I’m sure many of us are trying to stay cool in this heat wave! Now on caplyta I’m drenched in sweat every time I leave the AC 😂. I found that drinking electrolytes like Gatorade and liquid IV help and reduce my nightly brain zaps
I've been on Caplyta for about a month now, and while it helps me tremendously with my bipolar depression, I'm not sure how to handle the side effects. About 4-5 hours before my next dose, as I assume it's wearing off, I get subtle pressure in my head and become very anxious and easily overstimulated. As this is the time I'm primarily around people, my main source of anxiety, this really isn't optimal. I really don't want to quit taking it, but 42mg knocks me out, so it's not like I can switch to mornings. Has anyone's providers had them do 21mg twice a day or something like that and seen success? Just looking for suggestions ahead of seeing mine next week.
I’m looking to hear from people that Caplyta didn’t help. If it worked for you, awesome, but I’m not really interested in hearing from you. I was on lithium for 9 months which made me a zombie. I could barely function. I’m only on caplyta now at 21 mg and still feel numb.
I’ve been on it 5 weeks my irritation has not improved I’m annoyed with everyone and everything does this improve?
I started Caplyta 21 mg about a month ago and I heat up real quick after any sort of activity. Also, I am unable to sleep on this dose. Does the 42 mg make the overheating problem worse? Does it pretty much guarantee a good night’s sleep? Struggling with these two issues. :(
All I wanna do is crawl into my cozy bed and stay there for the next 200 years.
But the suicidal depression has decreased!
Sorry in advance. This is going to be a long post.
I (66M) have had BP2 since I was 12 or 13, untreated until my mid-30s, when I went on Prozac. Prozac and therapy, flawed as both were, literally saved my life, as I was actively suicidal.
In 2018 a new psychiatrist switched me to Lexapro, which worked well enough for a number of years (and put an extra 30 pounds on me).
What I didn’t realize over those years was how thoroughly the Lexapro had blunted my emotions, both positive and negative. I just lived my life in a narrow emotional zone, never very much up or down.
Another new psychiatrist (after changing jobs and insurance plans) added aripiprazole (Abilify) about four years ago. Again, it was … meh. This is my normal, I thought.
Then this past winter, the drugs just stopped working. I fell into a deep depression. The only emotions I could feel were despair and irritation. I was hard to live with.
Doc dumped the Abilify and put me on Caplyta, 21mg for a week before bumping it up to 42.
It was a freaking miracle drug. Within three weeks I was starting to experience a complete turnaround, feeling strange emotions like joy and happiness and love. At 66 I was suddenly full of creative, productive energy, going to the gym, planning a big trip, showering my wife with affection and enjoying life as I never had (or could) before. I even lost 15 lbs. Caplyta really had “let the lyte in.”
It took me a couple of months to realize that maybe I was a little too energized — eating very little, sleeping even less, overpacking my schedule, driving too fast, talking too much. I started having bouts of AFib, which evolved into daily anxiety attacks.
Before things could get completely out of hand, I got hold of my shrink and told him what was going on and that it was scaring me. “I think we need to take our foot off the gas,” he said. He decided to keep me on the Caplyta but wean me off the Lexapro over a two-week period.
Now running on Caplyta only, the anxiety attacks have slowed down considerably and the AFib has stopped altogether. I’m driving more responsibly, talking more normally and living my life at a more relaxed pace.
And here’s the thing that prompted me to write this post:
I cried once yesterday and twice today. And I’m thrilled about it.
Yesterday it was happy tears for a young redditor who is simultaneously falling in love and discovering her sexual identity. This morning it was grief elicited by a powerful New York Times article about how Putin’s dirty war has upended the lives of innocent schoolchildren in Ukraine. This evening it was wonder and joy while watching elephants listen to a man play the piano for them.
I cried, y’all. I wept. Understand this: I hadn’t shed a tear, or even really come close, since my parents died in 1998. For the first time in 28 years, I feel something.
Welcome back, tears. I missed you.
My UHC plan covers it at $600 per month!
Hi! I have bipolar type 2 disorder and I ran out of my caplyta (I'll be getting a refill tomorrow), so I won't be taking it tonight. I'm nervous that this is going to send me either into depression or mania, but I just wanted to know if skipping a dose for anyone REALLY effected them. Should I be nervous? I'm on 21mg
Hi! I started my first dose of Caplyta today after my PCP recommended it as a mood stabilizer. I believe I made the mistake of taking it in the morning at work. I have NEVER been so immediately drowsy and dizzy. I was slurring my order at Subway, and I was so tired that my coworkers made a makeshift bed out of some chairs and had me sleep. I was pretty okay after about 3 hours of sleep. Is this a fairly common thing, or should I be concerned? I’m going to try taking my next dose at night time tomorrow, but I wanted to see how everyone felt about the medicine as well, so I can decide whether to keep going on it.
I was having trouble with 42 mg out of the gate to start. My provider gave me some 21 mg samples and due to a misunderstanding I started taking them morning and night. That ended up working really well for me. Provider happy to continue but as she predicted the insurance is denying the 21 twice a day.
