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psychotic medicines

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Q: Can a Schizopheric prescribe anti-psychotic medicines to other psychotics ?
I mean already qualified Psychiatrist who is under medication & improved

A: A qualified and licenced psychiatrist can of course prescribe drugs even though he is a recovered psychotic Patient.Can’t the doctor who recovers from flu treat another patient with flu?!

Q: Are anti-psychotic medicines really dangerous to take?
I was prescribed Abilify, but started looking at all the side effects and I am scared to stay on it including tardive dyskinesia and other serious side effects. Do you know anything on this subject? Are they dangerous to try?

A: please don’t read too much into side effects of meds as no matter what it is they will scare you. take a look at asprin and see that can scare you just as much. I am on abilify and it works great for me. just simple make a note of the side effects and if at any time you feel you might have them then tell your doc. if you have bipolar try this link it has almost every med you can think of for bipolar and what is good bad ect ect.

Q: Can Acute Schizophrenia-Like Psychotic Disorder be cured with natural medicines?

A: NO. Although I would encourage the person with this diagnosis to take advantage of any natural methods available it would be with the very close supervision of their doctor. Natural remedies can have bad reactions with pharmaceuticals so complete transparency to doctor and pharmacist is an absolute must. There are non herbal supports like accupunture that could support treatment without worries of negative interactions.

Q: Is anybody here on Psychotic Medicines ?

A: not me thank God

Q: ifyour on psychotic medicines, and taking clodepine and you drink alot of beer everyday how does it affect you
my boyfriend, or maybe ex boyfriend, drinks beer alot everyday, he also is on high blood pressure pills. clodepine, and pyscotic pills. along with who knows how many others. what will happen to him mentally and physically? will it cause him to have manic episodes? or worse? please answer seriously, I worry about him either going manic bad where someone could get hurt, or worse dieing..

A: Drinking while you’re on psychotropic medication as well as blood pressure medication is a recipe for disaster. I can’t begin to list the possible problems that this can cause. Not to mention the damage it’s doing to his liver and kidneys. Tell your b/f that if he doesn’t get help with his drinking, you’re not going to stand around and watch him destroy himself. I also would be concerned for your safety here. His drinking could certainly cause his mental condition to become very unstable. You’re wise to be concerned about this. See if you can convince him to talk to his doctor about it or to an alcoholism counselor. If you can’t, you may have to consider leaving him for your own safety. Sorry I can’t be more positive here. I wish you (and him) the best.

Q: Are there any side effects of anti-depressant or anti-psychotic medicines?
I went to a skin specialist for hand sweating problem (hyperhidrosis) and he gave me anti-depressant medicine named “LEVOPRAID” for 10days 1 tablet each night so i was just wondering that will there be any side effect for taking anti-depressent medicine for 10 days without having any depression. I didn’t got any cure from it and it is also mentioned at this page that anti-depressent medicines is out-dated theory to cure hyperhidrosis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperhidrosis

A: those sorts of medication were probably given to you in a VERY small dosage…… sometimes the prescripe antidrpressents for IBS as it relaxes the stomache…… smiliarly to someone with a bad back…..

they were prescribed probably to help with the nerves related to your hyperhidrosis, and will have no longe term effect on your health physically or mentally.

Q: what are some types of anti psychotic medicine. and whats the difference between each of them.?
even things as like gaining or losing weight. feeling tired.
i am thinking about getting on some but i want to research them first and see what the effects are.

A: First off you can’t just decide to get yourself on some.
You need to be diagnosed with an actual psychotic disorder such as Schizophrenia.
Then it’s the right medication for your symptoms.

MANY of the medications have the same side effects with many being worse than the actual disorder such as Parkinson which is the tremors.
Rigors which is where your whole body cramps up.
Weight gain.
Increase in appetite.
Dry mouth that can not be moistened.
Pill Rolling which is where your hands and fingers keep on moving like your rolling a pill.
And these are the COMMON side effects.

Sufferers that need to take these types of medications hate the side effects and can be so distressed by them they stop taking their medication.

Q: What anti psychotic medicine has the least side effects?
Which antipsychotic medication can i take for schizoprenia paranoia ( fear of people) which doesn’t cause nervousness or depression at higher dose. Currently i am taking 4mg stelizine but if i increase it, it has has these side effect. I have tried geodon, abilify, zyprexa, and few others but they had bad side effects.I haven’t tried seroquel or some of the older drugs.

Thank You

A: This is definitely a question that you should ask you prescribing doctor. He/she went to school for many years in order to diagnose and help you. Taking the word of other fellow sufferers will not help you since this illness is so nonspecific. Good question, see your doc and good luck.

Q: Is it common to be put on anti psychotic medicine when you are bi polar?

