Latuda for Dysthymia?

[Arj72]

So new appt, new diagnosis, new medication.

I've run the AD gamut trying to treat my previous diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder NOS, As such I've tried the following: Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Anafranil, Effexor, Cymbalta, Brintellix and Remeron with unsatisfactory to no success.  I've also tried treating my anxiety with Lamictal, Trileptal, and Pregabalin.  Benzo's depress me and give me wicked rebound anxiety, so I tend to shy away from those altogether.  After my latest attempt to get a baseline (off all meds), I found my mood slipping, my sleep becoming more disturbed and having crying spells.  Given that we've been working the med go round for the last 3 years, with little mood/anxiety improvement, I was given a new label of Dysthymia as I remain functional despite my moods/anxiety.  Amazingly, my anxiety hasn't gotten worse, though it's still there, in the background.

 

At any rate, my now flabbergasted pdoc suggested Latuda today, 20mg per day to start, as mono-therapy.  He seems to think it'll help where the AD's haven't but I'm unconvinced.  He insists that I have no sins of BPD or any other similar dx that would indicate AAP use and I feel like I'm opening myself up to unnecessary risk.  Any insight from anyone?

[AnnaBanana]

Well, I'm bipolar, but my biggest complaint was depression. I take Latuda 60mgs and lamictal 150mgs and my depression has been under control for 3 years. It also cleared up some of my bipolar complaints, but as I said, the depression was what I was having the biggest issue with.

[Wonderful.Cheese]

Latuda is apporved for bipolar depression. So I hope it helps you! I know you are not bipolar, but I think it's reasonable to try an AAP since you have failed many mood stabilizers and AD's. Abilify and seroquel are other AAP's approved for the treatment of depression, bipolar depression, etc. Seroquel greatly helped my anxiety too. I am now on different meds though. 

 

Good luck!

[J718]

I have treatment-resistant depression and was given Abilify and then Latuda for it. I have to say I really regret taking them. They didn't help much and made me gain 15 pounds that I can't get off (even though I stopped taking antipsychotics late last fall.) There's actually a lot of controversy surrounding the use of antipsychotics right now. This article was a real eye-opener:

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/catferguson/the-antipsychotic-boom#.wqxX4jYMOE

[Siggmin]

I think trying Latuda, when you haven't had any success on so many antidepressants, is reasonable. If it makes you feel better, I was on Latuda last summer along with Haldol and I had no side effects. No stiffness, drooling, weird facial movements, or weight gain, or whatever else you may associate with an antipsychotic. The only reason I stopped it was because it just wasn't strong enough for my psychosis. Anyway, good luck! I hope you find some relief from your symptoms.

[jt07]

There's actually a lot of controversy surrounding the use of antipsychotics right now. This article was a real eye-opener:

 

 

There's actually not "a lot of controversy" around the use of antipsychotics. If you are going to post a link to support your point, please make it a link to a reputable medical journal. There's a lot of anti-psychiatry crap out there and the same people who write about antipsychotics today were the ones writing about antidepressants yesterday.

 

The fact is that antipsychotics help many, many people. They have helped me where antidepressants have failed. They are responsible for people living normal or somewhat normal lives when not too long ago they would have been institutionalized. We are a pro-treatment site so kindly knock it off.

[tryp]

There actually is controversy over the use of atyical antipsychotics for non-psychotic disorders.  The American Psychiatric Association recently put out a list of five ways in which AAPs are being misused: http://www.choosingwisely.org/societies/american-psychiatric-association/

 

That being said, every person has to weigh up the risks and benefits with their own physician.  For people who are treatment resistant and have tried other options, the side effects of AAPs can be well worth the improvements if they do help - and they do help some people when nothing else does.  Personally, I was on Seroquel for 5 years and I had bad side effects too - but it was worth it to me because it helped stabilize my moods when absolutely nothing else was working.  I'm glad I was eventually able to stop taking it, but I'm also glad it was available to me when I needed it, because it was a big part of why I'm still alive.

 

Being pro-treatment doesn't mean never questioning the harms of some of these medications.  It means empowering people to work with their doctors to make the best choices for them, which can be AAPs or something else.

 

If you've tried tons of antidepressants and nothing's worked, an AAP is a reasonable option, though Latuda is still quite new.  If you have concerns, it's worth having another conversation with your doctor to better hash out your concerns and his reasoning.

[Velvet Elvis]

 

Being pro-treatment doesn't mean never questioning the harms of some of these medications.  It means empowering people to work with their doctors to make the best choices for them, which can be AAPs or something else.

 

I'm inclined to agree with this as long as the individual is of sound mind and able to make such decisions in their own interest.  The majority of people who really need APs are usually in no state of mind to judge what's best for them.  People taking them for off-label uses should for sure examine the data and then decide.  On the other hand, a person who is actively psychotic needs an AP and shouldn't be encouraged to doubt that need.  

[Wonderful.Cheese]

I have treatment-resistant depression and was given Abilify and then Latuda for it. I have to say I really regret taking them. They didn't help much and made me gain 15 pounds that I can't get off (even though I stopped taking antipsychotics late last fall.) There's actually a lot of controversy surrounding the use of antipsychotics right now. This article was a real eye-opener:

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/catferguson/the-antipsychotic-boom#.wqxX4jYMOE

 

I doubt that buzzfeed articles should be considered "real eye-peners." What about AAP use in people with bipolar or SZA disorders? The article mentions nothing about this. Just that they are good for people with SZ. I wish I didn't need them. Sometimes I think I Don't and this article has not helped. I think it is scary to take them, but what is the alternative? Back to the state hospital for wasting even more years of my life? I don't think so. I prefer my freedom.

 

I don't get why AAP's have such a bad rap really. 

[Arj72]

Thanks for the input over time guys.  I actually never started the Latuda as my mood has been better overall, but tired of the inconsistency in mood (some days okay, some days less than good, never good, never awful) I think it's worth a try.  My major complaints right now is just overall low mood, lack of energy and zero motivation.  I really have to push myself to get work done, which is kind of odd, because my previously baseline was an anxious mess. Not sure what changed in my brain.