Posted by yesac on November 3, 2005, at 14:53:26
In reply to Re: Haldol experiences? » yesac, posted by ed_uk on November 3, 2005, at 14:16:04
Thanks Ed. I know one person who takes Haldol, and she seems completely fine, although a little bit "dulled out". I don't know her dose or even what she takes it for exactly.
> If you keep the dose low, haloperidol may be useful. High doses are likely to be both unpleasant and unhelpful.Okay. I wouldn't imagine that I'd go above 5mgs/day, but who knows? My dose of Seroquel is quite low: 50 mgs... but once I get better insurance I'd like to try taking more. It works better WITH the lithium than it ever did by itself.
> Haloperidol (Haldol, Serenace) is a very potent neuroleptic. Respect the fact that a small increase in dose may have profound effects.
I will.
> I'd stay at that dose for a while if I were you. *Don't* be tempted to increase the dose too quickly!
I'm not trying to contradict you at all-- but it seems to me that, in my experience with antipsychotics, they usually work pretty quickly. I guess the only reason I have for possibly rushing to up the dose would be that I don't have much Seroquel left... Once it runs out I may need to increase the Haldol to keep things in check.
> Haloperidol (at low doses) may be less sedating than Seroquel. Chlorpromazine (Largactil, Thorazine) is more helpful than haloperidol for sleep. Chlorpromazine is extremely cheap.
I hadn't thought about Thorazine. My shrink didn't mention it. Cheap is good.My main issue with Seroquel is the sedation. It's true that I do need help with sleep, I've always had a hard time getting to sleep and sleeping well. Seroquel is good for that, but on the flip-side, it seems to make me sleep too much, which I don't like. It's one reason I thought maybe I'd like Haldol better.
>I'd recommend that you switch back to Seroquel >as soon as your as able to afford it.I probably will. Unless I really like it or something, I doubt that I'll stay on Haldol once I can get Seroquel again. I might keep it around for crisis situations.
> Are you sure you need an antipsychotic? Depakote or Trileptal might be effective (for agitation and mood stabilisation) if you suffer from bipolar disorder.
Well, I've taken both Depakote and Trileptal. Neither seemed to work. Additionally, I didn't particularly like Depakote in terms of side effects. It's possible that combined with lithium, the results might be better (efficacy-wise, not side effects).
> Haloperidol and chlorpromazine have the advantage of being extremely cheap. Until you regain prescription coverage, they might be a useful short term measure.
I've already got the Haldol and already started it-- but just out of curiosity, do you think Thorazine is *better* (lower risk, more effective, etc)?One other thing is that Seroquel seems to have a slight antidepressant effect for me, something that Depakote did not have, and I doubt Haldol or Thorazine would have. But you never know. Still, it's another reason to go back to Seroquel as soon as I can.
Thanks again!
poster:yesac
thread:574968
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051031/msgs/575028.html