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Saphris is a life-saver for me but is causing me tenseness and anxiety, which I fear is making my fibromyalgia much worse. Does anyone have any insights about this?

So I recently went off antipsychotics after having been on them for nearly seven years. They weren't helping with what I needed the most help with and I (and my shrink) suspected they were responsible for the anhedo'nic malaise I've been suffering from for years now. At first I was resistant to get off them because I really thought I needed them, but then I ran out and didn't get it refilled for a couple of weeks and was like, "Hey, I don't feel DEAD inside." And I wasn't suffering any bad effects from NOT taking them, so I figured I would just take them on as as-needed basis. Which happens about once every two weeks. I just get hamster wheel brain and have to shut it off. And so far that's been working out really well. I'm curious how long it's taken for others who have gotten off them to get them out of your system. I haven't taken any Haldol in over a month, but it was just in the last few days that I really felt like I'd "woken up". I can write again. I haven't written anything other than cryptic Facebook posts since 2014. I've done nothing but read Facebook and the news and watch tv and movies since I quit my job four years ago, which I had to do because I couldn't function at it anymore. I was constantly forgetting things and fucking up, it was awful. Looking back I can't be sure if it's because of the illness or the meds. I don't really care anymore. I'm awake again. Thankfully my bipolar disorder isn't so severe that I need APs all the time anymore. I think at first I did, but I've changed a lot over the last several years since I was diagnosed. I don't have the same issues as I once did. I'm a lot more stable. I still take my other meds, mostly so I can sleep, since I also have a sleep disorder (a manageable one, thank the gods). The meds kept me from doing the thing that was probably the healthiest thing I was doing for myself: meditating. Now that I can focus and concentrate again, I can get back to a sitting practice, which gives me the mindfulness I need to stay on top of the little cues my brain gives me when I might be about to do something...off. It's nice not to be swimming in glue anymore.

Okay so I'm on a lot of meds now and just started seeing a new pdoc who's thinking of making some serious changes. I have bipolar, anxiety, ADHD, hypothyroidism, and a pituitary tumor. When I was first diagnosed with BP, I was on lithium and seroquel, which worked well enough until I got depressed enough to get hospitalized a second time. That's when I added klonopin and switched to depakote because lithium was starting to affect my kidneys. This combo controls my mania more than my depression and my anxiety is still bad. My previous pdoc added Strattera for the ADHD but I'm not sure it's actually doing anything. She also added a small dose of trazadone because I was having trouble falling asleep. That helps but also might be making me sleep too much. Anyway, new pdoc suggested replacing the seroquel and/or the depakote due to weight issues and fatty liver (which may be from the depakote or just cause I'm fat who knows). He thinks Saphris could replace Seroquel and be better from a weight perspective. However, I'm dependent on Seroquel for sleep in addition to my other meds, and it doesn't seem like Saphris has that same effect. I'm more open to changing up the Depakote since I gained a lot of weight on it, but I don't know how good the other mood stabilizers are with mania, which has caused big problems in the past. Does anyone know much about Saphris and sleep or weight gain? And what other mood stabilizers might be good (i.e. More weight neutral and helpful for depression and mania).

The antypicals and i tend not to get along though I need them. Most of them have given me some sort of EPS except for seroquel, zyprexia (which after i stopped taking all my friends said that i had i turned ito a zombie) and saphris (which is not covered by insurance where i live...). Risperdol is the only one I havent tried. Does it cause EPS? I wish I could continue on with seroquel but after ECT my brain chemistry changed and know i can take 50 mg and go to yoga class. True story. Ugh.

For those of you who use Saphris, how exactly do you take it? Their website isn't very helpful and my doctor never really explained how fast it dissolves, and how long to wait before you can lift your tongue.

I've been on Seroquel continuously for the past 4.5 years in doses varying from 300mg to 600mg. Due to side effects and questionable efficacy for the past year or so, my pdoc and I decided that a switch in meds is warranted. She's had a lot of success with Saphris and we've decided to give it a try. To ease with withdrawal, we chose a 2-ish month transition state where my Seroquel will be waned down by about 50-75mg a week and Saphris will be increased every 2-3 weeks (2.5mg -> 5mg -> 10mg -> 20mg) depending on how I feel. It's been about two weeks now (450mg Seroquel & 5mg Saphris) and I'm noticing transient akathisia and I also feel a lot flatter. This is the first time I've ever had to switch a long-term medication like this, and I'm not sure what to expect, and whether things like flatness are common. For those of you who made switches from long term use of an AAP, how did it go for you? What sort of side effects did you notice? Thanks!

im just starting saphris for the first time. what are all of your experiences on this medication? seroquel would be fine if it didnt cause me to gain weight, but i cant fit in my clothes so i need to change meds. its also the only med that didnt give me anhedonia... latuda was fine up until my fourth month on the med, when the anhedonia suddenly popped up. anyway, experiences anyone?