A: Yes, I’m on the anti psychotic called Seroquel for bi polar. And to be honest, I didn’t know how much it helped me until I stopped taking it for weight gain. That was a mistake. When I quit I became very depressed and agitated and basically felt like crap. Then I started taking it again and I could easily tell the difference. I felt better. While medicine does not cure everything, it sure helps out a lot. I also take xanax for anxiety, which is a big help in emergency situation

Q: Is anyone here on any type of anti-psychotic medicine or know someone that is?
If so, what are you on and what disorder do you have that you use it for? My doctor wants to try me on Abilify for bipolar, but I am scared to try it. Any thoughts?….positive or negative thoughts welcome.

A: Abilify is very intense. I had a negative experience with it as I did Geodon, a similar medication. Don’t be scared by my words, I’m just one person who’s taken them and they just didn’t work. However, when they do work, they’re effective. Try them. You harm yourself more if you don’t. I blame my doctor for the Geodon one; he bumped me up too high too fast, though he said that was the right way. The Abilify, also the doctor. He didn’t take me off of it because he was taknig marijuana…Yeah, shrinks can suck. My experiences (for both) involved dizziness, nausia, fatigue, and appetite issues. But those are the most common side effects, any medication can cause them. That’s the risk you take with any psychiatric med. Been on others? This should be nothing new then. First time? Best way to start, a strong medication first shows you how you will react to different kinds. As for the diagnosis, I’m bipolar too. So, coming from a fellow bipolar…go for it!

Q: What is the medicine for Psychotic persons?
Can you please name some medications used for people that become severely depressed and psycotic?

A: Antipsychotics-thes come in two types, typicals (older meds) and atypicals:
Examples are…
typicals: thorazine, mellaril, haldol, orap
atypicals: zyprexa, risperdal, geodon, abilify, seroquel, clozaril
These work on decreasing dopamine in certain parts of the brain.

Antidepressants work by increasing levels of serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine, depending on the med. They include meds like…

SSRIs: Prozac, paxil, zoloft, celexa, lexapro, luvox
NSRI: Effexor, Cymbalta
DNRIs Wellbutrin
Other: Serzone, Remeron
Tricyclics (old): Elavil, Pamelor, clomipramine, imipramine

Psychotic depression usually requires a combination of both an antidepressant and an antipsychotic. ECT, or shock therapy, can also be used and is actually very effective.

Q: Are there ways to ensure patients with bipolar disorder to take prescribed medicines regularly without fail?
Since attacks of depressive, euphoric and psychotic mood normally arise when patients fail to take medicines when due, taking medicines is the most important way to stabilise patients’ mood. Therefore, most grateful if anyone can give any hints in ensuring this discipline.

A: As “the patient,” here is my perspective.

I put all my meds in one of those plastic pill containers that has one space for each day of the week. Each day, I dump the pills into a little dish on my bathroom counter. My doing this, I am reminded to take the meds and I also have a way of knowing if i actually took them or not. I’ve had ups and downs with this illness for 20+ years. I know that bad things happen if I don’t take my meds.

I gather from your question that you are probably a family member or a friend of a bipolar person. All I can say is that the responsibility to take the meds belongs to “the patient.” Some people like to be reminded; most resent it. Also, the majority of people have a problem in thinking that when they feel well, they don’t need meds (BIG MISTAKE), so they may quit taking them.

Good luck and my best wishes.

Q: psychotic medicine called closapine details?
this is a medicine used for treatment of mental diseas4e called
schizophernia.can you give all details about this medicine & all web sites about this nuroliptic drug.

A: Clozapine was developed by Sandoz in 1961, and introduced in Europe ten years later. In 1975, after reports of agranulocytosis leading to death in some clozapine-treated patients, clozapine was voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer. Clozapine fell out of favor for more than a decade. However, when studies demonstrated that clozapine was more effective against treatment-resistant schizophrenia than other antipsychotics, the FDA and health authorities in most other countries approved its use only for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and required regular hematological monitoring to detect granulocytopenia, before agranulocytosis develops. In December of 2002, clozapine was also approved for reducing the risk of suicide in schizophrenic or schizoaffective patients judged to be at chronic risk for suicidal behavior.

Indications
Clozapine is used principally in treating treatment-resistant schizophrenia, a term generally used for the failure of symptoms to respond satisfactorily to at least two different antipsychotics; It clearly has been shown to be more effective in reducing symptoms of schizophrenia than the older typical antipsychotics, with maximal effects in those who have responded poorly to other medication; though the relapse rate is lower and patient acceptability better, this has not translated to significant observed benefits in global functioning.

It is also used for reducing the risk of suicide in patients judged to belong to a high risk group with chronic risk for suicidal behavior. Clozapine was shown to prolong the time to suicidal attempt significantly greater than olanzapine.

