New Medication for Bipolar

Hello @shygal I see that this is your first post at Mayo Connect - welcome!

I did not find anyone who has mentioned taking this particular medicine, but we do have many members who have discussed Bipolar disorders. I would like to introduce you to two of these members, @liz223 and @sharlynn62. We also have many other members who deal with depression. Please take a look at this discussion and feel free to ask questions of anyone. We all learn from each other at Mayo Connect.

Have you already started taking Vraylar?

Teresa

Hi, @shygal i'm knew to this site too. I've been a member for a couple of wks but just started interacting yesterday. I am bipolar and take a monthly injection of Abilify 400mg. Has anyone heard of this type of abilify administration? NOw my mom is 75, blind and major depression. she just lost her eyesight around 2 years ago as a rare side effect of Cymbalta. There has only been about 100 cases documented and my mom is one of them. Her major depression stems from her not being able to adjusting to loosing her sight. I mean who would. 75 years old and wake up one day blind!! no warning just BAM! So any how our psychiatrist loves my mom. she is an angel God has sent to us from heaven. she never makes my mom wait in line we get to go straight back. And the doc has prescribed her Vraylar. My mom's copay was 520.00 each month. She mainly prescribes it to her for hallucinations, agitation, paranoia, and depression and breaks with reality. It seems to work fairly well but she does still have hallucinations but not many like before. We told our angel doc that we couldn't afford it so she has the drug reps give her samples and she saves them all and gives them to my mom so she will have the medicine to take. I told you she was an angel.

Hello @lilgrizz and welcome to Mayo Connect

I appreciate your post about both you and your mom. Your mom's doctor does sound amazing! This is the first that I've heard of injections of Abilify, however, we have a lot of members at Mayo Connect who might have some personal experience with it. Here is a website from the U.S. National Library of Medicine about Abilify, https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a615048.html. Perhaps this will shed some light on it for you.

Are you feeling better with this treatment?

Teresa

@hopeful33250 thank you for the welcome and web site. there are quite a few drugs I am going to look up. maybe you could help start my discussion I started about being bipolar. so far no participation. its in the mental health group and called what has bipolar not done to your life. thanks again.

Hello @lilgrizz

We do have members who have discussed bipolar or disorders of a similar nature. In time they will undoubtedly join the discussion. Abby, @amberpep, has described cyclothymia which she describes as a milder form of bipolar. Perhaps she will join the conversation.

Please share with us, as you feel comfortable doing so, what non-drug strategies you have used to help you with your moods. I'm thinking of activities like keeping a mood journal, physical exercise, social activities, etc.

Teresa

Hi, I just started taking Vraylar for bipolar disorder. How does it work and how long does it take for it to work? I just have a lot of questions about it that I need answers to. I just wanna know how long it takes to work because I’m still experiencing symptoms.

What do others experience while taking Vraylar.

@angeleahpalladino93
My son, who is 45 and has bipolar I disorder, has been taking Vraylar for a little over a year. He was diagnosed at the age of 14, and has taken many different meds, and different dosages of those meds, over the years. My son 's case of bipolar sometimes includes schizoaffective features.
Vraylar is an anti-psychotic. My son took Zyprexa (olanzapine) for many years, often at high doses. He currently also takes high doses of Seroquel, to help him get to sleep and stay asleep. With Vraylar, Seroquel, and Zyprexa, he was taking 3 different anti-psychotics (plus some other meds). It was decided to have him stop taking the Zyprexa, so now he takes Vraylar and Seroquel. He was able to take lithium carbonate for 27 years, and it was a good mood stabilizer for him. He had to stop taking lithium in January of 2022, because he was showing signs of kidney damage. Since them, his illness has become more difficult to manage. Do you take aa mood stabilizer?
I cannot tell you how long it will take for the Vraylar to start to "work" for you. Every patient is different, and metabolism varies among patients. What are the symptoms that you hope to be able to manage with Vraylar? What other meds do you take? You should probably ask your provider (psychiatrist, hopefully) how long he/she thinks it will take for you to notice improvement in your symptoms from taking Vraylar. If you are not getting the kind of improvement you had been hoping for, maybe you should discuss the dosage with your psychiatrist.
Connie

family doc diagnosed me as bipolar months ago, formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist a month ago , she said anti depressants dont work with bipolar, she suggested lithium but when she researched it , she said it wasnt compatible with effexor ( an anti depressant I am on because I cant get off it the withdrawls are a nightmare.). so she told me to start lomotrigine. I have never been one for drugs but the depression is really getting beyond anything. You know your depressed when you think about writing out a suicide note a while back ) . ( notice I am still here ).

@conniey I’m so sorry for you, our son also has dealt with Bipolar I since age 21, he’s 31 now. It turned him into a different person and messed our lives around. He still struggles at times to find the right meds, the symptoms and side effects are bad. It’s been very difficult and heart breaking actually. What do you do to stay positive and live with this? I know this started from someone’s else’s post, but I thought maybe it could help some of us deal with this curveball.