Psychotropic medication discussion thread

James Ramirez10 said:So, how can you actually tell if depression is hereditary? What are the signs that it's running in the family?

boldowl88 said:My sister, who is in her 50s, has been on 2mg of Risperdal for about three months now (down from 4mg). She also takes one Fevarin tablet and medication for blood pressure, specifically Cilazil. Even though she sleeps 8–9 hours, she struggles with intense morning fatigue, difficulty waking up, and general sluggishness. On top of that, she’s dealing with constant leg tremors. During the first few months, her doctor prescribed an anti-Parkinsonian med to help with the twitching. It helped slightly, but the doctor told her to take it only "as needed," even though the tremors never stop. Before this current regimen, she was on older medications after being hospitalized at a psychiatric facility about a year ago. Those didn't work, so she switched to the more expensive Risperdal, which required approval from her insurance provider. This whole cycle of antipsychotics and antidepressants has been going on for about eighteen months. Currently, she's functioning okay, but her focus is shot—she can't concentrate on a book for more than thirty minutes or sit through a movie longer than ninety. I would truly appreciate any advice based on your own experiences or what you've seen with people you know.
She sees her psychiatrist once a month, but those visits are mostly just to get her prescriptions refilled. There isn't any actual psychotherapy involved, and she insists she doesn't need it. What have your experiences been with this kind of setup? Thanks in advance.

fadedbear92 said:I actually brought this up with my doctor, and they mentioned that women are often switched over to Prozac during pregnancy because it's supposedly the safest bet for the baby. So, the possibility is definitely THERE!

p.s. My mom unintentionally caused me some harm, but my dad just checked out—all criticism,
zero encouragement... though, you know how it goes, that kind of thing usually stems from how their own parents raised them... we could go down that rabbit hole, but why bother...

Larry Thomas58 said:Don't bother asking about either—they're just addictive. Stick to beer instead.

boldowl88 said:My sister, who is in her 50s, has been on 2mg of Risperdal for about three months now (down from 4mg). She also takes one Fevarin tablet and medication for blood pressure, specifically Cilazil. Even though she sleeps 8–9 hours, she struggles with intense morning fatigue, difficulty waking up, and general sluggishness. On top of that, she’s dealing with constant leg tremors. During the first few months, her doctor prescribed an anti-Parkinsonian med to help with the twitching. It helped slightly, but the doctor told her to take it only "as needed," even though the tremors never stop. Before this current regimen, she was on older medications after being hospitalized at a psychiatric facility about a year ago. Those didn't work, so she switched to the more expensive Risperdal, which required approval from her insurance provider. This whole cycle of antipsychotics and antidepressants has been going on for about eighteen months. Currently, she's functioning okay, but her focus is shot—she can't concentrate on a book for more than thirty minutes or sit through a movie longer than ninety. I would truly appreciate any advice based on your own experiences or what you've seen with people you know.
She sees her psychiatrist once a month, but those visits are mostly just to get her prescriptions refilled. There isn't any actual psychotherapy involved, and she insists she doesn't need it. What have your experiences been with this kind of setup? Thanks in advance.

ruggedlynx30 said:So, what actually happens if I just stop taking my antipsychotic—specifically Seroquel—after being on it for seven months following a diagnosis of transient acute psychotic disorder? Like, does this stuff actually create a dependency or something? And am I going to run into withdrawal symptoms if I quit cold turkey? Honestly, the drowsiness from this medication is killing me—I can’t get enough sleep, everything feels totally muted and dull, my jaw keeps cramping up, and I feel like my entire personality has shifted... there's just no spark left in life anymore. I basically feel like a houseplant at this point, you know? But man, I just want to feel clear-headed and live my life again. Is there anyone here who actually knows the medical side of this?

