ManWitPlan Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Ever since i switched off of invega/lexapro/ambien my life has been hell. Every few days I get into this state of panic/ uncontrollable feelings/thoughts and it seems like I have some thoughts/voices that give me urges to do something bad like hurt someone. Or I get this sort of weird energy where I have uncontrollable sexual feelings that keep popping up when I try to avoid them. Basically if i'm in this state and lets say i'm watchin tv then every person/thing I see turns into some kind of sexual thing. Or I get negative thoughts about myself and sense of worth. I switched off of the combo that was working well because of weight gain but I would rather be fat than suffering from mental symptoms. How likely is it that if I go on my old combo it will work the same? Because I heard of some people stopping a med combo then going back and having it not even work. So i'm worried about that. Since the combo that was working I have tried geodon/saphris/abilify/latuda and none seemed to work. So i'm at the point where I just want things to go back to where they were. My doc really doesn't want to go back to the old combo cause I gained so much weight. So i don't know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I gained a lot of weight on a combination of Seroquel, Lithium, Lexapro and Lamictal and blamed the Seroquel because it was when I started that my weight increased dramatically. I was very stable at that time so it was decided that I should discontinue the Seroquel slowly. It was difficult because my sleep was affected but my pdoc added in zopiclone temporarily. However that didn't help much, but i decided to perservere to get off the seoquel. I became sleep deprived and as a result became manic and then mixed and ended up hospitalised and was put on Zyprexa to control the mania asap. After a while I refused the Zyprexa because I knew I was putting on weight and this time my pdoc put me on Abilify. That didn't help, even when it hit 30mg. Basically to cut a long story short I was put back on my old reliable....Seroquel. Yes it caused weight gain, but it also kept me sane and I have been very well since it was added back into my medication regimen. So sometimes you have to deal with weight gain in order to be able to be sane. Personally, being overweight is a pain and I hate it, but it is the MUCH lesser of 2 evils, and I know if I got my ass in gear I could probably lose some, even if it is at a slower rate. To me, being mentally and emotionally stable is more important than my weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Nobody can tell you for sure if the old combo would work again or not. You would just have to try. I went off Celexa (related to Lexapro) for a year and went back on it, and it worked for me again just fine. Ambien should work again for you. I don't know about the Invega. Invega is related to risperidone, and risperidone didn't work as well for me the second time. But that is just my experience and doesn't mean it won't work for you. As I said, you just have to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWitPlan Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Nobody can tell you for sure if the old combo would work again or not. You would just have to try. I went off Celexa (related to Lexapro) for a year and went back on it, and it worked for me again just fine. Ambien should work again for you. I don't know about the Invega. Invega is related to risperidone, and risperidone didn't work as well for me the second time. But that is just my experience and doesn't mean it won't work for you. As I said, you just have to try it out. Would this be the right circumstance to go back to the old drugs? Or are the symptoms i'm going through not severe enough to go back? Like what are some reasons to go back? Can someone ever go back even with knowing the risks of weight gain and metabolic problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Can someone ever go back even with knowing the risks of weight gain and metabolic problems? I did. I went back on Seroquel knowing I would problem gain weight again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWitPlan Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Can someone ever go back even with knowing the risks of weight gain and metabolic problems? I did. I went back on Seroquel knowing I would problem gain weight again Does exercise and diet really work? Because the way these docs seem to stop weight gain meds it seems like they dont believe someone could maintain a healthy weight on drugs like zyprexa, invega, seroquel etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 It is very difficult to lose weight. However I have managed to lose weight whilst taking Seroquel but it requires a lot of committment and dedication and you have to push yourself that bit harder than if you weren't on a medication that causes weight gain. I know the reason I'm not succeeding at the moment is because I'm very busy with college work and I find I'm drinking endless cups of coffee and eating biscuits and am not being very careful about my diet and not exercising as much as I could. I know that when I push myself I CAN and DID lose weight. Just gotta be motivated and prepared to work at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorinacarnation Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I'm bi-polar and have tried medication cocktails over the 12 years ive been on them (i'm only 27) Abilify,Lexapro, and Celexa cuz he said it would help me not gaid weight. One day I woke up and the meds just didnt work, they stopped working completely. I am now on Depakote, Serouel, Cymbalta and lithium. I'd suggest the lithium too cu z it changed my life taking me out of the suicidalities i'd felt for so long, and i can smile again. Most meds say they CAN cause weight gaid but i've been fine. Maybe do some research. It's a kind of complicated med because u need to have your blod levels checked regularly to avoid toxicity but i'll never stop taking this drug. Good luck. It WILL get better....if i'm still alive, have faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 It's really hard to tell if an old combo will work again. The only way you can find out is to try it again. Everyone responds differently to medication, so it's hard to predict. Not even your doctor can make predictions about how you will respond. As for deciding when to come off meds - I guess it depends on your quality of life while on the medication. Meds are supposed to improve your quality of life. If it's doing the opposite, then it's time to come off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleladybug Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 If your meds aren't working for you, you should definitely change medications according to your pdoc. If you have found something that really worked for your mind, but caused horrible side effects, you have to really outweigh the cons vs pros. If your side effects are absolutely intolerable, change according to your pdocs advice. The reason I am saying this is because I went over a year holding onto medications that were making my body miserable, which just ended up making my mind miserable. My advice is to not give up, to keep trying and fighting. You will find one that works for you. It might be a long road to get there, but it is worth it in the end. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Unfortunately these meds have side effects. I have tried to live without Seroquel because I gained weight, but I find it's much better for me to be sane and chubby rather than thin and psychotic. In my experience, when I went back on the fatty good meds, they worked the same as before. You can only try it and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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