Any advice? Just call main insurance line and see what they can do? Would a prior authorization work? Anyone else in this situation or try 21 2x per day?
I’m going to try 42 at night again to see if now that I’m more used to it I can handle it.
Hi,
How many hours of sleep do you get on caplyta?
And does caplyta make you less stressed overall?
Has anyone experienced Caplyta & Pristiq? It’s been 6 days since I switched from Mirtazapine & Rexulti. I feel flat, emo, moping around. I don’t anything but doom-scroll, watch porn and have this pitted feeling of sadness. Only kinda happy around my kids, my GF and gym.
I’ve been on a journey of trying meds for 18meds and most either had horrible reactions or just short term positive effects. I’ve never experienced anything like this. All I want to do is lay around or just sleep. I just want to crawl in hole. I have some suicidal thoughts but i would never take action.
My psychiatrist acknowledged before I start Caplyta/Pristiq that this would be the last go at and to give it try for two weeks. I don’t know if I can do another 8 days of this z
I was honestly so spooked to start Caplyta for my Bipolar 2 after falling into a massive Reddit hyper fixation. Since it was a green light on my GeneSite test (highly recommended and it’s covered my Medicaid as well!), I decided to go for it, taking it two hours before bed with plenty of water and protein, knowing it’s a protein-binding drug.
The first night felt like I’d smoked way too much weed, and I woke up with a brutal headache. Then came the urinary retention, which turned into an awful UTI which is something I haven’t dealt with in over six years. But by day two, every single symptom was gone.
I’m not saying other people’s side effects aren’t real, but I do wonder if some of the horror stories online are blown out of proportion. It’s an antipsychotic, right? People should know what they're getting into, but I was so influenced by the wild things I read that I actually told my family not to think twice if I ended up asking to go to the ED.
Being a nurse, I’ve had the chance to talk to Caplyta reps, and honestly, my perspective is "no pain, no gain." After dealing with the long-term, lingering side effects of other medications for years, these first few days were totally worth it to me. Bring on the headache and the UTI. Because if it’s better for my metabolic health and doesn't mess with my hormones, I’ll work through the adjustment period. We have to remember that this drug is changing our brain chemistry in ways other meds don't. Have hope!
My urgent care doctor hit me with the "uncommon things are common" line, but honestly, as someone in healthcare, I struggle with that sentiment. Care is supposed to be unique for every patient, and when I turn to the internet and see something labeled as a "rare" side effect, I just don't buy it.
I want to be clear: I am absolutely not dismissing anyone else's experiences or their very real side effects. I know how debilitating they can be. However, from a psychopharmacology perspective, we have to account for the massive variability in human neurochemistry and metabolic pathways. When we introduce a compound that modulates dopamine and serotonin receptors, especially one with such a unique binding profile, the way our individual systems react is going to vary wildly.
Just because a clinical trial lists a reaction as "rare" doesn't mean it isn't a statistically significant physiological response for a subset of the population. It’s frustrating when the literature doesn't seem to match the lived reality of patients, but I think it highlights why we need to be more critical of how we categorize and track these "rare" occurrences in clinical settings.
Oh, and if you start at a lower dose, symptoms can be worse. These doses are meant to accompany other health disparities. Just Google it.
And save the lip smack for another time. No energy will be spent with you.
So, anyone else experience this?
I’ve been on 42mg for 3 months. I’ve noticed recently I’ve been feeling really crappy. I have had a major loss of appetite so I’m sure that is contributing a bit, and I try to make sure I’m eating & drinking enough. But I always feel nauseous/dizzy and have constant headaches. Just generally unwell. Could this be the medication causing it? If so is it possible it would go away? I do feel like my depression has lifted quite a bit, but feeling crappy all the time isn’t doing much for me😅 Anyone experience this?
I got put on Caplyta about 10 days ago (started with 21 mg for a week, then went up to 42 mg last Friday) for depression with psychosis and I’ve been struggling so hard with the side effects. I’m super tired and have been sleeping like 11 hrs a day, am nauseous and have next to no appetite (i get this is a plus for some people, but I’m a normal weight), and body aches. I can hardly focus and just want to be in bed, but I’m not depressed if that makes sense. The headaches have stopped, luckily. I do feel more like myself personality-wise, but the side effects are so rough. Is it worth it? When did the side effects fade for you guys? Should I talk to my psychiatrist about taking it at night instead of in the morning?
Hello!
Has anyone else felt really intense/uncontrollable anxiety on Caplyta? I’ve been taking it for a week and a half now and my anxiety has been horrifically bad to the point where i’ve felt like I’ve needed to go to the ER for it. Has anyone else felt this way?
Hi friends, I’ve been on Seroquel for about 8 or so years but was tired of being so exhausted every morning when I woke up. I’m about midway through the titration up to Caplyta at 21mg and am about to start 50mg of Seroquel for my last dosage before I get off it.
I am having really intense headaches and insane brain fog. It feels like it takes all my attention to do anything, even like sending a text message, and switching tasks at work is feeling near impossible.
It feels like my brain and my body are at odds. My body feels alert and aware, but I feel so sluggish and almost dizzy.
Any tips or suggestions? When will this (hopefully) go away?