Pamito Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Hey all. I have a major problem. Each med I try gives me extreme akathisia. I am on seroquel - though it has stopped being truly effective for my psychosis, but it doesn't give me akathisia. These are the drugs that have given me intolerable akathisia: Solian Risperdal Abilify Geodon and Seroquel XR. Funny because the non-xr seroquel doesn't have this effect. Does anyone know what drugs are least likely to cause akathisia? Its ruining my life, being unwell but not being able to tolerate most meds without being in despair from this awful side effect. My doc's thinking of trying Haldol or Clozapine next but am frightened of it happening again. Any ideas will help. I feel like the symptoms of sz are actually more tolerable than akathisia! Pamito Edited October 23, 2009 by Pamito Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurochs Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Haloperidol? Seriously? I can't say that you will for sure develop akathisia on that, but it's a pretty strong possibility. Have you tried Zyprexa yet? It's not exactly known for causing EPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Haloperidol? Seriously? I can't say that you will for sure develop akathisia on that, but it's a pretty strong possibility. Have you tried Zyprexa yet? It's not exactly known for causing EPS. Yeah I know, thanks Aurochs, I really don't want to try haldol really, but my pdoc has suggested it. Zyprexa did not give me akathisia, thankfully, when i tried it some years ago, but even after taking 2mg I would eat until my stomach hurt. So I guess its either become a whale (I honestly can't fight zyprexa's appetite stimulation) or try something else. Do you guys think there are any other options? My pdoc thinks taking cogentin will make my psychosis worse, even if it stops akathisia. Is this true? I now can understand why some people become non-compliant with their meds, but that's not an option for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Yeah I know, thanks Aurochs, I really don't want to try haldol really, but my pdoc has suggested it. Zyprexa did not give me akathisia, thankfully, when i tried it some years ago, but even after taking 2mg I would eat until my stomach hurt. So I guess its either become a whale (I honestly can't fight zyprexa's appetite stimulation) or try something else. Do you guys think there are any other options? My pdoc thinks taking cogentin will make my psychosis worse, even if it stops akathisia. Is this true? I now can understand why some people become non-compliant with their meds, but that's not an option for me. You can try the zyprexa zydis, which can be effective at stopping the munchies problem that zyprexa can cause. I've been on it for a few days and my appetite has went back to normal. I've been on regular zyprexa for 9 months now, and developed the eating thing about 4 months ago. I honestly can't tell you what the change was that caused me to get massively hungry all of a sudden, but it did suck. But there was no way I was getting off zyprexa... it's too important to my mental health, what little of it there is. Sorry I can't offer you more advice than a few day's trial of a med... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 thanks guys. i'm starting 5mg abilify with my 800mg seroquel tomorrow. not looking forwards to it but maybe the low dose of abilify won't give me akathisia this time. 5mg abilify is a miniscule dose, isn't it? hoping for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoverymouse Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 .5 is tiny, but abilify can pack a punch. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 .5 is tiny, but abilify can pack a punch. good luck. Thanks mate. Hope I am not back in 4 days complaining about feeling like battery acid is coating my nerve endings lol. My PDOC today gave me the options of Abilify 5mg, Lithium low dose, or Prozac as an anti-psychotic booster. I just went for the straight up antipsychotic as that's the major problem at the moment. I hope some fresh ones hit the market in the next few years that are gentler. As I'm sure most of us here do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 From experience I've noticed that being on the lowest possible working dose of an antipsychotic can reduce the restlessness to a degree. I recently had akathisia with Zyprexa 15mg and so it was lowered to 10mg. Helped a bit but not enough. What I've heard as an option for akathisia if your doctor won't go the Cogentin or Artane use is possibly adding Inderal to the mix. It's a beta blocker and I was told by my doctor it could reduce restlessness and anxiety so you get a 2 for 1 deal if it works. Inderal is not approved for akathisia but I wanted to make sure you knew of another option. I wish you the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 From experience I've noticed that being on the lowest possible working dose of an antipsychotic can reduce the restlessness to a degree. I recently had akathisia with Zyprexa 15mg and so it was lowered to 10mg. Helped a bit but not enough. What I've heard as an option for akathisia if your doctor won't go the Cogentin or Artane use is possibly adding Inderal to the mix. It's a beta blocker and I was told by my doctor it could reduce restlessness and anxiety so you get a 2 for 1 deal if it works. Inderal is not approved for akathisia but I wanted