Clozapine works well against positive (e.g. delusions, hallucinations) and negative (e.g. emotional and social withdrawal) symptoms of schizophrenia. It has no dyscognitive effect often seen with other psychoactive drugs and is even able to increase the capabilities of the patient to react to this environment and thereby fosters social rehabilitation.

Off-label and investigational drug use
Treatment of psychosis in L-Dopa treated patients (25 to 50 mg at bedtime is often sufficient); this indication is currently approved in Switzerland
Treatment of psychotic symptoms occurring in patients with dementia of the Lewy-body-type
Treatment of otherwise resistant acute episodes of mania
Treatment of intractable chronic insomnia, if all other measures have failed
Treatment of schizoid personality disorder
Though much research has been done evaluating the benefit of clozapine in treating the aforementioned conditions, it is too early to come to a conclusive result. If you contemplate clozapine as drug for these conditions, weigh carefully benefits and risks and inform the patients fully, if possible, about the advantages and risks of clozapine treatment, before a joint decision is made. If the patient is not able to make own decisions, parents or guardians or the competent court must give their consent…

Contraindications
Clozapine is contraindicated in individuals with uncontrolled epilepsy, myeloproliferative disease, or agranulocytosis with prior clozapine treatment.

Many other (relative) contraindications (e.g. preexisting cardiovascular or liver damage, epilepsy) also exist.

Adverse effects
The use of clozapine is associated with a fair number of side effects, many minor though some serious and potentially fatal: the more common include constipation, drooling, muscle stiffness, sedation, tremors, orthostasis, hyperglycemia, and weight gain. The risks of extrapyramidal symptoms such as tardive dyskinesia are much less with clozapine when compared to the typical antipsychotics; this may be due to clozapine’s anticholinergic effects. Extrapyramidal symptoms may subside somewhat after a person switches from another antipsychotic to clozapine.[citation needed]

Clozapine may have a synergistic effect with the sedating action of other drugs such as benzodiazepines, and thus respiratory depression may result with concomitant use. Care should be taken, especially if the latter drugs are given parenterally.

Many male patients have experienced ceasure of ejaculation during orgasm as a side effect of Clozapine though this is not documented in official drug guides[citation needed].

Agranulocytosis
Clozapine carries a black box warning for drug-induced agranulocytosis. Without monitoring, agranulocytosis occurs in about 1% of patients who take clozapine during the first few months of treatment; the risk of developing it is highest about three months into treatment, and decreases substantially thereafter, to less than 0.01% after one year. Patients who have experienced agranulocytosis with prior treatment of clozapine should not receive it again. Clozapine also carries black box warnings for seizures, myocarditis, and “other adverse cardiovascular and respiratory effects.” Lowering of the seizure threshold may be dose related and slow initial titration of dose may decrease the risk for precipitating seizures. Slow titration of dosing may also decrease the risk for orthostatic hypotension and other adverse cardiovascular side effects.

Cardiac toxicity
A more recently identified and sometimes fatal side effect is that of myocarditis which usually develops within the first month of commencement and presents with signs of cardiac failure and cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiomyopathy is another potentially fatal cardiac condition which may arise less acutely.

Weight gain and diabetes
The FDA requires the manufacturers of all atypical antipsychotics to include a warning about the risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes with these medications. Indeed, there are case reports of clozapine-induced hyperglycemia and diabetes; additionally, there are case reports of clozapine-induced diabetic ketoacidosis. There is data showing that clozapine can decrease insulin sensitivity. Clozapine should be used with caution in patients who are diagnosed with diabetes or in patients at risk for developing diabetes. All patients receiving clozapine should have their fasting blood glucose monitored.

In addition to hyperglycemia, weight gain may be experienced by patients treated with clozapine. Impaired glucose metabolism and obesity have been shown to be constituents of the metabolic syndrome and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The data suggests that clozapine may be more likely to cause adverse metabolic effects than some of the other atypical antipsychotics. Research has indicated that clozapine may cause a deficiency of selenium.

In 2007, a pharmacogenetic test was introduced to measure the probability of developing agranulocytosis. The test has two gradations – Higher and Lower risk, with a relative agranulocytosis risk of 2.5 and 0.5 compared to general level. The company states that the test is based on two SNPs of the HLA-DQB1 gene.

Chemistry
It is insoluble in water, soluble in acetone, very well soluble in chloroform.

