/win). People are funny like that. It may actually be your easiest option.

This is a little tricky scrolling on my phone, so please forgive if I miss/mix up any med info. Some other APs that come to mind are Abilify, Vraylar and Rexulti. Abilify has generic, but the others do not, so as options those may be determined by your finances/insurance (I have zippo money, but they have been covered for me, so it's worth checking).

Thank you so much for all this information. I will call the doctor on Tuesday to get an appointment. Take care

Hope your appointment goes well. I've gone down to 40mg from 80mg of Latuda, and it worked much better for me in a smaller dose.

Looking back I think Latuda was the best med I was ever on. It didn't make me a a zombie and caused no tremors and worked as a mood stabilizer as well for me. I think 40mg was perfect. Getting off it was the worst decision of my life. Now I'm on zyprexa and I absolutely hate it.

I'm going to ask for Latuda next appt.

Latuda is great for me. Works to stabilize my mood and a bit of antidepressant effect. At 60mg it’s making me tired. Might have to go back down to 40. No side effects other than fatigue toward the end of the day.

Dear Christopher, I know about Zyprexa and it was the worst medication. I call it rat poison. I gained 30 pounds in 20 days while eating very little. Glad Latuda words for you. Take care

Update :
Following the pharmacist's recommandation, I've gone down to 40mg for 2 weeks. Then to 30mg for 5 days. Got a call from my pdoc nurse and she agreed that I could even go down to 20mg if it felt right. The symptoms went down gradually since 3 weeks ago. This medicine stays in your body for 126 hours so when going down, it takes a few days to see a difference. I will stay on 20mg for a few days and see if it feels right to go down to 15, then later 10, 5 and eventually 0mg. I've got all the other medication to support me so she's not worried. We agreed that I would call on Aug. 6 (when pdoc returns from vacation) to give them an update and take it from there. Thank you all for your great advice.

Glad your feeling better and are decreasing your med and doing well .

Thanks for the update

I'm thanking you for your support and good advice. I find that all the replies you write to people asking for help are very wise. You seem to have a lot of experience concerning MI and medication.
P.S. Also, I am thanking everyone else for the various comments. This helped me a lot in taking a decision. I really like psych central and I am learning a lot from reading other people's concerns. I can often relate to them.
Many thanks and keep posting.

Glad I was helpful

Today is day 10 of Latuda 20mg. Symptoms are way less noticeable. One thing I forgot to mention that began from the beginning and still happening on 20mg :
My sleep is very light at the break of dawn. If I close my eyes, whatever dream I was having display images but at the same time, I'm very aware of the surrounding environment. At some point, even with my eyes half open, it's like if the movie is still projecting images but I can't make any sense out of it. Also, I feel like I could have slept an hour or two more to feel rested and relaxed. I'm not foggy (like when taking big doses of Seroquel) but feel exhausted like if the sleep was not good quality and not profound. Agitated inside and tired like jetlag.