![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by kimbersaur on July 16, 2005, at 0:55:35
I am on Effexor, Seroquel, and Lamictal for Bipolar and OCD. I am fed up with the sexual side effects of Effexor, and now, in spite of being in a very stable stress-free period of life, my OCD is suddenly getting bad again. Anyway, I am going to stop Effexor, but will probably have to add something like an SSRI for the OCD bit. Any ideas on something that will help my OCD but not have so much of an effect on my sex drive?
Posted by smokeymadison on July 16, 2005, at 12:43:17
In reply to Bipolar/OCD Med change, posted by kimbersaur on July 16, 2005, at 0:55:35
i am currently on Abilify, Lamictal, Seroquel, and Trileptal for bipolar disorder and OCD. i have tried both Zoloft and Paxil (SSRI's) for the OCD and they do help, esp the Paxil, but as w/ any SSRI, they had terrible sexual side effects. i would consider trying Abilify for the OCD. The atypical antipsychotics (in lower doses then that for Schizophrenia) have been a tremendous help for me. I would recommend Abilify over any of them b/c it simply works better and has fewer side effects. it also works as a mood stabilizer a little bit. Risperdal and Zyprexa are also atypical antipsycotics, but the Risperdal me made too tired at the dose i needed to control my OCD. Zyprexa (not sure how to spell that one) had sexual side effects for me. I would say that Abilify is the best recommendation I can give you. Life is much better with that one and has been for the 3 years i have been taking it.
if you have any other questions, just ask.
good luck!SM
Posted by kimbersaur on July 16, 2005, at 13:46:27
In reply to Re: Bipolar/OCD Med change, posted by smokeymadison on July 16, 2005, at 12:43:17
> i am currently on Abilify, Lamictal, Seroquel, and Trileptal for bipolar disorder and OCD. i have tried both Zoloft and Paxil (SSRI's) for the OCD and they do help, esp the Paxil, but as w/ any SSRI, they had terrible sexual side effects. i would consider trying Abilify for the OCD. The atypical antipsychotics (in lower doses then that for Schizophrenia) have been a tremendous help for me. I would recommend Abilify over any of them b/c it simply works better and has fewer side effects. it also works as a mood stabilizer a little bit. Risperdal and Zyprexa are also atypical antipsycotics, but the Risperdal me made too tired at the dose i needed to control my OCD. Zyprexa (not sure how to spell that one) had sexual side effects for me. I would say that Abilify is the best recommendation I can give you. Life is much better with that one and has been for the 3 years i have been taking it.
>
> if you have any other questions, just ask.
> good luck!
>
> SMWow, thanks for all the info! I've tried a few of those too. Paxil was the only SSRI that made me manic and Risperdal made me a zombie. That Abilify stuff sounds good, but is it very sedating? I am trying to avoid sedatives as much as possible, but I know most antipsychotics are bad that way. What kind of dose do you take?
Posted by smokeymadison on July 16, 2005, at 22:30:45
In reply to Re: Bipolar/OCD Med change, posted by kimbersaur on July 16, 2005, at 13:46:27
i am currently taking 15 mg of Abilify. I have been told that anything under 10 mg won't do much of anything. the usual dose of Abilify is 15-30 mg for OCD and/or bipolar disorder and up to 100 for schizophrenia. i haven't noticed any sedating effects from the Abilify (i do take it at night), although i was put on it right after stopping Risperdal, so i can only compare it to how tired i felt on the risperdal.
i have noticed a little agitation when i started taking the Abilify after being off of it for a while at one point--that went away after a few days. but that is about it. i haven't noticed any other side effects from it, that is why i like it, but everybody does respond differently to meds-so i can't swear that you won't have noticeable side effects.
hope this helps.
SM
Posted by kimbersaur on July 17, 2005, at 22:17:05
In reply to Re: Bipolar/OCD Med change, posted by smokeymadison on July 16, 2005, at 22:30:45
I've been doing a little reading up on it, and it definitely looks worth trying. I sure hope it works... it would be great to get off of SSRIs!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.