dancingteapot Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 My pdoc recently gave me samples of this new AAP called Rexulti.apparently it's very new and I was wondering if anyone else heard of it or is taking it.i hope it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 I've heard of it. It's supposed to be like Abilify except with fewer side effects (less akathisia, less prone to weight gain, etc.). I don't know how much is true because it looks a lot like a patent extender for Abilify, but time will tell. I wish you luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 My pnurse thinks it is a patent extender, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I started it the day after it came out. I have to say, I can tolerate the Rexulti and I couldn't tolerate Ability. So far, so good, but we'll see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zsepthenne Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 FINALLY, found a few others on Rexulti!I've been on it for 2 weeks now. Titrated up to 1mg about four days ago, and I can't believe it, but it's working. I know there's concern about it being a patent extender, but it doesn't come close to my previous experience with Abilify, which gave me awful akathesia and made me feel like I had windchimes in my head. In short I wouldn't throw it under the bus until you give it a try. My side effects have been very minimal so far. Anyone else have any side effects worth mentioning? Or any good results yet? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps working for me. So few meds work for my depression that I'm worried it'll end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I am on 6 mg now. I only had a minimal response to it at 4 mg and my psychiatrist called the company and they said a higher dose could be more effective. I am definitely seeing an improvement on 6. As far as side effects, maybe a little restlessness, but not much. I am loving this medicine so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zsepthenne Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I am on 6 mg now. I only had a minimal response to it at 4 mg and my psychiatrist called the company and they said a higher dose could be more effective. I am definitely seeing an improvement on 6. As far as side effects, maybe a little restlessness, but not much. I am loving this medicine so far.I know Dusk, I'm quickly turning into a Rexulti fan girl. I keep thinking, it's gotta be too good to be true and wondering whether my kidneys will shrivel later on or something haha. Good to know that I can titrate up much higher. Have you noticed any weight gain? I haven't seen any so far for myself. I've had some anxiety, but I always have anxiety so who knows. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 No, I haven't had any weight gain at all, which was really important to me as I'm already severely overweight from taking antipsychotics for so many years. I think the max dosage for Rexulti is 4 mg for schizophrenia (I either have that or schizoaffective), so it surprised me that my pdoc would put me on 6 mg, but I trust him. I don't know if many dr.'s would do it, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixiestarr Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Any updates?I just took my 1st dose this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjs190 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Rexulti is structurally similar to Abilify and was designed to be "more tolerable". From what I've read, it causes more weight gain that Abilify does, but less akathisia. It hits 5-HT1A and norepinephrine receptors harder than Abilify does, so its binding profile is a bit different; its doesn't hit dopamine as a hard or as fast as Abilify and it is much less of a partial agonist at D2/D3, as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 (edited) I just started 1mg this morning. I'm taking it for anxiety/depression. I hope it works.zsepthenne, how long before you noticed an improvement with your symptoms? Edit on day three: I've noticed that my mind is finally calming down! Edited October 2, 2015 by Fluffypinkbunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingteapot Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm on 2mg now and things seem to be ok.At this point idk if it's the ECT, Rexulti, or Clozaril that is keeping me relatively stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlossong Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I wanted to take this however, it doesn't seem to help with Bipolar only schizophrenia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjs190 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I wanted to take this however, it doesn't seem to help with Bipolar only schizophrenia.I think it's safe to say that an antipsychotic that treats schizophrenia will likely treat bipolar disorder pretty well, too. When it comes down to insurance covering it for an "off-label" use, however, I suppose things would get tricky depending on your provider. According to the makers of Rexulti, they aren't actively pursuing a bipolar indication at this time, and are instead looking to venture out into other mood and anxiety disorders. But that's just something I read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I am going to start 0.5 mg of Rexulti tomorrow for major OCD. Has anyone else taken it for OCD? Also how soon should I be able to tell if it is helping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tfd6592 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Same here. Am on my 3rd day of taking it. Also on 10mg of Lexapro and tramadol (which my psychiatrist is a big fan of for OCD???). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixiestarr Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'm taking this. I'm like a month an half in I had gone up to 1mg and had to come back to .5mg due to side effects. I feel it helps my happiness. But it acctually isn't doing a thing for my anxiety. At least at this current time it isnt. I am sick so that could be why. I also recently went on topamax to try to get my weight down. And despite my appetite dropping (in not even averaging 1200 calories a day) I haven't lost a lbs. The weight I packed on was during a trial run of vybryd. We went back to my original set up I had taken without weight issues. Added topamax and rexulti. So I'm assuming the rexulti is preventing weight loss? Anyone else noticing this? On another note. I should add I'm a difficult case. My Dr. Won't specifically give me straight dx yet after seeing me 1.5 yrs. There is depression, anxiety, periods of panic. Mention of bipolar with mixed states. Mention of ocd. So yea this is just a test med. The side effects I mention was not being able to sleep, and headaches. Comeing back down though from 1mg to .5mg was HARD surprisingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxt227us Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Oh, there Are some folks on it! My doc added it to my cocktail for depression. In my body: it feels nothing like Abilify and it makes me mildly manic.. ..no akithesia (sp)..I've had insomnia, memory loss, incoordination but no depression. I've been on 0.5 mg for just a few days but (in my body) it's a very powerful drug. Good luck, all, and I'll try to follow this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily1684 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Any updates on how any of you are doing on Rexulti? I'm in the process of going off abilify and onto Latuda (switching because of weight gain) BUT my dr suggested Rexulti as an option if the Latuda doesn't work for me. I'm mainly interested in weight gain or loss. also, my diagnosis is MDD, GAD and panic disorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixiestarr Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 2 hours ago, Emily1684 said: Any updates on how any of you are doing on Rexulti? I'm in the process of going off abilify and onto Latuda (switching because of weight gain) BUT my dr suggested Rexulti as an option if the Latuda doesn't work for me. I'm mainly interested in weight gain or loss. also, my diagnosis is MDD, GAD and panic disorder I've gained weight but I can't say it's completely related to rexulti though cause I've been slowly putting weight back on since I had I huge weight crash with my initial depression/anxiety episode. And then a huge weight gain during my trial of vybriid and haven't been able to lose any of that. I just came off rexulti last week(been on it a couple months now). I just felt it wasn't the med for me. I tried it at 1mg and .5mg. At 1mg I couldn't sleep. When I went to .5 I crashed hard mood wise for about a week. Not exactly suicidal but thinking about suicide. And when I came off this time I did it real slow(with Dr blessing) and still had a day of the thinking about suicide. I'm hoping maybe it was the rexulti that was holding my weight hostage and I can finally get the weight I gain on the vibyiid to finally go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannathan Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I tried rexulti and I had same side effects as abilify this time . Restlessness something awful. Weird thing I was on it yrs ago I took abilify and it was a miracle drug for me this time it was awful. I took it for 2yrs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erb Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 is the weight game due to eating more or is it just weight game regardless of intake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Reviving this thread to see if anyone else has Rexulti updates or experiences? I mostly feel tired and haven't felt much improvement in mood. But it's early days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Rising Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I take 2 mg of Rexulti in the morning (its supposed to be activating which I believe b/c I experienced insomnia when taking my dose at night). My pdoc felt that Rexulti would be a better choice for me side effect-wise than Zyprexa. I've made the switch and, so far so good. My mood stability has been variable due to the insomnia, but I think that's a matter of working out some med kinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magsmom46 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Can anyone tell me how long rexulti takes to notice a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mblodnieks314 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) I've been on Rexulti about 3 months and I feel like it's saved my life. I tried EVERYTHING with no success. After 6 years of being a shut-in, I feel like the cloud has lifted and I'm actually almost normal. i haven't experienced weight gain; still weigh 110. Im thanking the stars for this medication. Edited July 17, 2016 by Mblodnieks314 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtac Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I too have been on Rexulti for three months, and I find it to be the perfect drug (for me.) It's killed my depression like nothing else could, and with nearly zero side effects. I can't say enough good things about it. My pdoc says I should do a commercial for it -- he's impressed by how well it works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pocketpanda Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Hi. I'm new here. It's great