Psychotropic medication discussion thread

So, I went to see my doctor today, and she tried swapping out my Sanval for Xanax, though it was a bit of a struggle. I guess she just couldn't quite figure out what else to prescribe without jumping straight to the heavy-duty stuff... and that’s basically it. Still absolutely zero progress on my end.🤷What even is Xanax? I've never heard of that medication before.

shadowbear9 said:So, I went to see my doctor today, and she tried swapping out my Sanval for Xanax, though it was a bit of a struggle. I guess she just couldn't quite figure out what else to prescribe without jumping straight to the heavy-duty stuff... and that’s basically it. Still absolutely zero progress on my end.🤷What even is Xanax? I've never heard of that medication before.

So, look, I actually have quite a bit of experience with Xanax. It isn't as aggressive as Sanval, but on the bright side, the side effect profile is much better. For me, it doesn't trigger those weird parasomnias like Sanval used to. I take it strictly on an empty stomach; personally, I don't eat anything at least four hours before hitting the sack. Once I take it, I head straight to bed to try and drift off—no TV, no reading, no scrolling through my phone or browsing the web. That's the rule. To me, it feels a bit slower than Sanval. With Sanval, I could feel it kicking in within 15 minutes, whereas Xanax takes about 30. I usually stick to 20 mg, though I occasionally take a break here and there just so I don't build up a tolerance. And in the morning? I don't get that bizarre, foggy amnesia feeling because Xanax leaves my system relatively quickly.

Gerald Nelson3 said:Has anyone here tried using Kvetiapin? I’m curious about your experiences with low doses—specifically around 50 mg. How does it actually feel? Does it affect your daily functioning much, and are there significant side effects like nausea or stomach issues? Thanks!

Keep in mind that Kvetiapin is essentially just Seroquel—it’s the same thing as Q-pin or Loquen. I am currently on Q-pin myself, and I started out at that same 50 mg threshold. Initially, I dealt with intense drowsiness, a sort of mental fog, and bouts of dizziness, though those symptoms eventually tapered off after about two weeks. If you take it in the evening, it
certainly helps you drift off to sleep. For me, taking 25 mg three times throughout the day helped mitigate the side effects enough to get through my daily routine.
Honestly, the medication is excellent; it was the very thing that pulled me out of some truly dark places.

Timothy Wood38 said:So, look, I actually have quite a bit of experience with Xanax. It isn't as aggressive as Sanval, but on the bright side, the side effect profile is much better. For me, it doesn't trigger those weird parasomnias like Sanval used to. I take it strictly on an empty stomach; personally, I don't eat anything at least four hours before hitting the sack. Once I take it, I head straight to bed to try and drift off—no TV, no reading, no scrolling through my phone or browsing the web. That's the rule. To me, it feels a bit slower than Sanval. With Sanval, I could feel it kicking in within 15 minutes, whereas Xanax takes about 30. I usually stick to 20 mg, though I occasionally take a break here and there just so I don't build up a tolerance. And in the morning? I don't get that bizarre, foggy amnesia feeling because Xanax leaves my system relatively quickly.

I can already tell this won't work for me. It's weaker, there are only 14 pills in the pack, and I'm already avoiding food before bed—not that I usually do, since hunger tends to wake me up anyway. Plus, it works much slower; if I take Ambien, I can be in bed within 10 minutes, but with this, I’ll just have to wait. Maybe I'll use it for a month or two just to wean myself off the Ambien, and then I might go back to it. Honestly, I don't have any side effects from Ambien, so it's perfect for me, but I definitely need a break to get used to being without it. Thanks for sharing your experience! I was really struggling because I wasn't sure what would help; I felt like I had already used the strongest stuff available, so I was worried about what else could possibly work if I became dependent on those.

shadowbear9 said:I take them, and I happened to be switching both my pill and my antidepressant at the exact same time, so I suppose everything just collided at once. I had a sort of breakdown that lasted maybe ten days... but there is no way I am stopping the birth control; that's far more important to me than this stupid Lexapro. The only thing is, I haven't been able to eat anything at all since everything got mixed up, and who knows what caused that... I know it wasn't from the old medication since I've been on the new one, but I spent a whole week stuck in bed unable to eat. I'm seeing a psychiatrist this Friday to check things out. I wonder if it's the Lexapro, or if it's the pills, which I'll be switching back to the old brand soon enough...

