Not taking it seriously and Saphris

I received my diagnosis 8 years ago and honestly have never taken it seriously. I take medication since it is a condition of me staying married but I miss doses take them at odd times and generally have said “this is not how my life was supposed to turn out so screw it.” What landed me in this place was a manic episode that should have landed me in the hospital but that only would have made it worse. I would never have trusted anyone again and the mental health system where we were living at the time was abysmal. I ended up trying to end my life but got talked out of it and our friends at that point told my wife to keep me as drunk as possible so I sleep all the time until they could fit me in at a pdoc.

I go through med changes almost monthly as I can’t find something I can tolerate the side effects. Recently I was on Quetapine and had to drop that as it felt like I had taken blotter paper LSD without the good effects. Now I’m on Saphris and my doc told me to supplement with my stockpile of risperidone until it’s working. I’m not doing that and I’m in a full blown mixed episode and have been for about a week. I actually now at this point have finally come to terms with it. Without meds I’m a mess and my diagnosis is correct.

My question is, has anyone been on this and does it really take two weeks to totally become effective? I hate risperidone and don’t want anything to do with it but I’m being perused by a recruiter for a job I really want and I can’t be jeopardizing that,

I wrote you a reply and clicked the wrong thing and it apparently disappeared. I'm waiting to see if it pops up posted before writing it again. The main thing it said was that I never even heard of Saphris before, and the only thing that helped me was lamotrigine.

Thanks for the reply. It’s an odd one for sure. I’m on 200 mg Lamotrigine, 400 carbamazepine and 3 mg cogentin to keep me from shaking, also. It was really easy to be delinquent all those years as all I needed was abilify until that stopped working and my shakes were bad enough I couldn’t write by hand well.

Im sorry I’m not on Saphris so Im not able to answer your questions but I just wanted to say that I’m sorry you are having an episode. I hope the medication helps.
I think it’s really good that you have accepted help.
I think it’s best to follow your docs advice or if you’re not happy, let them know and they can maybe provide an alternative?
Please look after yourself
Sending lots of hugs your way

Thanks, Pinny.

I actually made an hour long appointment with the pdoc next Thursday. I’m not a fan of psychotherapy but I feel like I should tell them my background in case it helps. I’m at a loss, drug after drug, nothing helps.

Just keep trying. I must have tried a dozen things, maybe more, over a period of about 5 years, before we got to the lamotrigine.

My other post never showed up, did it? The only other thing it said was that I can well understand resisting the diagnosis., since I did it too. Me, with a serious MENTAL illness?

I still hope for the day that a cure is found, but until then, I think we just have to accept the thing and do our best to deal with it.

Thanks, tentoedsloth.

I think I’m going to have to come to terms that there is no normal (I can see it in my head). I have a lot to do and this is directly in my way and that is BS. I doubt there will be a cure. The genetic component is interesting. My family provides a good example.

I've never been on Saphris, but it is not an uncommon medication.

@Random 503

Do you mean that there's no normal in you, or in anyone? I've found that when I get to know a person well enough that they tell me very personal things, about half the time, they're taking something for anxiety or depression or things like that. Or so it seems.

Family: I have a family history too. It may be one of the reasons I took so long to get diagnosed. In the family I was born into, 2 out of the 3 other people were gloomy and angry and had trouble sleeping well, so I thought that was normal. I didn't have it severely until my children started leaving home.

@tentoedsloth

I hear you. The question I have is how many’s mental problems are this severe. I know plenty that are on SSRIs but they don’t seem to be in a constant state of disarray like I am. Normal to me seems to not have crippling anxiety and a self-destructive path.

Family is odd. I see problems everywhere but to acknowledge them is tantamount to treason. I’m a tenacious POS though despite my destructive tendencies I always seem to escape. At crucial times I always pull it off but I end up in bed for two days after,

I was on Saphris many years ago for mixed state. I believe it does take a little while to work. I can't remember now. I seem to remember it being weight neutral though. I stopped taking it because I kept having a hard time getting out of bed and making my son late to school.

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