Posted by Ritch on May 30, 2003, at 22:38:14
In reply to Re: ZOLOFT???? » Ritch, posted by e503 on May 30, 2003, at 11:56:07
> > > > > A question about ben and his zoloft. He typically takes it 50 mg./am and 25 mg. in the afternoon. School said after 12 he gets "totally noncompliant". Since he's been off the abilify, etc. I have noticed this about the zoloft....after ben takes it, about 2 hours later, he is really happy and "bopping" around...listening to music, whatever. Around 2 hours after that (4 hours after his dose) he starts to get "flat" and REALLY OBSESSIVE. It lasted (flatness,obsessiveness) until about 6 hours after his a.m. dose and then he was not so obsessive or "flat". So what is the story here? can anyone help? He is autistic, but these obsessions are really intense when he is "flat". I am thinking about taking him off zoloft and tryinng something else (or nothing). I am wondering if the zoloft could be causing some of these obsessions? HELP!
> > > > > elise
> > > >
> > > > Elise, given the super long half-life of the Abilify (75 hrs.-thanks Scott), it might be a good idea to make sure enough time has elapsed before any new med changes occur to allow the Abilify to wash out-it's possible this recent phenomena may disappear on its own. Also, since he is bipolar-some of it might be attributable to his mood cycling. Cycling changes often occur when meds are started and stopped. If you can rule out these things-then you might ask his doc about dosing the Zoloft 25mg 3x daily and spread it out some more.
> > >
> > > Two nights ago he was just taking 50 mg. zoloft at night. He was okay, but he did have increased agitation later in the day. So....we went back to 75 mg. zoloft at night. Guess what? I get a call that he was HORRIBLE....non compliant, running around, self talking, etc. So...I decided to try your suggestion of 25 mg. 3 x a day. I gave him 25 mg. this a.m. and just spoke to the teacher. She said he is better than yesterday as far as compliance is concerned, but is doing some self talk. He will get his next dose at 12:00. I am anxious to see how he is. Ritch (mitch?)- scott, what do you is going on with this zoloft? It's as if he takes it at night and he is fine, but in the day he is "rebounding" or something. I thought it was supposed to stay in your system for 24 hours,. Anyways, if this doesn't work, any other suggestions? I do not know if, in fact, he really is bipolar or not. He has been on so many meds for so long that i don't know if it is him or the meds that have set him off. HELP!
> > > elise
> >
> > Well, there is one "good" thing-you are down to just one medication (which has never happened to me!). Zoloft always had this delayed activation effect on me. First, a zoned-out feeling while it was kicking in, then a zingy, restlessness that would occur six+ hrs. post-dosing. The simplest thing to do for now would be to tinker with the dose timings and keep the total daily dose the same-given you had some success with doing that previously. It just sounds like if his dose is too high in the day he zonks out, but the med seems to help a lot. Has his doctor mentioned any alternatives for Zoloft? I was just wondering if his doctor also wasn't quite "firm" in his diagnosis either-still speculating?
>
> Is it possible that that (delayed activation) is happening with Ben; that he is "sedate" (compliant) in the a.m., and then every day at 11:30 he gets noncompliant? This is 4 1/2 hours after his a.m. dose. I spoke to the doctor this a.m. He wants me to keep him on zoloft for another week at this dosing, he is concerned that the abilify is not out of his system yet (last dose 2.5 mg. 8 days ago). Then to cut back 25 mg. He seems to be "stuck" on this abilify. He is saying that maybe i should see if i could get it "compounded" to 1 mg. and start ben on a 1 mg. dose.It seemed that the Abilify was doing something positive, but since it accumulates a lot due to its long half-life it is hard to tell what *dose* is "right". Pharm companies use such high dosages to ensure their meds get approved, but when you get them out there and people are using them day to day-the dose is often just way too high.
poster:Ritch
thread:227600
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030530/msgs/230372.html