Posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 17:33:59
In reply to Re: Tardive dyskinesia help?! » LostBoyinNC1, posted by JonW on July 29, 2002, at 14:02:24
> > those little twitches are bad news. Make sure you tell your Pdoc about that. Thats from the dopamine blockade your getting from Geodon. Here is what you could do:
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> Hi lostboy, thanks for the advice. Actually, I'm also weaning off of Nardil right now and since my last reduction of the dose of Nardil my myoclonic jerks have gone away and I was able to increase my dose of Geodon to what I was taking before without a problem. I had the jerks before starting the Geodon but they got worse when I added the Geodon so I thought it was responsible for them. I'm so happy this is not the case because I absolutely love this drug! I also wrote Dr. Goldberg on this problem to get his opinion and he said that myoclonic jerks are a very common side-effect of Nardil.OK...yes twitches are a side effect of MAOIs and on MAOIs are nothing to be concerned about. I didnt know you were on the Nardil.
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> > 2) Tell your Pdoc about those little muscle pops and twitches ( do you happen to have a numb tongue from Geodon by any chance) and ask him if
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> No numb tongue.Thats good. I always get a numb tongue on these atypicals and my Pdoc says that bad. I know it feels bad too.
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> > Also, if your dx is bipolar why are you using an anti-psychotic as your main med? Why not a mood stabilizer? Mood stabilizers are much safer neurologically and are the drugs of choice for bipolar. If I was bipolar, Id be on a mood stabilizer not an atypical anti-psychotic, unless I was psychotic.
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> If you were bipolar you'd want to be on a drug that works :)
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> Actually, the atypicals are very commonly used by experienced pdocs in bipolar disorder. In europe, they're the first line agents. I also take depakote and neurontin and have been on several other classic mood stabilizers but they have been of little or no help. I hope to be able to discontinue my depakote and neurontin and see if I can tolerate moclobemide for my social phobia. Bipolar disorder is a hellish disease and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, so please think twice before discouraging anyone with this disorder from trying drugs that have the potential to give them a life.Yeah, I know. In the USA Zyprexa is formally FDA approved for mania in bipolar disorder. It seems many Pdocs are just switching over to atypicals to treat bipolars. I dont know if I agree with that, but to each his own. Bipolar is certainly a different illness than unipolar major depression or an anxiety disorder. Bipolars tend to have higher dopamine levels than depressives I read.
Still, if it was me and I was bipolar Id be trying mood stabilizers first and foremost and if that didnt work then Id do the atypical thing.
poster:LostBoyinNC1
thread:113828
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020725/msgs/114208.html