to read all the positive feedback about Rexulti. I'm also a bit envious of those who are taking it. My psychiatrist wanted me to try it, prescribed it twice, and insurance company denied coverage both times, so I'm now on Abilify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinx342 Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 I have been on Rexulti twice in the past seven months. Both times I stopped taking it not bc it didn't help my depression, but bc of both the weight gain (over 10#, monitoring calories and exercising 5x/week) and the restlessness. It really does help very quickly for severe depression, but after 8-10 weeks I couldn't cope with the restlessness and not being able to fit into any of my pants- probably will keep this on hand in case I slip or feel the depression come back, but I feel very stable now and have taken myself off the drug again. I was amazed at both how effective it has been and at how quickly I put the pounds on despite a healthy low calorie diet and being a competitive athlete- it must mess with your blood sugar bc my weight has been the same for nearly 15 years until this little pill. What really got to me was not being able not to move- especially in the evening- I had to move even just my foot or clenching my jaw and that feeling always heightened right before bed. Interesting drug. Will take again just with the knowledge that side effects are what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justkeepswimming Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 (edited) They gave it to me alone for depression and anxiety/panic disorder because antidepressants make me nuts. Are any of you taking it by itself? Edited August 26, 2016 by Justkeepswimming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopamineSick Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Bumping this to see if anybody else has been prescribed Rexulti or if anyone has updates. I've been on 1 mg of Rexulti for a little less than 3 weeks. I've noticed a difference, but I don't know if I've plateaued on this dose. I left a message with the doc to see if she will bump me up to 2 mg before my next appointment (Jan 31st). I've had zero side effects so far, so I'd like to go up to 2 mg to see if that gets me over the hump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roezilla Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I am female 62 yr. old. I had a T I A , little stroke after taking Rexulti for less than a month. I was already on wel burtrin 150 mg, high blood pressure, thyroid, cholesterol, pain killers . It came on out of nowhere. I am now on so much more medications because of the stroke. I also was gaining weight. Has anyone else experienced a T I A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roezilla Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 Just figured out how to reply.... Yes I had a blood clot In the brain. Still not feeling good. Too much medication the doctors put me on.. I think the drug Rexulit gave me my stroke thank you for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 On 2/21/2017 at 0:09 AM, Dphxa said: T I A are caused by blood clots. Does Rexulti cause blood clots? If it does, that would be a freaky rare side effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roezilla Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 After taking this drug Rexulti for less than a month I had a stroke. Don't know if anyone else will develop blood clots, that's why I am posted this. Let me know if you had T I A or stroke. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roezilla Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 15 hours ago, jt07 said: If it does, that would be a freaky rare side effect. You got that right. It scared me . One of the printed side effects are " May cause strokes in eldery people with Alzheimer's or dementia which I do not have either yet..... We all might get there some day... I am 62 yr. old do not consider my self eldery yet , I may be sadand depressed ... to me my mother at 89 is eldery.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I don't think you are going to find anybody who has had a stroke on Rexulti because, as I said, it is one freaky rare side effect if the Rexulti is in fact to blame. You are on a lot of meds. Singling out Rexulti without proof I think is unfair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roezilla Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Hi, no I am not saying Rexulti was to blame I have no proof , I am only putting it out there so if any one else has a T I A or stroke we can record it.. That is the only way we can pin point side effects that we are not aware of. So if I gave you the wrong idea that I am pointing the finger on the drug I am not.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Andrews Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. For the GAD I have been taking Xanax, for MDD I have tried several medications, too many to mention, however in a last effort my PDoc prescribed Lexapro, it did help a little bit but not much. He recently prescribed Rexulti, he had to get permission to prescribed it. Now I find it has my heart racing, my resting pulse is between 94 and 105. I would not be able to see him until this Monday. I have stopped the Rexulti because the racing heart scares me. Was this a good idea? Edited February 26, 2017 by Angela Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 (edited) I've been on Effexor XR 225mg for 12 years. Started having issues in February this year. They upped my Effexor to 300mg, Buspar to 60mg, have me on Ativan and tried me on Abilify but it caused too much restlessness. Now I'm on Rexulti getting ready to go from 0.5mg to 