Latuda

Had my appointment today. I will be starting Latuda tonight at a low dose, 20 mg. Because of my medicine sensitivity, my doctor wants me to take the Latuda on an empty stomach, not with food, to start. Makes sense based on how Latuda works. Lithium got me through the week, but I am starting to feel its dehydrating effects, despite increasing my fluid intake significantly. The depression I got from being on Depakote has diminished quite a bit, and the lithium has picked me up some. Again, trying to be hopeful with this, so I hope Latuda will be something that will help me without any major side effects I can't tolerate. - Taygeta

New drug shows great promises and is expensive but fairly new.
Keep us posted.

Hi Cilly,

Yes. Expensive - just about any med with TV ads is through the roof, but fortunately right now I am on samples from my pdoc to ensure we see some positive results before she writes a script. So far, so good. Minimal SEs, just some dizziness now and then, some clouded thoughts now and then, and that's about it. Today I felt better than I have in several months, almost a little bit of a high at a few points today, so Latuda could be working. My experience with the meds is that even though they might say it could take 3 to 4 weeks for you to feel results, I often get results after just a few days or a week - either good or bad. One thing I didn't have this morning was the awful anxiety I usually have when I first get up - that is a relief in itself. Thanks for your encouragement! -Taygeta

one day at a time.

Thanks, Laurenne!

I will google it. Much appreciated. - Taygeta

Taygeta, this is good news. I am glad the Latuda is working well for you and you had a good week since using it.
It sounds like you've found a med that works well for you

UA

UA

Also, I made an appointment with an allergist, so I am going to see what this NSAID allergy is all about, hopefully. I know I have allergies to cats, dogs, various tree pollens, ragweed, and a handful of meds other than NSAIDs, so it will be interesting to find out what else I am allergic too as well as what light the allergist can shed on my NSAID reaction. I actually would not even have made that appointment except for the bounce back Latuda has given me. I've been putting it off for whatever reason for months and months. - Taygeta

The appointment is July 20th. They told me to expect to be there at least for an hour 1/2 to 2 hours, so I am expecting some allergy testing to be happening.

Was kind of funny when I called for the appointment. The receptionist asked me what kind of symptoms I was having, mentioning things like sinus problems and stuffy head, and I had to tell her, no those aren't the issues I'm dealing with, it was anaphylaxis‎ from taking one NSAID, and that I was rushed to the ER. There was a bit of a pause on her end after that, lol.

No, I'm never a normal patient it seems, lol. Always something to make the medical community scratch their heads and think about. Will post again after the appointment to let everyone know how it went. Thanks. - Taygeta

I just want to let you know that if you google latuda and go to it's website there is a coupon for it.
You can get the script for 25.00. It would have been 75.00 with my insurance.
Hope this helped someone.
Linda

hi....
Hope you are feeling well. Yes, I am on it.
I was on 120 mg for 6 years. I developed
Diabetes type 2 out of nowhere. No history
in my family and I was never a candidate to
be predisposed to it. I did some research and
sure enough, this can raise your blood glucose.
I believe now, it is listed in it's side effects.

I swiftly took myself off it (told my PDoc) and she
didn't agree that the Latuda did this. I was on such
a high dose. Anyhow, went without any for about
two months and my anxiety and panic returned
with a vengance. I couldn't live like that.

I slowly went back on the Latuda, this time starting
at 20mg. and worked up to 40mg where relief finally came.
That is the dose I have now been on for a year.

The diabetes never changed during all these changes. Thankfully,
I was able to control it with just metformin tablet 2000mg/day and
diet and lifestyle changes. All is well once again this way.

I do believe it to be the Latuda that put me in this state. Like I said-no
family history and I never showed signs of it in my life before-but who really knows.
The two months I was off of it were not long enough, I believe, for my body
to correct itself or if in fact there is a chance of correcting it. This, quite possibly
will be something I will always have. Thanking God that I am able to control
it as I am.

Honestly, I was a bit overweight so the diabetes is more of a possibility for me.
I've since lost quite a bit of weight and exercise daily along with omitting sugar
from my diet. This was not easy at all for me but I knew I had to do it. I have
already lost feeling in my feet from diabetic neuropathy, so that really frightened me
which made me take this very seriously.

