[facefulloffuzz]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and this is my first post.

I was diagnosed two months ago with BP1 after a manic episode and suicide attempt hospitalized me. While in the hospital I was placed on Seroquel and Lamictal. I was originally placed on 300mg of Seroquel but it was eventually upped to 600mg. At that dose I began waking up every night with an uncontrollable cough and vomitting. I was then placed on 10mg of Abilify but had to stop because it caused me to go manic.

My pdoc has now given me Latuda 40mg. I've been on it for 4 days now and am taking it with 200mg of Lamictal. I'm now depressed but I think the meds are working because this is pretty manageable at the moment. I haven't noticed any real issues from the Latuda and am hoping not to. The Lamictal has been a life saver.

Latuda is only good for depression, so I've read. That worries me. I really need my mania managed as I can get rather destructive when I have an episode.

Will Latuda be enough? Should I ask for something to manage mania? I'm happy with my combo, but I don't want to go off the rails either.

Thanks everyone.

[still_crazy]

trileptal helps me w/ agitation and hypomania. i take a full dose, w/ a low dose of lamictal and some abilify. gets the job done.

if you're currently depressed, id ((personally...)) be wary of changing things too much. tranquilizers can sometimes help depression, and they definitely "take the edge off" if your depression involves significant agitation, psycohsis, etc. i suppose one could see about an increase in the lamictal (?). people ive known on lamictal liked it, until the dose got too high...400mgs or so, some people complain of difficulty concentrating, dullness, flat mood, etc.

[TicTacGo]

A mood stabilizer such as lithium, Trileptal, more Lamictal or Depakote may just help. They are often used in conjunction with an atipsychotic (such as Latuda)

Some antipsychotics also have mood stabilizing effects, though I wouldn't take two simultaneously unless absolutely necessary.

[ofthevalley]

I am schizoaffective so I have the potential to become manic. I take Latuda with lamictal and I haven't had any signs of mania. Not even hypo and I take 160 Mgs.

[*Laurie*]

I found Latuda quite helpful for both anti-depression and stabilizing mood. The only reason I had to stop taking it was because of severe tremors. I wish I could have stayed on it.

[facefulloffuzz]

Thank you everyone. I do like the lack of side effects with Latuda. I see my Pdoc on Friday. We'll see what he thinks and maybe titrate up on the Latuda. Definitely need to get out of this depression.

Latuda withdrawal is a hard row to hoe.

[facefulloffuzz]

I'm feeling a lot better today. Maybe it's the Latuda, but it's only been 7 days so I'm not sure. Still worried about managing mania and definitely not interested in bad withdraws. Oh, the fun we have...

[Wonderfalls]

Latuda is FDA approved for bipolar depression, but it's also FDA approved for schizophrenia. The drugs for schizophrenia are all also used for bipolar mania too by most doctors, though Sunovion got in trouble for selling it for this use. I take it as a mood stabilizer and I have had no breakthrough mania. Lamictal is also used for mood stabilization but it's not so good at containing mania. I've used Latuda for four years and it's the best I've ever had. The only side effect I've gotten was akathisia, which is easily treated with propranolol.

[facefulloffuzz]

I saw my pdoc and was taken off Lamictal because a rash started on my chest. No taper. Cold turkey. This withdraw has been hell. He put me on Lithium and said it should work well with the Latuda to manage both mania and depression. He also gave me Ativan to help with this Lamictal withdraw and my panic attacks.

Man, I just want on a non-changing medicine regime and to feel stable again. Anyways, hopefully this all works for me and mania stays away. I am liking Latuda. Knock on wood, I've been relatively side effect free.

[88Butterfly88]

I think it could help, I think it depends on your body chemistry and how severe your mania is. Since you've only been on it 7 days I'd give it some more time.