1mg. Would it be causing tired, zombie-like feelings or would that be the Ativan and/or Buspar? Edited May 8, 2017 by Mook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtac Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Rexulti made me very sleepy if I took it in the AM for the first 6 months. I switched it to PM, and the tiredness went away. Just recently moved it back to AM, and this time around I have no sleepiness at all. It could also be an additive effect with the Buspar and Ativan, depending on the timing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Thanks dtac. I took Abilify at night and it kept me awake all night. So we moved it to am. Still too awakening for me. We just swapped out the Rexulti but didn't think if timing. I guess I could try pm...Worst case I don't sleep that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtac Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Abilify was extremely activating for me. I couldn't tolerate above 2mg and be able to sleep at all. At 2mg, I still needed sleep meds, and they were only moderately effective. Rexulti's sedation is paradoxical for me, since it appears to be related to dosing, but only happens in the AM, not PM (and now, not at all.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopamineSick Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 51 minutes ago, Mook said: I've been on Effexor XR 225mg for 12 years. Started having issues in February this year. They upped my Effexor to 300mg, Buspar to 60mg, have me on Ativan and tried me on Abilify but it caused too much restlessness. Now I'm on Rexulti getting ready to go from 0.5mg to 1mg. Would it be causing tired, zombie-like feelings or would that be the Ativan and/or Buspar? A lot of people report an increase in energy on Rexulti. I'm currently on 2 mg, taken in the AM, and I don't think I've felt a single side effect from it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtac Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 53 minutes ago, DopamineSick said: A lot of people report an increase in energy on Rexulti. I'm currently on 2 mg, taken in the AM, and I don't think I've felt a single side effect from it. I don't get an energy burst, but it does absolute wonders for my general anxiety and depression. I feel much calmer taking it in the AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimsie Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 My son has taken Abilify for many years. Over a year ago he started taking Rexulti. After about a week, I think, but I am not sure exactly how long it took, he started coming down to our house (he lives in a MIL on our property} to play cards in the evening, something he had not been interested in doing in the previous 13 years since he became ill. For some reason every week or 10 days he would start feeling "off" and he would take some Abilify and then he would do better. He stayed like this for about 9 months and started buying non working washers and dryers and fixing them and selling them and doing quite well. Then he started fooling around with trying to get well with juicing cilantro and after a couple of weeks during which I told him that he was getting worse on the cilantro he went off his medication and we haven't been able to get him back on the Abilify and Rexulti during the past 5 months since then and he has had terrible problems. The point of all this is that in our experience Abilify and Rexulti are not exactly the same in how they affect our son. The Rexulti improves his socialization very much more than Abilify does, but it doesn't seem to control all of his symptoms as well as both of them together do, but taking Rexulti allows a lower dose of the Abilify. He was probably averaging 2 - 4 mg of Abilify a day while he was taking 2 mg of Rexulti, and doing better that way than he had done for the 13 years since he had his first psychotic break. I hope this helps someone. PS I know it sounds odd that juicing cilantro could cause an increase in psychosis, but cilantro is actually a powerful herb that has to be used with caution in large doses. A few people are even affected by the amounts that are sometimes used in food dishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) Today is Day 5 on Rexulti for me. This feels NOTHING like Abilify. From Day 1 I could tell that it was calming me down but as the days go on and it builds in my system I can start to see the antidepressant effect a lot more and it's even subtly stimulating above and beyond the Vyvanse or the Trintellix. I find this to calm my intrusive thoughts / ruminations as effectively as olanzapine and loxapine without unnecessary sedation. Abilify on the other hand was agitating from 2mg all the way until I gave up around 7.5mg. Oddly enough though while it has been very calming, it's almost entactogenic like ecstasy, could be the combination of meds that I'm taking, but I think this is the closest I've gotten to euphoria and positive vibes without actually being hypomanic. Worried and delighted at the same time. lol. I've taken Latuda, Saphris, Fanapt, Abilify, Zyprexa, Loxitane, and now Rexulti and Rexulti is by far my favorite. No side effects really that I can tell other than adrenergic side effects like mild orthostatic hypotension, reflex tachycardia. It's also making me more sociable which no other AAP has done for me. I'm more engaged with my coworkers during the day and the tasks at hand. I can finally focus on what's going on around me instead of my internal monologue. Edited November 20, 2017 by browri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Tonight will be my 13th dose of Rexulti. And my first one at 0.25mg. Dropping down from 0.5mg because while I seem