Antigone Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Been on Saphris over a month. No problem. Went up 5 mg and have been feeling worlds better for last 10 days. Wondering if it's from this, because I also felt so good I dropped from four Klonopin a day to one. So I'm thinking maybe it's more Klonopin withdrawal. I can't stop lock step marching around or pounding on my legs. Mother fucking fuck. It better be the klonopin because I can't live without the Saphris. I took a klonopin twenty minutes ago. I'm feeling the slightest bit better. Please be the Klonopin. Anyone know if you can just drop back on dose of Saphris and get the akathisia to go away or if you have to go off altogether. Fuck fuck fuck.Took some B6 Vit too. And a percoset. I'll take anything. Just make it go away. Don't have any calcium channel blockers. Fuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Stretching is helping a bit. Meds are kicking in a bit and starting to feel less crazed with anxiety, too. Akathisia is the devil's torment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Oh, Antigone, I feel for you! Akathisia is awful, awful, awful. Can you call your pdoc and ask what can be done about the akathisia? I hesitate to comment on whether backing down on the Saphris is a good idea. When I had akathisia, I found that Benadryl took the edge off until I was able to see my pdoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Thank you for responding. The percoset and klonopin seem to be kicking in because it's much more tolerable now. I'm going to eat a banana now for the potassium, because I know that will help, too. I will contact pdoc if it is still there tomorrow. I am so afraid she will make me go off Saphris and it is literally the first thing to make me stable and clear headed in a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koa Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Oh Antigone. I'm so sorry. I know how bad akathisia feels. When I first started on risperdal I had to take a blood pressure med, lopressor, which had a calming effect, to counteract the akathisia. I was able to do this because my blood pressure was slightly high. It made a world of difference. B vitamins can make me feel edgy, too. Sometimes the akathisia goes away after your body gets used to the med. I hope that is the case with you and Saphris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Thank you so much for the reassurance. I'm feeling considerably better, if drugged, now. I can't get my butt cheeks to relax while sitting here, but that's so much better than going out of my mind pounding on my legs while I marched. I feel encouraged to think of the akathisia going away as I adjust. Also, I really think the rapid drop in klonopin levels is part of it. That withdrawal can cause those symptoms. It's all over the literature. So remembering to take a morning dose to stave this off and knowing that might help me get through the adjustment period gives me hope. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I'm glad that you are feeling somewhat better and less edgy. I was sending anti-akathisia thoughts your way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Rising Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Akathisia is hell on earth and I'm glad you're experiencing some relief. Whenever I've had it, I take cogentin or benztropine. You might talk to your pdoc about having some on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 That's a great idea. I was coming out of my skin. I'm a cutter in remission and the urge to cut the body off or claw it off was so strong. I was desperate. Thank god the klonopin worked and kicked it. I will ask my pdoc for something to keep on hand. I thought I was going out of my mind. It's like you can't bear the thought of surviving one more second of it, nevermind half an hour for a med to kick in. But at least it worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g8orgirl Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I second taking cogentin/benztropine, worked wonders for me when I was taking Haldol and the akathisia was horrible. As someone mentioned above, Benadryl can work too if you can't get in to see your pdoc right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koa Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Antigone, is your akathisia getting any better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 I felt like it was starting again this morning, but nipped it with klonopin right away. I'm hoping this is just an adjustment period with the Saphris, or because I'm temporarily on percoset until my surgery and my levels keep dropping sending me into miniwithdrawal. I was MUCH better off today, though. Had my Vit B6 and B12 on board plus my banana for potassium, so I just popped a klonopin and half a percoset and I was good. I think I'll keep an eye on it through the weekend before contacting pdoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I think you should not delay calling the doc. Percoset is not intended for this use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antigone Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 No, I'm taking percoset until my surgery Thursday. It's for pain (I just started it this week). But I think that it makes you jittery if you don't stay on it (like I take a whole one and sometimes two at night for pain but then none in the day and it makes me feel weird, like withdrawal or hung over). I'm just thinking that taking a half as a way to ease down from such a powerful drug might help if that's what is actually causing the akathisia. I can't go off the percoset any time soon, because I'm having a total abdominal hysterectomy on Thursday with a six to eight week, seriously in bed kind of recovery. I think I'm going to ask for a less strong pain killer though, because I don't want to go through withdrawal after habituation while recovering from the surgery. I probably should have made that clearer. I'm not just taking percoset to see if it will work on a whim. I'm taking it already and wondering if allowing the fluctuations up and down (along with the up and down of klonopin) are not causing these symptoms. Hope that made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I will contact pdoc if it is still there tomorrow. I am so afraid she will make me go off Saphris and it is literally the first thing to make me stable and clear headed in a year. If this is what's holding you back from calling your pdoc--which I get--there are some ideas to get around it. You can see what your pdoc offers and, if the advice is go off saphris, then ask are there alternatives because the saphris really helps me? Some go as far as saying "the klonopin seemed to be taking it away," but that's a really careful line to walk--you want to be an advocate without infringing on teh fact that the doc is the one who makes the decisions that you stick by. See what you get--your pdoc might come up with some other ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I have a bad reaction to Percocet. Sometimes I get akathisia like symptoms. Ask your doctor if it could be the Percocet causing the symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandeeje Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I have been having akathisia since I started Saphris two weeks ago. It seemed to get better until they switched my Wellbutrin to Effexor. Now it's worse than ever. Here's hoping it's just a starting out thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I had horrible akathisia when I was titrating up on Abilify. My sincerest condolences, akathisia is fucking hell on earth. What worked for me was going back down to my original dose for a few days, titrating up by 2 mgs for two weeks instead of the original titration of "bang, 5 more mgs" and then going up to the full "target dose" of original + 5mg. Hope that makes sense; new med is causing major anxiety and world is conspiring to wake me up after 4-5 hours every time I try to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicchick Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I had horrible akathisia when I was titrating up on Abilify. My sincerest condolences, akathisia is fucking hell on earth. What worked for me was going back down to my original dose for a few days, titrating up by 2 mgs for two weeks instead of the original titration of "bang, 5 more mgs" and then going up to the full "target dose" of original + 5mg. Hope that makes sense; new med is causing major anxiety and world is conspiring to wake me up after 4-5 hours every time I try to sleep. I'm dealing with similar problems It's also likely it's the Klonopin causing this.. when I went off xanax cold turkey from 2mg+ a day (BAD IDEA) I felt like I was tweaked out on meth or something. There is nothing quite like akathisia... it's unique. For anyone who has had to experience it, I'm sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werehorse Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I had akathisia on Abilify. It is the worst thing in the world. I was given diazepam but it didn't help enough and I had to come off the Abilify (ended up in hospital because of it). Since the Saphris works so well for you otherwise I really hope your pdoc has some ideas to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conchar928 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 How has everything been working out, Antigone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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