ManWitPlan Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I'm currently on 9 mg of invega. Which is equal to about 5 mg of risperdal. I'd like to lower the dose to 6 mg of invega which is equal to about 2-3 mg of risperdal. What are some factors involved when doctors lower antipsychotic dose? What obstacles could I run into by lowering this? I really want to lower it to decrease some of the common risperdal type side effects like increased appetite and the insulin resistance it causes. I've been on risperdal/invega at the 6 mg dose range /9mg dose range for invega for 4-5 years now. It has worked well but i'm thinking its time to lower the dose. I see my pdoc in about 11 days. So I plan on discussing this with him then. But till then what should I know about decreasing antipsychotic dosage? When are some good times to decrease the dose? I read online that after the initial manic phase you can prevent mania from occuring using low maintenance doses of 1-2 mg of risperdal. So wouldn't mind doing that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 ,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I wouldn't change any meds until you see your pdoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 It has a mood stabilizer effect, so the risk would be another mood episode, or psychotic symptoms, if that is what you are treating. FWIW, I was on risperdal for six years, I reduced it by a mg at a time over several months. I was on 3mgs, I didn't 'feel' it until I got to 1mg. However any reductions we did at the same time as any stressful life events tended to make me symptomatic, so if you're gonna reduce, make sure your life is stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 You can always try metformin for the insulin resistance and any associated weight gain. Metformin was originally for diabetics, but has also been shown to help side effects from APs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWitPlan Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 You can always try metformin for the insulin resistance and any associated weight gain. Metformin was originally for diabetics, but has also been shown to help side effects from APs. Yeah just did a little research on it. Seems like something I will bring up to my pdoc at the next appointment. I see you are on it. What effects have you noticed on it as far as side effects/benefits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I'm on Metformin as well. I can't say that it helped me lose any weight but it did stop the steady gain. I'm on 1500mg. I had to start on 500mg and gradually go up from there. It can cause some significant GI issues. Like, don't think you've got gas, it may be more than gas. After a while, those issues get a lot better. The doc said to go up by 500mg. That was too much for me. I'd have to go up by 250mg at a time. I'd stay there for a couple of weeks and then try another increase. I don't know about you but my weight gain on AAPs didn't seem to be dose dependent. I could take 50mg or 600mg. I'd gain the same amount of weight. That is until I started Metformin. I think I could have probably lost weight by adding Metformin but other health issues came up and it became difficult to tell which med did exactly what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama44 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I never lost any weight on metformin and I used it while on zyprexa. Just my experience. But I do think you should ask your pdoc about lowering the dose or adding metformin instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I just started on metformin so I can't how it is at the moment. I did find myself falling asleep faster last night. GI issues was mentioned by my pdoc as well. He also read to me a study published in a medical journal where metformin was shown to help with AP associated weight gain. I'm on my phone right now but I'll see if I can find a link when I'm on a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Found a computer! I think this was the study my pdoc mentioned, it talks about how encouraging metformin seems to be for AP-related weight gain: http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=6512 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LWD Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yeah you probably will not be as hungry, but you'll also be without the other 3 extra mg of medicine that makes bad symptoms go away. I tried that bud, lowering dosages many times.. the tradeoff is more pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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