[Tart Cherry Jam]

EPS=extrapyramidal side effects. I get them on Latuda. I have to take Gabapentin to ameliorate them and usually it works pretty well. But the other day I forgot to take Gabapentin at bedtime and next day had a sensation as if my body had been going into a spasm. It was not actually fully going into a spasm, just sort of moving in that direction, and it was such an unpleasant sensation. I took Gabapentin in the middle of the day (normally I take it at bedtime) and took a nap and when I woke up from the nap I was ok.

The trouble is, I am supposed to take Latuda with dinner because you need 350 calories to absorb it. But if I take Gabapentin with dinner, I start falling asleep, and if I take Latuda alone without Gabapentin with dinner, then I start feeling as if my body were going into a spasm and I hate it. So I end up taking Latuda and Gabapentin both at bedtime. Sometimes I eat dinner late so this coincides with taking Latuda with food, but sometimes I eat dinner earlier and I am actually trying now to eat dinner earlier. So I end up taking Latuda a couple of hours after ingesting food. It still seems to work as I do not have bipolar symptoms, so maybe I just happen to absorb Latuda without food. Or maybe there is enough food 2 hours after dinner in the stomach. Maybe as long as it seems to be working, it is OK if I do not follow the prescribed protocol.

But I simply hate this sensation of the body going into a spasm, and especially my limbs.

Does anybody else get it on Latuda or on any other APs?

[HALLIEBETH87]

I got it from taking
Risperfal.

Requip
Helped me

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Mine from Risperdal were much worse than these from Latuda. I had to take Cogentin for those. Thank you for your response.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I have lowered Latuda from 100 mg to 80 mg and they went away, but I do not know for how long.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I think I had EPS on Latuda. I know that I went on it and off very quickly and since I was running out of med options I know my pdoc would have tried everything to make it tolerable before stopping it. I've had EPS on several meds and even was hospitalized with it (combined with a mixed episode--awful) once. I can't have propanolol and maybe one other drug that is often used because of my MAOI and have found gabapentin far superior to cogentin. At a high enough dose gabapentin is also a mood stabilizer for me.

I hope the lower dose helps you.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

So far so good. Initially, Gabapentin was enough to ameliorate the EPS on a higher dose (I also much prefer Gabapentin! pretty much to anything), but then it stopped being effective and started having breakthrough symptoms.

Today is the third day since I lowered the dose to 80 mg. I hope that solved the problem!

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I think I had EPS on Latuda. I know that I went on it and off very quickly and since I was running out of med options I know my pdoc would have tried everything to make it tolerable before stopping it. I've had EPS on several meds and even was hospitalized with it (combined with a mixed episode--awful) once. I can't have propanolol and maybe one other drug that is often used because of my MAOI and have found gabapentin far superior to cogentin. At a high enough dose gabapentin is also a mood stabilizer for me.

I hope the lower dose helps you.

And of course your Clozaril is famous for very rarely causing EPS, an advantage that is quite important all things considering.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Originally Posted by Tart Cherry Jam

And of course your Clozaril is famous for very rarely causing EPS, an advantage that is quite important all things considering.

That's one reason I'm on it. Mostly I'm on it for the recommended situation of having tried everything my doctor was comfortable trying (with my history of EPS she didn't want to try older meds and I pretty much ran out of everything else) but I wound up on clozapine after a nasty EPS issue from loxapine about 6 months before (I really wound up IP for that one too so 2 total hospitalizations for EPS). At that point clozapine was the only real option and it's been amazing aside from the weight gain.