to be adjusting to it really well, it's a pretty potent med. Kind of in your face really because it shuts off your adrenergic response pretty effectively but stimulates at the dopamine receptors at the same time. Strange feeling really. But I still like it overall despite that it's taken a while to get used to. Moving it from morning to evening also helped a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopamineSick Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 I'm on 2 mg of Rexulti and I have never noticed any tangible difference, yet my doctor is keeping me on it. I kind of feel bad because it's so expensive (and I'm also on Trintellix, another very expensive drug). I'm on Medicaid and don't work, so even though I don't pay out of pocket, I would still rather the money go to drugs that actually work for people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 17 minutes ago, DopamineSick said: I'm on 2 mg of Rexulti and I have never noticed any tangible difference, yet my doctor is keeping me on it. I kind of feel bad because it's so expensive (and I'm also on Trintellix, another very expensive drug). I'm on Medicaid and don't work, so even though I don't pay out of pocket, I would still rather the money go to drugs that actually work for people. Wow. 2mg and you don't even feel it? I feel like a whimp now barely being able to handle 0.5mg lol. I don't know how you can miss it. That adrenergic blocking is pretty potent. My copay for a 90-day of Rexulti will be like $180 but after the savings card will be $45 I think. For Trintellix the 90-day copay is $180 as well but the savings card makes it $30. I know though you can't use those savings cards on Medicare and Medicaid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopamineSick Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 32 minutes ago, browri said: Wow. 2mg and you don't even feel it? I feel like a whimp now barely being able to handle 0.5mg lol. I don't know how you can miss it. That adrenergic blocking is pretty potent. My copay for a 90-day of Rexulti will be like $180 but after the savings card will be $45 I think. For Trintellix the 90-day copay is $180 as well but the savings card makes it $30. I know though you can't use those savings cards on Medicare and Medicaid. I guess I'm just very treatment-resistant. Nothing seems to want to get in my brain. I should've asked my doctor about getting that Genesight test, although I don't know how much good that would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 19 hours ago, DopamineSick said: I guess I'm just very treatment-resistant. Nothing seems to want to get in my brain. I should've asked my doctor about getting that Genesight test, although I don't know how much good that would do. I could suggest an alternative actually. The thing about the Genesight test is that it doesn't actually measure anything in the brain to determine how your brain will respond to medications. It only determines which medications your body will metabolize properly. It looks at the CYP liver enzymes. So it can tell if you're a CYP2D6 rapid metabolizer and have to double your dose of antidepressants or something like that. Also, it can be pricey, and insurance often doesn't cover it. The alternative would be to do an at-home gene test like Ancestry.com or 23andme.com and then test the raw DNA data yourself. It's cheaper that way. Ancestry and 23andme are always running sales which keeps the cost at $99 or below. For the 23andme test, which package you opt for doesn't affect how much of your genome they test. You can just do the Ancestry test and do the health analysis yourself. The extra $99 only gets you reports. However Ancestry.com tests MORE of your genome overall than 23andme does. Then you can download your raw data from either of these sites and plug it into the Genetic Genie Detox Analysis. One thing to note is that the data from either of those sites isn't complete in regards to detox mutations tested. There are some mutations tested in the Ancestry.com test that aren't in the 23andme test and vice versa. The advantage of the Genesight test is that it tests almost every known detox mutation. So if you want to go this route and be thorough, it would be good to do both the Ancestry.com and the 23andme test and test the raw data for two separate reports that you can provide to your doctor. The other reason why doctors like to use the Genesight test is because it comes with reports that show which psych meds will work based on your mutations which a generic detox analysis won't do. Your pdoc would have to do the research on his own to determine medications that would work. The majority of the "value" in the case of Genesight and 23andme is in the reports they furnish you with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopamineSick Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 1 hour ago, browri said: I could suggest an alternative actually. The thing about the Genesight test is that it doesn't actually measure anything in the brain to determine how your brain will respond to medications. It only determines which medications your body will metabolize properly. It looks at the CYP liver enzymes. So it can tell if you're a CYP2D6 rapid metabolizer and have to double your dose of antidepressants or something like that. Also, it can be pricey, and insurance often doesn't cover it. The alternative would be to do an at-home gene test like Ancestry.com or 23andme.com and then test the raw DNA data yourself. It's cheaper that way. Ancestry and 23andme are always running sales which keeps the cost at $99 or below. For the 23andme test, which package you opt for doesn't affect how much of your genome they test. You can just do