Man, I wish I couldn't eat. How am I supposed to drop these 30 extra pounds when it's all because of the Seroquel?
I recently managed to get off it, but my appetite is still through the roof. The only thing I don't have are those insane sugar cravings. But I can't even attempt a diet.😛Because that means eating tiny portions, and honestly, I am starving.😛
Also, let me ask you guys—what's your libido like, on a scale of one to ten? For me, it's like once a month, obviously right around ovulation. I don't even have a boyfriend right now, so it doesn't really matter for the time being.

Robin Hernandez8 said:Yeah, tell me about it... I'm on 45 mg of Mirzaten and I have definitely put on quite a bit of weight from it.

I have to ask, how much Zoloft are you taking alongside that Mirtazapine? My own approach was quite different; I started Zoloft and then just take a tiny 7 mg dose of Mirtazapine at night strictly to knock myself out. It strikes me as somewhat excessive to be juggling Sanval, Cerson, and a full 45 mg of Mirtazapine all at once—honestly, do you even manage to wake up at all?😕

Jason Vaughn482 said:I have to ask, how much Zoloft are you taking alongside that Mirtazapine? My own approach was quite different; I started Zoloft and then just take a tiny 7 mg dose of Mirtazapine at night strictly to knock myself out. It strikes me as somewhat excessive to be juggling Sanval, Cerson, and a full 45 mg of Mirtazapine all at once—honestly, do you even manage to wake up at all?😕

Seriously though, I feel like this person is just eating pills by the handful. 😁

Honestly, I’m just gonna pop my antipsychotics and finally catch some decent sleep... man, it feels so good, especially since I haven't had a real night's rest in forever

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/sleep/t2233.gif

I usually take my Zoloft in the morning. It just... it doesn't really play nice with sleep if I take it later.
I’ve been having such a hard time actually getting any rest lately. My current nightly routine involves 10 mg of Ambien, 45 mg of Remeron, 10 mg of Xanax, and 50 mg of Seroquel.
And honestly? Even that isn't doing much anymore. Sometimes I'll swap out the Xanax for Ativan instead. I guess that combination works a little better for me on certain nights.

Robin Hernandez8 said:I usually take my Zoloft in the morning. It just... it doesn't really play nice with sleep if I take it later.
I’ve been having such a hard time actually getting any rest lately. My current nightly routine involves 10 mg of Ambien, 45 mg of Remeron, 10 mg of Xanax, and 50 mg of Seroquel.
And honestly? Even that isn't doing much anymore. Sometimes I'll swap out the Xanax for Ativan instead. I guess that combination works a little better for me on certain nights.

Oh, fantastic. So today, she actually tried to patronize me, implying that I'm taking way too much medication when I'm really only taking 2 mg before bed... I don't know, it was almost as if I had told her I was popping 20 mg at once. I swear, I always seem to end up with these totally irrational doctors.

shadowbear9 said:Oh, fantastic. So today, she actually tried to patronize me, implying that I'm taking way too much medication when I'm really only taking 2 mg before bed... I don't know, it was almost as if I had told her I was popping 20 mg at once. I swear, I always seem to end up with these totally irrational doctors.

Well, I mean, I guess that's because 2 mg all at once is actually quite a hefty dose for Melatonin. You're doing 0.5 mg four times a day, right?

Robin Hernandez8 said:Well, I mean, I guess that's because 2 mg all at once is actually quite a hefty dose for Melatonin. You're doing 0.5 mg four times a day, right?

I take 2mg before bed. I guess if I had the 0.25 mg pills, it would be 12 tablets, but since I have the 0.5 mg ones, it's 4; and if I had the 1mg version, then it would just be 2.

shadowbear9 said:I take 2mg before bed. I guess if I had the 0.25 mg pills, it would be 12 tablets, but since I have the 0.5 mg ones, it's 4; and if I had the 1mg version, then it would just be 2.

Honestly, misar acts pretty much the same as xanax. There is xanax SR available in 1 mg and 2 mg doses... so, I guess, it might be worth asking your doctor to prescribe that instead if they're willing? Because taking 4 misar at 0.5 mg feels a bit off, even though—and I know how this goes—it ends up being the exact same thing anyway.
Maybe even just one xanax SR at 1 mg would be enough to knock you out.

