u/gummybear3g

Hi. Has anyone here been on 3 antipsychotics before? My current cocktail is 325mg lamictal, 7mg abilify, 3.75mg zyprexa (sleep), 1mg klonopin (sleep). My depression has been unrelenting for 8 months now and we've tried lots of different things that all failed. I can't take lithium, depakote, etc. My doctor is suggesting we try 1.5mg Vraylar nightly to see if it helps my depression. This would be a third antipsychotic in the mix. She doesn't want to take me off of Abilify yet because everytime we've tried I cliff dive into even deeper, more intense depression. Curious if anyone else is on 3 APs?

Hi. I am on lamictal 325, abilify 5, zyprexa 2.5 (sleep), klonopin 1mg (sleep), and ritalin 10mg extended release (adhd). I have cycled through so many medications at this point. I have been depressed since December with only small glimmers of hope after I started Abilify-- unfortunately I can't increase my dose because I get horrible akathisia. Tried Latuda and got awful akathisia. Have slowly increased Lamictal from 200 -- my last increase from 300 to 325 made me feel panicky and terrified for one day and then I started to feel better but only got one hour of sleep one night and had to increase my Zyprexa. It was such a weird titration reaction that never happened on previous increases. I suppose I had small hypomanias on each increase looking back. Anyway, my psychiatrist wants to put me on lithium but I can't due to a dangerous interaction with one of my physical medications (methotrexate). My depression has gotten so bad that she wanted to try me on Lexapro again as a last ditch effort (I was on it for a decade until my prolonged hypomania in November - she took me right off of it). I just started Lexapro 2.5mg 4 days ago and I am feeling more anxious and depressed than before. I am wondering if I should push through the discomfort or if I should just stop. I am obviously going to consult with my psychiatrist first, but wanted to see if anyone had experience with a negative reaction that got better with time or if this is just a bad sign. My sleep is totally fine, I am actually totally exhausted. I so desperately want this to work. My next option is adding on Trileptal. If that doesn't work, we will talk about ECT, ketamine, or TMS. I would so like to avoid those.

ETA: I am meeting w/ my psych on Thursday and she will assess how I am doing on the Lexapro.

I have been in a depressive episode on and off (mostly on) since December. We have tried every different combination of drugs and somehow landed on lamictal 325, Abilify 5, Zyprexa 2.5, and Ritalin 10mg (adhd). I am still stuck in this awful depression and it has stumped my clinician. Last week she suggested I try going back on lexapro — I had been on it for a decade before I had my first proper hypomanic episode for like a month. When I asked her about putting me back on lexapro, she described it as kind of a “hail mary” attempt at pulling me out of my depression and anxiety. I am at the end of the line here. Has anyone here successfully taken an SSRI along with mood stabilizer/AP to get themselves out of depression? I started taking them 3 days ago and so far I just feel really really tired and out of it even though I’m on a baby dose. I assume that will go away. I’ve been told my next options are ECT, ketamine or TMS. I would really like to avoid those if I can.

Edit to add: I can’t take more Abilify, it triggers akathisia. I also can’t take lithium due to a drug interaction with my physical meds.

This is my psychiatrist’s next suggestion. I have tried going up past 300 on lamictal and it gave me 2 good days and then just straight panic. I’ve been on lamictal for well over a year and I’ve been rapid cycling through one hypomania and several depressions/im fines since november. She is starting to suspect that Lamictal is acting as an antidepressant for me and possibly destabilizing me. She also wants to get rid of my Ritalin. I am also on Abilify 5mg, and Zyprexa 2.5mg for sleep. I can’t take lithium or depakote because of a drug interaction with my physical meds. I tried latuda and tried going up on abilify but both gave me horrible akathisia. I have been stuck in a horrible depression where I can’t experience any joy and I have nothing to say to people. Last weekend we experimented with increasing lamictal to 325 and I had one day of panic, 2 good days, followed by a night of zero sleep (last night) and now panic/instability prevails. I’m at a total loss and wondering if I’m just at the end of the road with meds. I feel like she just doesn’t know what to do with me anymore. She wishes she could try lithium but it’s a no go and it seems like these antipsychotics all give me akathisia…. Her next suggestion is to try Trileptal with the lamictal. Would love to know anyone’s experience….