to make sure you knew of another option. I wish you the best. Thanks a lot. I was allergic to inderal lol but artane might be ok if my pdoc allows it. I wish they'd invent a purely anti-akathisia drug. Its a common problem that isn't really given enough weight! Also - Abilify has totally exacerbated my symptoms, stopped it after 2 days, and still pretty psycho. That is NOT a good drug for me. It's like taking a pro-psychotic, sheesh. Am trying to stay out of hospital as a result. I hate that drug. Back to the drawing board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Clozaril is shown not to cause akathisia according to the pdoc from the hospital I go to when I was on the psych unit. However, Clozaril comes with other risks so it's best if you can reserve that for when it's medically necessary. http://www.clozaril.com PI Sheet: http://www.pharma.us.novartis.com/product/pi/pdf/Clozaril.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella_Mentry Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Abilify gave me HORRIBLE akathisia ...intolerable restlessness. I was on 10 mg a day. I've been on 600 mg of Lithium per day now for just over a week and so far so good. I really hope this doesn't cause THAT. I'd rather not have my meds than have to deal with akathisia again. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Abilify gave me HORRIBLE akathisia ...intolerable restlessness. I was on 10 mg a day. I've been on 600 mg of Lithium per day now for just over a week and so far so good. I really hope this doesn't cause THAT. I'd rather not have my meds than have to deal with akathisia again. Good luck! Lol I know what you mean, sometimes I think akathisia is just as intolerable as being very unwell. Did your Pdoc put you on Lithium as an antipsychotic? Reason I am asking is because I think lithium is next on the list when i see my doc on Monday. He also suggested Stelazine but I am pretty sure that would bring on the old AKA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 Just to add... Not only did I develop severe Akathesia from Abilify I developed TD. Oh jeez. I hope it went away when you stopped the abilify? Atm I think its a very dodgy drug, though I'm sure it works well for some people out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 I, too, developed TD from Abilify, but cogentin keeps it in check. Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MyHawk Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I, too, developed TD from Abilify, but cogentin keeps it in check. Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MyHawk Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 My son tried all of them. clozapine worked and the akathisia went away. it is not a good idea to drink coffee with zyprexa or clozapine. it dramatically increases fatigue and agitation!! also, start googling "the glutamate system". it is the neurotransmitter system that comprises one third of the brain and appears to be dysfunctional in schizophrenia,bipolar, adhd and ocd. there is huge research by the drug companies in this area. also research glycine. Lamictal (which controls glutamate) combined with clozapine is very successful. Glycine appears to be more successful with all neuroleptics/antipsychotics with the exception of clozapine. no one should have to suffer from mental disorders. all four of my sons do. please, all of you.. research the glutamate system. also, ssri's can cause akathisia as well. i hope the very best for all of you. PEACE AND NEVER GIVE UP! MyHawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rryan901 Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 I have little akithisia with the medication THIORIDAZINE. It's an older drug that had fallen by the wayside but it works fine for me. It also reduces my anxiety. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 I've only had akathisia from Abilify. It hit me when I went up to 10 mg. I took cogentin (1 mg) for a month or two, which worked splendidly, and then discovered that I didn't need it anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Akathisia was a real problem for me as we went through the gamut of antipsychotics. What I realized, ringing true with what @netsavy006 said, is that wherever possible you should try to manage with as little antipsychotic as possible. Most of my trials of APs were at almost full therapeutic doses and they barely managed my symptoms and gave me unbearable akathisia. I needed something calming, so we swapped out my lamotrigine for oxcarbazepine and I didn't need full doses anymore. Oxcarbazepine helps to make up the gap so you don't have to use full doses of APs. Olanzapine was the only previously tried AP that didn't cause akathisia for me but the weight gain and metabolic side effects weren't worth it. I'm now on loxapine, which is structurally similar to clozapine and binds similarly to olanzapine. It is only the 2nd of about 5 APs that I've tried that doesn't give me akathisia. It feels like olanzapine but doesn't make me gain weight. In fact when I switched from olanzapine to loxapine, I lost all the weight that I gained on olanzapine and then some! 10mg of loxapine is a low dose in the grand scheme of things when it doses up to almost 150mg and multiple times a day. I take mine all at night and it helps me fall asleep but I don't feel groggy the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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