So, I've been taking Saphris on and off for the last couple of years. The only way I've been able to take it is through samples and Merck's PAP, which gave me a year of the stuff for free. Well, Merck just dropped it from their PAP list since it's been taken over by another pharmaceutical company, which doesn't cover Saphris in *their* PAP either. So if I don't find a new AP, I'm going to be stuck paying anywhere from $350-570 a month for this stuff. Which I can't do, so it looks like I need a new AP. I want one with a low cholesterol and blood sugar profile, though, which Saphris is great for. I really don't want to take Zyprexa, which seems to be the worst from a cholesterol and blood sugar standpoint. I've taken Seroquel before but it turned me into a zombified eating machine (though I'm already fat so maybe I shouldn't worry about that, and the zombie-ness did seem to abate after a while). I'm afraid I'm not familiar enough with the rest of the AAPs to make a judgment on whether or not they're healthy for me. My family history already gives me slightly elevated cholesterol and blood sugar so I don't want to make it any worse. And whatever I take has to be as effective as the Saphris is at controlling my incredibly noisy head and overall agitation levels. What are your experiences with the different AAPs? Which ones seemed to be the worst in terms of weight gain, cholesterol, and blood sugar? I'm bipolar NOS with psychosis and mixed episodes, so I'm also interested in input from others with the same diagnosis.

I was on Saphris from January to May with no memory problems. When I stopped in May I noticed a gradual change in my memory, specifically my short-term memory. It went from my short-term memory was lasting for about 5 to 20 minutes, however, after I stopped it my memory lasts only about 2 to 5 seconds before I forget things I'm thinking of. Is this a common reaction after stopping an AP/ AAP?

Hi im new here and i am really scared about my meds i have missed a couple appointments with my PDoc because i have been sick A LOT over the last two months had an appointment yesterday but i had to cancel because i was throwing up and couldn't stand without falling over. My mom called to cancel and to see if the PDoc would call in refills for me mind you this would be the first time for call in meds. currently take saphris,lamictal, clonazepam,paxil and lunesta. I have BiPolar 2 borderline personality disorder depression, anxiety & panic attacks night terrors, PTSD. I have 1 dose left of lamictal, three doses of saphris and no clonazepam i do have some sleeping pills and paxil I am scared they can't get me into until next week. I don't know what to do what are the danger's of going off all of these meds at the same time without being weaned off i am so dedicated to my meds i know i need them or i will end up in the hospital or worse. i know about the mental issues going off but is there anything my family should watch for other then me going off of the deep end.i went off of meds before when i was young and i guess i was pretty bad. i haven't been off of meds in over 10 years! i know i feel a difference if i forget any of them. i just don't know what to do. other then have my family and myself be hypervigalent and we need to know what all to possibly watch for. and to top off things our dog of 11 years is really sick and its got me scared i know she is dying probably and we have lost her mother and sister and then i lost my ESA he was a rottie i lost him to cancer. I am very bonded with our dogs and though we have two my new ESA and my mom has one besides our old dog. it is adding a lot of anxiety i already am afraid every morning im going to find her dead i dream about it even; and now going off of meds i am afraid we don't have a car so even if there is an opening i need time to get a ride at least 24 hours for my medical transport. i don't know what im going to do :'(

I was on Latuda and it gave me akasthia (sp?) -just pure restlessness- and like restless leg syndrome I was on Seroquel 300mg and it would knock me out for 16 hours a day. The three antipsychotics I was thinking about: RISPERDAL, ZYPREXA, and SAPHRIS I am also thinking about sleeping meds: LUNESTA I was wondering if you tried any of these: What dosage were you on? what side effects you had? Which one did you feel helped you the most with less side effects? Did any of them help you sleep or interact with a sleeping med you were on? I am on neurotin right now and love it for my anxiety so will not change that. I see my psychiatrist Monday and would like to have an idea which one I want to try. Thank you for answering!

Hi, I've been relatively stable for 7 months, and am on Saphris 10mg, Lamictal 200mg and Valium 10mg (PRN). However, I've had two episodes of hypomania followed by depression. My pdoc is thinking lithium, but I want to know if there are other suggestions out there as lithium isn't that efficacious for rapid cycling. I've tried Depakote and Trileptal, both of which didn't work. This would be my second round on lithium. I only stopped it before due to horrible hair loss. Can't go up on saphris as it's expensive and I'm paying out of pocket. Help. Any input greatly appreciated.

Hey y'all! I'm from the south as you can tell, and all kinds of crazy. I've been diagnosed with a list of disorders from different professionals including pd, ptsd, gad, and mdd. The newest (and I think the one that is going to stick) is DID. Have a great tdoc and pdoc. The pdoc is trying new meds with me, if been on crazy high doses of zoloft and clonopin for the longest time, and isn't helping too much with the crazy anxiety and depression. She is having me try saphris, which I took last night and it was HELL ,with all the restless legs crap, but too drunk to even sit up. I finally fell asleep after a clonpin, and I feel great this morning! She said if saphris didn't work we could try zyprexa. What do you think? Find a way to deal with the crazy legs? Or try zyprexa? I've heard mixed reviews on both.

I stopped taking my medication about a week ago. This is the second time I have stopped since being put on them (the first time was because of an insurance mix up). I stopped taking them because I was afraid of the side effects that I was getting. I was hoping that I could just wait it out cold turkey until my next pdoc appointment, but that doesn't see to be for a while. I don't want to be non-compliant and I don't want to get any worse, so I've been eyeballing my meds and thinking about starting them up again. Is there any danger in doing this? Should I wait until I see my pdoc again or should I just start taking them again tomorrow? I'm...a pretty much a hypochondriac and have a tendency to think that my meds are poisoning me when they're probably not, so I am really afraid of taking them again. I know I'm supposed to though.