All in all, this has been a blessing in disguise. I have drastically changed my eating habbits
and exercise and I have never felt better.

Do I think it was the Latuda that did this? I think it contributed to it. My diet
was not so healthy and I didn't exercise as often so this contributed as well.

Just be sure to monitor your sugars if you are on it. It is only recently that Latuda
has stressed this in their warnings.

I hope this helped. I was on such a high dose of it from my first PDOC and my new PDOC
just kept it the same because it was working. Mentally I was in far worse shape when
I went on it-which is not the case anymore. Thankfully 40 and not 120 works for me now.
Who knows if I would have been able to control diabetes at 120mgs of Latuda? I don't care
to test it.

I hope this helps somebody.
Peace always,
Linda

Hi KellyinCali,

I don't remember what dose I eventually had on Latuda, but like you, I began to get Akathesia symptoms. I ended up stopping Latuda, went through a couple other "recent" meds, then finally went to Rexulti. I am on lamotrigine, 200 mg per day right now, and it has helped immensely. I also take .25 Rexulti daily; I initially had muscle aches from it, so went off it, then back on it, etc. Finally, I realized it was a good assist with the lamotrigine, so I figured I'd see if I could get over the aches being an issue. Had about two weeks of the muscle issues, and they diminished some or I just got used to them, so they are tolerable now. Sorry you cannot take lamotrigine. It has worked wonders for me. I had a genesite test done, and that showed me and my PDOC a lot about why ADs were not working for me, and it showed the meds that were most likely to help. I would highly suggest having that done if you have not. It is a good guideline for meds. In fact, other than the small amount of rexulti daily, I pretty much have given up on ADs as almost all of them are "bad" for me based on genesite. As well, the test showed I had a very low likelihood of developing the rash from lamotrigine; and I have never had any signs of a rash moving up from 25mg a day to the 200 a day I take now. I am extremely sensitive to med side-effects as you are and have been a "challenging" patient as well. I have probably run through at least 15-20 different meds over the past 5 years or so. Hope this helps.

Taygeta

Hi KellyinCali,

I am sorry you are experiencing this. I am quite familiar with the "unbearable." Had too much of it myself over the years. They say the rash from lamotrigine will happen pretty quickly. My Pdoc told me any rash at all that appeared, I should let her know. I was fortunate it did not happen as I don't know what I would do without lamotrigine. I have tried lithium - worked except I was on the toilet constantly, so I had to stop it within a few weeks. If you are not hit with major side-effects, lithium might be worth a try. I am a hypomanic bipolar, so the ups are not irrational highs. The depression part though destroys me. You may be SSRI resistant - I have a genotype that does not process anything with SSRI ADs. That is why I get few positive results, and I am mainly hit with the side-effects. I will never go on an SSRI again. How many different meds have you tried so far? Have you gone toward those that are not ADs, but are antipsychotics, anti-epileptics, etc? There are a number of them used for off-label purposes. I think lamotrigine is one of those. I would seriously suggest having the genesight tests done. You will learn a lot from that. You do not have to pay the 6K or so they charge because they have plans to assist with payment. I only paid about 360.00 for the test, and it was about the best 300 I have ever spent. I believe some people can get it for free or under 100.00. You need to have a PDOC that believes in it though to have it work successfully. Some doctors think it is rubbish, but since it matched my meds so closely with how I reacted to them - it immediately made me and my PDOC believers. Look up GeneSight on google. The test showed me that lamotrigine was in a favorable column for me and it also showed I was unlikely to experience the lamotrigine rash. It was dead on accurate with both of those results. Wish I could help you more than just telling you my experiences. Always open to discussion with you. Do you have a lot of anxiety? I also have that - part of the whole bipolar thing - and we have pretty much put that in its place with clonazepam. Works much better than xanax, and stays in your system for a longer period of time. Only drawback - you are likely to get hooked on it - I know I am - and if I ever get off of it, I will have to do it in an incremental system. I am able to vary the dose per day though. Some days I need 4 of them. Other days only a couple. Some days only 1. It really is tied into how much anxiety I have. I would rather deal with the clonazepam "addiction" than the horrible anxiety I used to experience - including panic attacks. My best to you! Taygeta