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DahveyJonez
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DahveyJonez We miss you
 
Member Since: Aug 2018
Location: SE USA
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Default Aug 28, 2018 at 12:09 AM
 
First of all, I'd like to thank each of you for your responses. This sharing of ideas, experiences and tips is exactly what I was looking for when I started searching forums.





Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Coyote View Post
You might consider the anti-epileptic drugs (AED).
These are also used as mood stabilizers. Drugs like: Depakote, gabapentin, Trileptal, Keppra, etc. These cut my agitation when it amps up.

Yes, we had some experience with Trileptal and gabapentin is something we are going to inquire of when we see our son's PsyMD tomorrow. I know you've had experience with it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Coyote View Post


The major tranquilizers may put your son at risk for Tardive Dyskinesia.

Continue to watch your son closely when attempting any med, as most of them can have some severe side-effects.


I think you are spot-on here. He was experiencing tremors, muscle stiffness - all involuntary motor movements - as well as 'irresistible urges' to rotate his forearms rapidly and the like. AFAIK, it hadn't reached the point of facial/tongue movements although there was one incident he described, when he was at 200mg (comparatively small, I know) where muscles around the esophageal area cramped/wouldn't let go - which freaked him pretty badly.

We'd noticed that DS warnt down in the basement doing weight lifting and gym routines at all hours, whenever the impulse struck - we took it as a sign some of the hypomania was abating - turned out, it was arm/leg weakness and muscle spasms that were putting the clamps on. Not good.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Coyote View Post
Thanks for being an interested parent! Not all parents look into treatment options and advocate for their children. So, thank you!

My Best,

WC

We are out there, to be sure. Probably a lot more than any of us would guess. Like so many extras from a Walking Dead episode, just milling about, looking for a light to go to.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EllieGreene View Post
Hey, I just want to say that I totally feel for you! It is so difficult to find a perfect medication or combination of meds. I am a parent, like you, who began looking for help when my son was 14. We didn't even have a diagnosis in the beginning. He became a different person; was depressed and anxious and antidepressants only made him more vocal and agitated to the point of physical violence. Enter Risperdone. Then Abilify. Another year later, Zyprexa. In the past 4 years we've had quite a few prescribers and some were better than others. I am sorry I cannot help. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks Ellie!


Quote:
It is so difficult to find a perfect medication or combination of meds.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. And within this single sentence is a world of hurt, struggle - hope.


Just realized as I was reading your statement, for most people (who aren't inflicted, don't struggle with) reading that, it would have as much emotional weight as if they'd read "It's so difficult to find the right allergy med that works but doesn't put me to sleep." They've no idea what's involved, the complexity of how these meds interact with each other, with the human condition and the enormous and very personal consequences those interactions have on not just how we feel and how we function - but who we are, what we might become as a result of taking them.

Ja, I say "we". Of course, you know.

Quote:
...and antidepressants only made him more vocal and agitated to the point of physical violence. ...
Antidepressants - Our son's reaction to the Seroquel seems very close to your's experience with SSRIs. He'd tried them several times throughout the course of things and it was always the same - this very odd sort of dis-inhibition would pop out of no - where. In some ways, it was more disturbing than the increasing aggression and anger - which you could see him trying to fight it; even though he'd be red-faced and mad as a March Hare, it was still our son in there, somewhere.

But with this ...disinhibition - whatever it was, it was like "that's not him. That's not part of his personality, life-experiences, that's someone else"

Even though the incident in question wouldna be noticed by anyone else or thought of as much out of line.


Ah - I've gone on and on and on ... hadn't meant to do that. When its sittin down here for three minutes and then having to handle something else for twenty, its a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng meander.

Quote:
I am sorry I cannot help.
I think its fair to say otherwise

Quote:
Originally Posted by TicTacGo View Post
Good day.

Thank you for the detailed post as it does help me at least to understand what is going on.

Abilify is one of those neuroleptics (antipsychotic is a very outdated term) with mood stabilizing effects, but is activating. This means that unlike the more sedating ones, it actually gives some energy.
With that effect, it is often used in treatment of depressive-type episodes because of how it is able to lift the mood.

Quetiapine is a more sedating AP and therefore stands as one of the first line treatments of acute mania (along with olanzapine and risperidone) and should thus have a calming effect on agitation or other manic symptoms.

In my own experiences. I was first placed on Abilify after suffering an acute manic episode a couple of years ago. Zyprexa was what the doctor used to bring my mood down with the unpleasant sedation effect, which is common in Zyprexa.
Abilify seemed to work. Odd enough. The only problem was the agitation it seemed to cause. it was from there that I was placed on quetiapine.

My experience with quetiapine? Definitely calming in comparison to Abilify. I had tapered up from 25 mg to 200 mg of Seroquel. Funny fact: quetiapine has a paradoxical effect in which lower dosages act more as an antihistamine, thus causing drowsiness. The mood stabilizing abilities of the drug start at higher dosages- not entirely sure, but definitely higher than 100 mg.

As someone has pointed out, anticonvulsant drugs are useful mood stabilizers:
Lamictal, Depakote, Trileptal etc.
These tend to be chosen for long term mood stabilizing because of the side effects of neuroleptics such as quetiapine and so forth.

Lithium is another one, but I wouldn't go there unless you really have to. It is a very old and very efficient drug if you are able to tolerate side effects.
I am not sure whether you have ever tried him on risperidone? It is often used for agitation and manic-like symptoms.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

TicTacDo - !!! I've many questions for you (hope you don't mind ) as I had previously wondered about some of the points you've brought up and want to run our one time experience with Risperdone by you.

Realize I am indeed gonna need to fire up the trusty OO editor for that - I think I've been timed-out/kicked off here for some time.

Tomorrow, DS has his first meeting with his PsyMD since things have taken their course. I'll try and put my head around it afterwards.

Thanks again to all of you!

Cheers
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