What to do

[Guest rabies1313]

ok so i just started fanapt, Like this morning was my first 1mg pill. about an hour or two after i took it blood rushed to my head. i laid down for a bit got up slowly then went for a shower. I then fainted in the shower. My question is what should i do? Should i take my does tonight or not. I can't call my pdoc till monday. this worries me.

[netsavy006]

Since you can't reach your doctor, I'd try contacting your pharmacist and explaining what happened and see what they suggest.

What other meds are you on (if any) besides Fanapt?

[NailFlower]

is fainting or light-headedness listed as one of the side effects?

[snugglepuss]

When I first started taking risperidal, I felt so funny standing up the next morning. I almost fainted in the bathroom and I had to sit in a chair while I made breakfast. My doctor said that was fine and it would just take my body a day or two to adjust. He was right. I didn't actually faint, but I felt like I might collapse.

[llama44]

When I was on fanapt I recall the reason you have to start out so slowly on it is to prevent fainting. Well obviously it doesn't prevent it in everyone. Sorry you fainted. I agree with Andy that you should call your pharmacist and see what they say. Could be dangerous.

[Cetkat]

ok so i just started fanapt, Like this morning was my first 1mg pill. about an hour or two after i took it blood rushed to my head. i laid down for a bit got up slowly then went for a shower. I then fainted in the shower. My question is what should i do? Should i take my does tonight or not. I can't call my pdoc till monday. this worries me.

Well the blood rushing from your head when you stand is Orthostatic Hypotension. It can be a side effect of alot of drugs. I tend to get it too. One thing that you could do is to only take 1mg at night, and then skip the day dose. It has a long enough half-life to do that and keep it in your system & the lower dose can help as well - but that would be something to test in a day or two. Then hopefully you can simply sleep through it. Just make sure that you don't get up in the middle of the night.. So, yeah, you can do that and see what happens, that way the pdoc would have more info about whether or not you can tolerate this med. If you're still dizzy tomorrow, rest with your legs propped up over your heart and take it easy. You can also add salt to your diet to boost your blood pressure - I'll sometimes just grap some from the shaker and eat it; it works. Staying hydrated and resting also helps. Then just call your pdoc tomorrow and he/she can tell you what to do from there.

[Guest rabies1313]

i'm working up to 6mg so ya i'm going slowly. i'll call the pdoc tomorrow. dizziness is a side effect but fainting is not. i guess i 'll see what happens tomorrow when i take the 2mg

[enlightened_plutonian]

When I first started taking risperidal, I felt so funny standing up the next morning. I almost fainted in the bathroom and I had to sit in a chair while I made breakfast. My doctor said that was fine and it would just take my body a day or two to adjust. He was right. I didn't actually faint, but I felt like I might collapse.

Oh I had this on my Seroquel, but it only lasted a few days. Must be a quite common side effect across the board?

[notfred]

i'm working up to 6mg so ya i'm going slowly. i'll call the pdoc tomorrow. dizziness is a side effect but fainting is not. i guess i 'll see what happens tomorrow when i take the 2mg

Fainting is listed in the Pi as syncope as is Orthostatic Hypotension. Syncope is the technical word for fainting.

nf