granitefalcon26 said:I haven't worked directly with patients on Risperdal or Rispolept myself since they're newer options. I can say, though, that those tremors could definitely be leftovers from her previous treatment—maybe something like Moditen. On the flip side, she probably was taking Aketon to try and dampen those movements.
It takes some time for Rispolept to really kick in. Usually, doctors prescribe Rispolept for chronic schizophrenia cases where other treatments just haven't cut it.
It sounds like she's just in that transition phase toward a new medication, which will likely start working better for her soon.
Since it's Rispolept Consta, it's administered via an injection. The patient visits their doctor every three weeks to get the shot.
Basically, what used to be Moditen Depo is now Rispolept Consta. It's a much better version with fewer side effects.
I've seen one of my patients improve immensely on this kind of therapy; they even went back to work. Another patient is seeing similar progress too.👍

wiredharbor18 said:As far as I know, Risperdal is used to treat schizophrenic psychosis, and that twitching is a known side effect of the medication.
Since you didn't specify the diagnosis, I'm assuming we're looking at schizophrenic depression.
I don't have direct experience with this specific situation, but speaking from my own journey (dealing with anxious depression and panic attacks), it took me a long time—over two years of medication and therapy—to reach a level where my concentration felt satisfactory.
In any case, you might find better insight from someone who has dealt with a similar clinical profile, or perhaps you could dig through other threads here to see if anyone else has shared a similar case.
Best regards,

boldowl88 said:If I understand correctly, she would be transitioning from Risperdal to injections. So, this therapy isn't meant to taper her off these meds entirely, but rather serves as a bridge to the injectable version. It sounds like her doctor hasn't discussed this specific plan with her yet. Regarding the tremors, if we're talking about Cogentin, I couldn't recall if it was particularly effective; they were just told to take it as needed. One more question: based on your experience, how long after starting Risperdal does the switch to injections typically happen? And does she continue taking Paxil alongside the injections? Best regards.

wiredharbor18 said:As far as I know, Risperdal is used to treat schizophrenic psychosis, and that twitching is a known side effect of the medication.
Since you didn't specify the diagnosis, I'm assuming we're looking at schizophrenic depression.
I don't have direct experience with this specific situation, but speaking from my own journey (dealing with anxious depression and panic attacks), it took me a long time—over two years of medication and therapy—to reach a level where my concentration felt satisfactory.
In any case, you might find better insight from someone who has dealt with a similar clinical profile, or perhaps you could dig through other threads here to see if anyone else has shared a similar case.
Best regards,

boldowl88 said:If I understand correctly, she would be transitioning from Risperdal to injections. So, this therapy isn't meant to taper her off these meds entirely, but rather serves as a bridge to the injectable version. It sounds like her doctor hasn't discussed this specific plan with her yet. Regarding the tremors, if we're talking about Cogentin, I couldn't recall if it was particularly effective; they were just told to take it as needed. One more question: based on your experience, how long after starting Risperdal does the switch to injections typically happen? And does she continue taking Paxil alongside the injections? Best regards.

granitefalcon26 said:There's no such thing as "schizophrenic depression." Those are two completely different conditions.😉

Morgan Long49 said:You can't just walk in here and claim Zoloft is "amazing" as if that applies to everyone.
If you have any actual examples where it worked wonders—whether it was your own experience, a parent's, a grandparent's, or anyone else's—that's fine, but it doesn't mean it's a magic bullet for everybody.
In my case, it certainly wasn't a success, and it might not work for her either.
At the end of the day, we all react differently to medication.

(No hard feelings)

granitefalcon26 said:unknown

That’s exactly what I’ve been saying all along. It's all about getting some downtime and recharging.unknownHere’s a recipe for fighting off depression that actually works.

Kenneth Scott41 said:I initially started on Zoloft, but I found it just wasn't a good fit for my system, so my doctor decided to switch things up. I've transitioned over to Paxil now, which has actually been quite effective and seems to be helping me significantly, though there is this one persistent issue that’s been weighing on my mind. I find myself wondering about it quite often... essentially, it comes down to a complete lack of sexual interest and some issues with impotence.

wiredharbor18 said:Look, I am well aware they are different illnesses.
I didn't necessarily know the precise clinical terminology, but I do know there are cases where depression and schizophrenia occur together, which is why I reached that conclusion based on the medications being discussed.

Now, I’m certainly no psychiatrist, so I don't claim to be an expert on all these nuances and specific diagnostic labels, but here is a link regarding something similar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective_disorder

Take care,😉