r/Latuda

making sort of a goodbye post to my latuda because i finally made the decision to switch meds. i started latuda about a month ago and it has been the best medication i've ever tried. i've been on a total of 7 meds in my lifetime for my mental health, but this is the first bipolar-specific med for me. i have bipolar 2 and i go through really intense depressive episodes, but i've never found a med (until now) that actually brings me out of it. the latuda brought me out of it almost immediately. it's been an absolute lifesaver. but unfortunately i can't tolerate the sedating effect anymore.

it's pretty ridiculous how common it is. i'll take my meds at 6:30 with my dinner and about an hour to two hours later, i'll be horrifically sleepy. i have to drop whatever i'm doing so i can scramble to get ready for bed. i'll sleep for 12 hours uninterrupted. if i sleep any less than 10, i'm fighting sleep in the morning on my way to my lectures. i'll fall asleep in the lecture hall and walk through the day like a zombie. sometimes i'll take 2 hour naps, sometimes they turn into 3 hours. on a lucky day, i'll take my meds late enough that i can stay up until about 10:30. most nights it's 9:30. i feel like i'm sleeping through my life and i can't take it anymore.

i've heard a lot of people improve after a few months. it's working so well for me that i genuinely thought i was willing to wait it out. but my current lifestyle requires me to be way more present than i currently am and unfortunately i have to find something else. plus, i tend to be someone who reacts better to higher doses of meds, and i can't increase at all if it's making me this tired on just 20mg.

i'm terrified of slipping back into a depressive episode after weaning off, but i'm not willing to wait and see if the fatigue goes away. off to another atypical antipsychotic, i guess !

I just recently started taking latuda a couple months ago and was recently bumped up to a 40 mg dose. I keep waking up in the middle of the night completely drenched in sweat. I was wondering if this happened to other people, and if it would ever go away, it’s tiring having my sleep be eaten away from feeling so physically gross.

Hey all. I've been on Lamotrigine 100+100mg + Latuda for a while. My psychiatrist gradually tapered my Latuda from 72mg → 37mg → 18.5mg over several months, and I stopped completely about 4 weeks ago since things were going well.

Important context: Latuda worked better for me than anything I'd tried before. I'm not looking for input from people who didn't respond well to it or had bad experiences with it — I'm specifically interested in hearing from people for whom it also worked well, and who then faced the decision of whether to stay on it or discontinue.

Physically I'm still dealing with: broken sleep, morning nausea, headaches, significant appetite changes, and one episode of pretty intense orthostatic hypotension (had to sit on the floor mid-breakfast). Mood-wise it's been rocky — not catastrophic, but noticeably harder than when I was on it.

I'm aware Latuda has real metabolic side effects, which is partly why we decided to discontinue. And honestly there's something clarifying about being off it — I feel things more accurately, even if it's harder.

But four weeks feels long for withdrawal at such a low dose.

Would love to hear from anyone who:
- Successfully discontinued Latuda — how long until you felt stable again?
- Decided to go back on it — what made you choose that, and do you regret it or not?
- Is managing long-term on Latuda despite the side effects — how do you handle them?

Not looking for medical advice, just real experiences. Thanks.

Generally I eat lunch at around 1-2 pm and dinner at 7-8. But then I get knocked out by 9 pm and end up waking way earlier than I really need to. I want to be able to do shit at night. I'm trying to lose weight so having a snack and then eating dinner later isn't really managable. Can't lower my dose because I'm on the lowest dose possible at 10 mg. (I have a very pathetic liver)

Does anyone else feel lobotomized from this drug?

This medicine has done wonders for my depression, but like an hour or two after I take my pill, I become extremely drowsy. If I'm home, I end up napping for a few hours and if I'm working I can barely keep my eyes open. I read on one of these threads that someone took it in the evening with a bowl of cereal or ice cream so they could get the calories in with the pill.

Has anyone else had to do this? Again I really like what this medicine has done for me the past few weeks I've been on it but that side effect can't be ignored 😅

This. More, I fell so flat, with anedhonia and most of the time depressed, no emotions, no even capability of crying. Neither in a funeral. Neither in Major depressione, and I am in It from october.

So I asked to get out of this med. My doctor say ok (I take 300 mg of a mood regulator too), and She told me: you are on 20 mg, you can stop cold Turkey. WTF. I answered that I was scared, She told me One day yes One day off. I also asked her: but, Is It true that I have tò take Latuda with 350 kcal? No, Is not important. Because I have take It every morning from 3 years with a coffee only. It's ok, She said.

I asked her if I could cut the pill in 2 part instead of one day yes one day not, because of scare of mood disregulation (documented). She said ok.

It seem that she says ok to everything I say, so I wonder why I spend 80 dollars for 15 minutes of "ok". Is It more competent IA?

God, I read here that Is strictly recomended tò assume Latuda with 350 kcal! So the amount of Latuda I was takin for last 3 years was like 10 mg??

My doctor lives me alone in this tapering. I have decided to cut the pill in two part, but I started to take It after lunch. So...Am I taking the same amount of before now? I mean: for 3 years Latuda with a coffee only, now half of It but 350 kcal.

I am really confused. I have had withdrawal symptoms the second week, irritability, mentali acatisia and rage, then like normality (=Major depression that maybe Is worsening but I am not sure).

I am wondering now if It was Latuda that made/makes me without emotions or if It Is the High dose of Lamotrigine or of It Is my cptsd worsen or the wrong psychoterapy.