the Ancestry test and do the health analysis yourself. The extra $99 only gets you reports. However Ancestry.com tests MORE of your genome overall than 23andme does. Then you can download your raw data from either of these sites and plug it into the Genetic Genie Detox Analysis. One thing to note is that the data from either of those sites isn't complete in regards to detox mutations tested. There are some mutations tested in the Ancestry.com test that aren't in the 23andme test and vice versa. The advantage of the Genesight test is that it tests almost every known detox mutation. So if you want to go this route and be thorough, it would be good to do both the Ancestry.com and the 23andme test and test the raw data for two separate reports that you can provide to your doctor. The other reason why doctors like to use the Genesight test is because it comes with reports that show which psych meds will work based on your mutations which a generic detox analysis won't do. Your pdoc would have to do the research on his own to determine medications that would work. The majority of the "value" in the case of Genesight and 23andme is in the reports they furnish you with. Thanks for the info. I read that the Gensight test is free if you have Medicaid or Medicare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 22 hours ago, DopamineSick said: Thanks for the info. I read that the Gensight test is free if you have Medicaid or Medicare. Nice! I'm actually surprised by that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmaryland Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 On 11/29/2017 at 11:08 AM, DopamineSick said: Thanks for the info. I read that the Gensight test is free if you have Medicaid or Medicare. On 11/30/2017 at 10:03 AM, browri said: Nice! I'm actually surprised by that. I recently had it done and it was 100% covered by my Medicaid. The results were interesting. It found out that there is a significant gene-drug interaction with Rexulti, which I was on and at the max dose 4mg for 2 months, 5 months total treatment with Rexulti. I am a poor metabolizer of CYP2D6, which meant that I had increased risk for side effects and likely require a lower dose as my serum levels would be much higher than would be in a normal metabolizer. This also meant that I shouldn't take Paxil, whoops took that 3 different times for almost a year total, same goes for Prozac and Remeron. It goes to show you how the genetic test doesn't necessarily tell you which medication will work, but which medications will have the fewest and least severe adverse reactions based on your genotypes and phenotypes. Paxil worked great for me, but didn't go well with my bipolar and manic episodes. Rexulti at 3-4mg was great for bipolar depression but didn't do much for my mania or hypomania; I still needed seroquel to sleep. Once I got off it I realized how much it was helping with my bipolar depression. It was very tolerable, despite my serum levels probably being much higher due to my CYP2D6 poor metabolization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 14 hours ago, mmaryland said: I recently had it done and it was 100% covered by my Medicaid. The results were interesting. It found out that there is a significant gene-drug interaction with Rexulti, which I was on and at the max dose 4mg for 2 months, 5 months total treatment with Rexulti. I am a poor metabolizer of CYP2D6, which meant that I had increased risk for side effects and likely require a lower dose as my serum levels would be much higher than would be in a normal metabolizer. This also meant that I shouldn't take Paxil, whoops took that 3 different times for almost a year total, same goes for Prozac and Remeron. It goes to show you how the genetic test doesn't necessarily tell you which medication will work, but which medications will have the fewest and least severe adverse reactions based on your genotypes and phenotypes. Paxil worked great for me, but didn't go well with my bipolar and manic episodes. Rexulti at 3-4mg was great for bipolar depression but didn't do much for my mania or hypomania; I still needed seroquel to sleep. Once I got off it I realized how much it was helping with my bipolar depression. It was very tolerable, despite my serum levels probably being much higher due to my CYP2D6 poor metabolization. And this is the value in GeneSight folks. They have built their business around doing a saliva test that everyone else is already doing and then furnishing doctors with reports full of information that it would have taken that doctor HOURS to glean from raw genetic data through a manual process of pulling up and reading scientific studies PER SNP in your genome (which I will remind everyone is composed of 10 million SNPs, granted the doctor in this case would only be looking at ~30 of them for a detox analysis, but still). In the end, if your insurance will pay for it in full and you have had issues responding to certain medications, you should definitely do it. If insurance only partially covers it, and you end up coughing up $50-200 in coinsurance, then you might as well do genetic testing through AncestryDNA or 23andme who are going to test more of your genome and furnish you with more information than a company like GeneSight, which only cares about specific parts of your genome. If you don't have Medicare or Medicaid and your private insurance won't cover it in full, do the Ancestry test for the fun of it and use that data for the Detox Analysis at GeneticGenie. If there are any missing that might be suspect, you can get the 23andme test done and try the report with that data instead. If you want to start out doing just one of them, I would recommend Ancestry. They actually test more