Its solubility in water is 11.8 mg/L (25 C)

The manufacturer Novartis claim a soluability of <0.01% in water [9]

Pharmacology
Clozapine is classified as an atypical antipsychotic drug because its profile of binding to serotonergic as well as dopamine receptors; its effects on various dopamine mediated behaviors also differ from those exhibited by more typical antipsychotics. In particular, clozapine interferes to a lower extent with the binding of dopamine at D1, D2, D3 and D5 receptors, and has a high affinity for the D4 receptor, but it does not induce catalepsy nor inhibit apomorphine-induced stereotypy in animal models as is seen with ‘conventional’ neuroleptics. This evidence suggests clozapine is preferentially more active at limbic than at striatal dopamine receptors and may explain the relative freedom of clozapine from extrapyramidal side effects together with strong anticholinergic activity.

Clozapine also is a strong antagonist at different subtypes of adrenergic, cholinergic and histaminergic receptors, the last two being predominantly responsible for its side effect profile.

It has approximately the same potency as chlorpromazine.

Pharmacokinetics
The absorption of clozapine is almost complete, but the oral bioavailability is only 60 to 70% due to first-pass metabolism. The time to peak concentration after oral dosing is about 2.5 hours, and food does not appear to effect the bioavailability of clozapine. The elimination half-life of clozapine is about 14 hours at steady state conditions (varying with daily dose).

Clozapine is extensively metabolized in the liver, via the cytochrome P450 system, to polar metabolites suitable for elimination in the urine and faeces. The major metabolite, norclozapine (desmethyl-clozapine), is pharmacologically active. The cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 1A2 is primarily responsible for clozapine metabolism, but 2C, 2D6, 2E1 and 3A3/4 appear to play roles as well. Agents which induce (e.g. cigarette smoke) or inhibit (e.g. theophylline, ciprofloxacin, fluvoxamine) CYP1A2 may increase or decrease, respectively, the metabolism of clozapine.

Monitoring
In the USA, patients who take clozapine are required to have a blood cell count every week, for the first six months of therapy. After this, they are required to have a blood cell count every other week for the second six months after therapy. After twelve months, blood cell counts need be performed every four weeks.

If the number of white blood-cells drops notably, one should consult with a hematologist. If you are using clozapine and have a sore throat, or fever, then you should inform your doctor.

Clozapine and norclozapine plasma levels may also be monitored, though they show a significant degree of variation and are higher in women and increase with age.

More recently, a regular six-monthly echocardiogram is also recommended to detect myocarditis.

The manufacturers of both the brand and generic clozapine are required by the FDA to track white blood cells counts for patients receiving clozapine, and pharmacies are required to obtain a copy of the CBC prior to dispensing the medication to the patient. The purpose of the monitoring system is to prevent rechallenge with clozapine in patients with a history of clozapine-induced agranulocytosis and to detect leukopenic events among patients taking clozapine. In other countries (e.g. in Europe), restrictions have been eased.

Dosage
Due to risk of serious side effects, clozapine treatment is commenced at a very low dose (25 mg daily) and increased slowly until a therapeutic dose (300–600 mg daily) is reached.[12] In severely ill and/or younger patients up to 900 mg may be needed. In the elderly, much lower doses may be sufficient (25 to 100 mg). Once the patient is stabilized and the maintenance dose has been determined, the greater part or all of the daily dose may be given at bedtime. This will ameliorate daytime sedation and orthostatic problems; most people benefit from the sedation to get to sleep anyway. Furthermore, compliance on medication taken more frequently than once daily drops off dramatically.

Undocumented side-effects
Known to cause inability to ejaculate while orgasming in some male patients.

Q: which anti psychotic medicine won’t cause weight gain?
I was given risperdal but i heard it causes weight gain. i was wondering if any of you know of any anti psychotic medication that won’t cause weight gain so i can talk to my doctor about them. thank u!

A: The newer, atypical antipsychotics (abilify, zyprexa, geodon) will most likely cause less weight gain than the older generation (haldol etc. )

Q: how long does it take for anti psychotic medicine to work for an 18 year old who is bipolar?

A: It all depends on what you mean by saying “to work”. Powerful antipsychotics normally can completely stop the dopamine transmission in brain (thus begin “to work”) within half an hour after being given.

If you mean “how long will it take to stop cursing and insulting me as I committed him to this mental institution” then the answer is it all depends on his personality. Yet, you should know that it is possible that that he will never forgive you albeit he pretends to be docile for awhile until being discharged from the hospital. But then he may desert home altogether and become one of these homeless people you’re used to seeing in streets.

If you mean “how long will it take to be docile (meaning stop insulting and attacking to hospital staff)” then it all depends on how clever he is. It may take between a couple of days and a week or so to realize that the further resistance would only lead to the increase of the daily dosage of the antipsychotics given to him and hence to the increase of his suffering because of the unbearable side-effects of the drugs as well as the chances of being crippled due to the adverse effects of these drugs.

I personally think that involuntary drugging of a person in emotional state is one of the most inhuman things in the world. In Netherlands this is a serious crime as it’s regarded as serious violation of body in this country.

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