Robin Hernandez8 said:Honestly, misar acts pretty much the same as xanax. There is xanax SR available in 1 mg and 2 mg doses... so, I guess, it might be worth asking your doctor to prescribe that instead if they're willing? Because taking 4 misar at 0.5 mg feels a bit off, even though—and I know how this goes—it ends up being the exact same thing anyway.
Maybe even just one xanax SR at 1 mg would be enough to knock you out.

I really wonder how much an extended-release formula will actually help with sleep. Since it's designed for slow release, it's meant to be taken in the morning so it lingers throughout the day, but when it comes to actually inducing sleep at night...🤷

I suppose I should mention how absolutely wrecked I feel... has anyone else ever woken up in the middle of the night, shivering uncontrollably because they were convinced it was negative eighty degrees outside? My entire existence seemed to revolve around nothing but thoughts of hot cocoa, cold milk, or maybe an iced tea... though, looking back, I can't tell if that was reality or just some feverish hallucination. Of course, by tomorrow morning, it’ll probably be a sweltering 100 degrees here.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I recall reading the fine print on one of my medications—apparently, I shouldn't be mixing it with anything containing acetylsalicylic acid, and since I have some aspirin on hand, I'm feeling a bit stuck. What am I supposed to do now??
Should I just push through and take it anyway? Even if this turns out to be the H1N1 virus, I don't plan on giving up that easily!! 😠🙂 I think I'll just go take my dose of heptanone and hope to god that little bit of poison manages to defeat this stupid virus.

Robin Hernandez8 said:Honestly, misar acts pretty much the same as xanax. There is xanax SR available in 1 mg and 2 mg doses... so, I guess, it might be worth asking your doctor to prescribe that instead if they're willing? Because taking 4 misar at 0.5 mg feels a bit off, even though—and I know how this goes—it ends up being the exact same thing anyway.
Maybe even just one xanax SR at 1 mg would be enough to knock you out.

Well, I honestly don't know; so far, nobody has ever even mentioned those antipsychotics you all keep discussing. They just keep hitting me with these sedatives and hypnotics... and if they don't work, it's because it's only 0.25 mg, which wouldn't even put my cat to sleep, let alone me, so what am I supposed to do? I just increase the dose until I finally pass out. I barely managed to convince them to give me 0.5 mg, and now I can finally take 1 mg or 2 mg and get some decent sleep...
Now that I've seen how Zana works, I have absolutely no clue why they gave it to me if it's weaker than Sanval... especially since I already told them that even Sanval wasn't doing much anymore. My biggest issue, though, is that they switch my psychiatrist every single damn time. I am certainly not going to sit there and recite my entire insomnia saga from A to Z to every new doctor who walks through the door.🙄

So, I was totally spiraling on Sanval and stuff, but ever since my shrink put me on 0.25 mg of olanzapine at night, I’ve been sleeping like a baby for a whole week now.
I’m talking about years of absolutely crushing hypnotics—just constant Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Rivotril, Normabay, you name it...
It's only been one week on this new antipsychotic! Honestly, even I can't believe it...

Matthew White4 said:So, I was totally spiraling on Sanval and stuff, but ever since my shrink put me on 0.25 mg of olanzapine at night, I’ve been sleeping like a baby for a whole week now.
I’m talking about years of absolutely crushing hypnotics—just constant Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Rivotril, Normabay, you name it...
It's only been one week on this new antipsychotic! Honestly, even I can't believe it...

Wait, so you were taking 10 mg of Sanval along with all those other pills and none of it actually worked for you? (I know I went through the exact same thing.)
Does that olanzapine require insurance coverage or is it something out of pocket?

Robin Hernandez8 said:Wait, so you were taking 10 mg of Sanval along with all those other pills and none of it actually worked for you? (I know I went through the exact same thing.)
Does that olanzapine require insurance coverage or is it something out of pocket?

Olanzapine is just the generic version of Zyprexa... I'm assuming the dose is 2.5 mg, which would be half of a 5 mg pill. And honestly, I'm not sure if my insurance covers the full cost of the prescription.