SNPs than 23andme does. So your GeneticGenie reports will be more complete with Ancestry data. Their AncestryDNA tools and overall historical information are much more thorough than the ancestry info provided by 23andme, which is generally speaking more technical. Additionally, Ancestry breaks down into more specific regions than 23andme does and that's because Ancestry overall has a much larger "pool" of genetic data for reference. Will point out one critical difference though between GeneSight and Ancestry/23andme speaking specifically about the USA but may be pertinent in other countries if GeneSight is available there: GeneSight is bound by HIPAA thus they are legally obligated to protect your genetic data in a fashion that is consistent with the rest of the medical industry. And your data is subject to doctor/patient confidentiality. Ancestry and 23andme on the other hand are only bound by their Privacy Policy, which they can change as they see fit unlike a law which is quite a bit more rigid. Additionally, law enforcement can subpoena Ancestry or 23andme for your genetic data. So as you can see there are risks that I had to put out there as a disclaimer. As for me and Rexulti, we're getting along just fine. Today is 6 weeks on the dot at 0.25mg and overall the decrease really helped. It doesn't help with outright mania but it has had a positive effect on my depression and it keeps my mood relatively level more akin to Lamictal than Depakote. That being said Rexulti and Depakote together seem to be a good mood-stabilizing combo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaloGirl66PartDeux Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) My GeneSight test came back mostly useless. Pdoc gave me a choice of Latuda or Vraylar As I keep telling him, probably losing my insurance soon, but he doesn't want me to worry about cost right now, he will give me samples. Now granted, I am the one that quit Lithium after a week because it wreaked havoc with my migraine meds. -M Edited May 9, 2018 by HaloGirl66PartDeux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persona_Is_Life Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 4 hours ago, HaloGirl66PartDeux said: My GeneSight test came back mostly useless. Pdoc gave me a choice of Latuda or Vraylar As I keep telling him, probably losing my insurance soon, but he doesn't want me to worry about cost right now, he will give me samples. Now granted, I am the one that quit Lithium after a week because it wreaked havoc with my migraine meds. -M Sunovion (Latuda) has a patient assistance program to help with med cost. If you're losing your coverage, it would be a good idea to contact them. Allergan (Vraylar) doesn't seem to have such a program. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaloGirl66PartDeux Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 15 minutes ago, Persona_Is_Life said: Sunovion (Latuda) has a patient assistance program to help with med cost. If you're losing your coverage, it would be a good idea to contact them. Allergan (Vraylar) doesn't seem to have such a program. Awesome to know. TY! Hopefully I can find another job but of course, there are other issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrensfolly Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 On 8/27/2015 at 2:55 AM, zsepthenne said: FINALLY, found a few others on Rexulti! I've been on it for 2 weeks now. Titrated up to 1mg about four days ago, and I can't believe it, but it's working. I know there's concern about it being a patent extender, but it doesn't come close to my previous experience with Abilify, which gave me awful akathesia and made me feel like I had windchimes in my head. In short I wouldn't throw it under the bus until you give it a try. My side effects have been very minimal so far. Anyone else have any side effects worth mentioning? Or any good results yet? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps working for me. So few meds work for my depression that I'm worried it'll end. Hey all, new poster. Treatment-resistant depression for...ever. Just tried Rexulti and am humbled & amazed to feel like myself again. Hanging at 1mg, felt a bit sleepless at more. Please note patent extenders are not solely that--typically they are an isomer (variant) of the original which are sort of the essential core of the drug, with fewer side effects. Still sucks that pharma does this, but for those who need the treatment it's a lifesaver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 9 hours ago, wrensfolly said: Hey all, new poster. Treatment-resistant depression for...ever. Just tried Rexulti and am humbled & amazed to feel like myself again. Hanging at 1mg, felt a bit sleepless at more. Please note patent extenders are not solely that--typically they are an isomer (variant) of the original which are sort of the essential core of the drug, with fewer side effects. Still sucks that pharma does this, but for those who need the treatment it's a lifesaver. Actually in this case brexpiprazole is structurally similar to aripiprazole but isn't itself a pro-drug or metabolite of aripiprazole. However, the chemical structure was likely designed after aripiprazole. It yielded very different results though. Sedating at lower doses and activating at higher ones. They ended up coming up with a drug that behaved more like Seroquel (what with the fact that Rexulti causes more weight gain than Abilify). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On 7/19/2019 at 4:25 PM, browri said: Actually in this case brexpiprazole is structurally similar to aripiprazole but isn't itself a pro-drug or metabolite of aripiprazole. However, the chemical structure was likely designed after aripiprazole. It yielded very different results though. Sedating at lower doses and activating at higher ones. They ended up coming up with a drug that behaved more like Seroquel (what with the fact that Rexulti causes more weight gain than Abilify). I say this like Rexulti is somehow a dysfunctional medication when it really isn't. It may cause slightly more weight gain than Abilify, but the apparent lack of comparable akathisia combined with the fact that it's (at least on paper) more effective for depressive and anxiety disorders than Abilify makes it a rising star --Blocking alpha 2 receptors increases serotonin and norepinephrine release. --Blocking alpha 1 receptors counteracts the upstream release of norepinephrine from alpha 2 antagonism and these two effects combined may explain its efficacy in anxiety, panic, and PTSD. --Partial yet near FULL agonist at 5HT1A receptors should have an antidepressant effect. --Blockade across the board at 5HT2 receptor family should improve depressive disorders and combined with alpha 1 antagonism should reduce akathisia. --5HT7 antagonism should have a positive impact on depression and negative symptoms of psychosis, but should also work to correct circadian rhythm issues --A more balanced intrinsic activity of 40/60 (activating/blocking) at D2 and D3 receptors should allow for more normal dopamine neurotransmission while dampening "surges". Because it's more of an antagonist than an agonist, this should increase dopamine release. So far, Rexulti has proven these effects in practice. My pdoc regards it more as an antidepressant and anxiolytic and uses it in low doses of 1mg or less in several patients he's currently treating. He has noted though that Rexulti is pretty consistent when it comes to weight gain. It isn't one of those where depending on the person you might gain or you might not. It's almost always a "gainer". So you would want to pair it with meds that don't cause weight gain (excluding SSRIs/SNRIs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjimjam Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 So we're certain Rexulti is worse for weight gain than Abilify? I might switch if that's the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 14 hours ago, mcjimjam said: So we're certain Rexulti is worse for weight gain than Abilify? I might switch if that's the case. I would say if you've been taking Rexulti and you have gained weight and it is bothersome then switching to Abilify may cause some weight loss.....MAY. not sure it's worth switching though because the efficacy of Rexulti in depressive and anxiety disorders exceeds that of Abilify and despite the weight gain it is more tolerable than Abilify for many. So that being said, switch if you think it's right for you. My pdoc says Rexulti weight gain is still nothing like weight gain from Seroquel or Zyprexa from what he's seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alotofhelpfrommyfriends Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 My insurance wants to charge the maximum for these ($500 for a 90-day supply). It would be the same price no matter the dosage. Does anyone know whether these can be split? That would cut the cost in half... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 45 minutes ago, alotofhelpfrommyfriends said: My insurance wants to charge the maximum for these ($500 for a 90-day supply). It would be the same price no matter the dosage. Does anyone know whether these can be split? That would cut the cost in half... Good RX will give you a coupon for a 90 day supply is about $40.00. They are on the Internet: https://www.goodrx.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeremonyNewOrder Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 58 minutes ago, alotofhelpfrommyfriends said: My insurance wants to charge the maximum for these ($500 for a 90-day supply). It would be the same price no matter the dosage. Does anyone know whether these can be split? That would cut the cost in half... My bottle says nothing about not cutting the pills in half so you probably can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 1 hour ago, notloki said: Good RX will give you a coupon for a 90 day supply is about $40.00. They are on the Internet: https://www.goodrx.com I only see the 90 day supplies as over $3,300 on the link you provided for Good RX when I searched rexulti. I would really like to have this coupon for $40 for a 90 supply. It would save a great deal of money if my pdoc prescribes this med for me. Can you provide a direct link to the rexulti Good RX page or a picture of what you found or anything? Maybe the deal is already gone? I appreciate any help! Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 2 hours ago, alotofhelpfrommyfriends said: My insurance wants to charge the maximum for these ($500 for a 90-day supply). It would be the same price no matter the dosage. Does anyone know whether these can be split? That would cut the cost in half... Have you tried the rexulti savings card? Found here..... https://www.rexulti.com/us/mdd/savings?ceid=10574&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brandedmdd_dtc&utm_term=rexultisavingscard-sitelink&utm_content=branded_textad_sitelink&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=Cj0KCQjww7HsBRDkARIsAARsIT6V1Iaq8h30RPEOfZH5w9sFK30P-TxQ4D4mCNlRXKXunVLX1ryC_bEaAljWEALw_wcB You can also check if you qualify for more assistance through their patient assistance program. I’m not sure of the income guidelines, but it’s worth a look. You can check eligibility here...... https://www.otsukapatientassistance.com/check-eligibility 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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