I am really confused now. I am on bed. The only sign I have received from my psychiatrist in this month of tapering has been, yesterday, the Bill.

I would like to come back in 2019 when I took only 5 drops of a sedative, 100 mg of Lamotrigine and klnopin. Now I am a zombie.

Hi all. I've been on Latuda for coming up on a couple weeks. It hasn't been long enough to have any significant impact on my mood, but I think it might be causing some gastric issues. For example:

I had a big meal two days ago. I have felt full since that meal. That's two days of feeling full after one meal! I can still eat, but it makes me feel sick and bloated. I'm tempted to blame the Latuda.

Anyone else have this with Latuda? I'm trying to take it with the required calories, but it's hard. Does taking it without 350 calories cause significant stomach upset?

I really don't like the calorie requirement :( It seems insignificant, but it already feels like a deal-breaker for me.

Hello, I've tried a whole handful of other meds and even though I've not been diagnosed with bipolar or schizophrenia my psych suggested giving this med a try. I'm about 3 days in and I am feeling like I don't have many other med options left if I fail this one.

Does anyone have experience (s) bad or good - about using this medicine alone for treatment resistant anxiety and depression?

Thank you in advance. 🙏

Started experiencing jaw clenching throughout the day when starting Latuda, and more so after increasing my dosage. I don’t have any other negative side effects and it doesn’t bother me too bad, might just go get a mouth guard. Does anyone else have this as a side effect or is it caused by something else?

I started taking 20mg of Latuda about 2 weeks ago to help with the emotionless, constantly tired, unmotivated kind of depression I get from bipolar disorder.

At first, it actually helped a lot. I don’t feel emotionally numb anymore, I have more motivation, I can enjoy things, and the constant fatigue I had 24/7 is mostly gone.

But over the past few days, instead of feeling emotionless, I just feel intensely sad. Every intrusive thought feels 10x more painful, and it’s really overwhelming.

I really liked what Latuda was doing for me because it was the first medication that helped me get out of that empty/dead feeling I’d been stuck in for so long. But now I'm in so much pain from intense sadness all the time.

I don't even wanna think, and don't wanna even do anything because I feel like I need to distract myself now with my phone or laptop constantly, or else I'll be in so much emotional pain.

My psychiatrist seemed kinda confused by this and recommended I up my dose to 40mg. Has anyone else experienced this on Latuda?

Hey I am 2 weeks into Latuda (also taking lithium) and have severe insomnia. I had agitation ini the beginning really bad but that's getting better. Even with klonopin and hydroxyzine i can't sleep. It's killing me and worsening my depression. I also have racing thoughts which I've had for a long time even before being diagnosed. they've never really gone away.

I am talking to my doctor this week. Any thoughts--i need to sleep. Anyone else have insomnia on this drug?

Went from 80 to 40 mg for like 4 days then dropped to 0 and started abilify 10 mg for 2 days which was stopped as well. The withdrawals are horrible. I can barely move it feels like a fever mixed with akathisia. The meds they gave me for akathisia just sedate me so its hard to function. When will this end :(

I am very new to not only latuda but also to the idea that I am being treated with a bipolar medication. In the smallest nutshell possible:

For years I have struggled with spells of insomnia. It has gotten really bad lately.

I also experience anxiety and panic attacks.

Here are some of the symptoms that I think prompted my psychiatrist (our first time meeting) to prescribe Latuda:

Racing thoughts/can’t sleep, easily overstimulated by smells and sounds resulting in irritability and need to isolate. I think this was the kicker: I explained how before my last insomnia episode I had had a great day and would have thought it would make me tired… I woke up early, did yoga, walked 2 miles, and came home and gardened until dark. I planted a huge perennial bed… so many. holes. dug.

I also explained that insomnia comes when I am anticipating an event outside of my normal routine… like TRAVEL. I often don’t sleep before and during travel for work or medical care (my son receives specialize care at a long distance.)

Before I worked from home, I would not sleep nights before my work commute. I get very anxious on the road sometimes. But it’s the ANTICIPATION that’s worst.

I feel like she thought I am manic? Which I’m not surprised I guess.

But I also have anxiety. Like I am nauseous and dizzy and physically UNWELL kind of anxiety.

Depressed? Low depressive episodes? Absolutely not. Years ago? Like when I was 20? (I’m 42.) Yes. I was very depressed. Current life is just anxiety and insomnia.

ANYWAY

She gave me Latuda because it could kill two birds with one stone, I think (and she hopes.) It should help me sleep and stabilize my mood. But again, I do not get depressed! I did mark “5” on the “on a scale of 1-10 how depressed are you?” paper the day of my appointment because on THAT DAY I had not slept for 3 nights. Yes, that was depressing. I was desperate. But I am a very happy person and in my “normal” life I am very upbeat and happy and never have these days I read about in bipolar ppl where I just want to be in bed and stay there. Not at all.

So my point in posting this? Not sure, I just want the community I suppose.

I’m just trying to heal and never again have to go through sleepless nights.

She also prescribed Ativan (my first time using this and it helps a lot.) She also prescribed gabapentin as a “backup” option for sleep but I’m very hesitant about this.

Previously up until seeing this psych I was on trazodone (prescribed by my PCP.) It helped for a while, then it didn’t. And it never prevented sleepless episodes. It just helped me go to sleep on normal nights. I’m glad I’m off of it, the side effects were undesirable.