Updated on: 10-28-02

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http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p960126.html
"Dwight and colleagues reported that six patients with Schizoaffective disorder all developed new or increased manic symptoms after about a week of risperidone treatment-and two of these patients were taking concomitant mood stabilizers."

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http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2000/ph94.htm
First, make sure than none of the mood stabilizers is one that's been associated with causing hypomania. Yes, this occurs: Neurontin is the worst in this respect, lamotrigine also implicated in this way, topiramate probably also capable, Risperidone fairly widely accepted as commonly causing this problem, and even Zyprexa more rarely associated. That leaves lithium, Depakote and carbamazepine as basically the only really secure options.

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http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2000/ph94.htm
But, can it cause manic symptoms? I don't know. It didn't take long after risperidone first came out to figure out that it can. And there are a few case reports that even Zyprexa can (a whole lot less often that risperidone, in my opinion, like night and day; but I digress). So, can Geodon? I wouldn't say no, that's for sure.

	

		

The biggest mistake I ever made was taking Paxil for depression after my divorce

The decision to take psychiatric medications is a personal one. 
I have chosen to stop taking medications. 
I made this choice on my own after doing much
research on the subject. I was given no support 
from my therapist or psychiatrist for wanting
to stop taking meds but I quit them anyway. I 
spent several months slowly tapering off meds.
I am very happy with my decision. 


I no longer believe that I ever had bipolar disorder
or schizoaffective disorder.


 The biggest mistake I ever
made was taking Paxil for depression after my divorce.
Paxil made me manic and gave me horrible mood swings. 
While manic on Paxil I was diagnosed with "bipolar 
disorder" later as more drugs were added I became sicker
and sicker and my diagnosis was changed to "Schizoaffective
disorder". (I was also taken off Paxil cold turkey and this drug
is known to cause withdrawal psychosis / mania) Now that I have 
quit taking medications I am fine. I've not had a mood swing 
or "psychotic episode" since I went off medications nearly a 
year ago.

The longer I took Anti psychotic medication the more psychotic
I became. I had major problems with Risperdal making me 
manic and psychotic.  Risperdal is known to cause mania.
(Dwight and colleagues reported that six patients with Schizoaffective disorder all developed new or increased manic symptoms after about a week of risperidone treatment-and two of these patients were taking  "concomitant mood stabilizers.")  But my doctors never made
the connection on their own.


Each time I tapered off my final anti 
psychotic (seroquel) I became more psychotic that I was before
I took the medication. Doctors call this "rebound psychosis"
but I waited it out and the psychosis went away after a 
week. Each week I was able to taper down till I was off it 
all together. Some people confuse drug withdrawal psychosis
with the original symptoms.

I am very angry for the pain my child and I have suffered through
at the hands of psychiatry. I now suffer from a drug Induced Movement disorder.
I lost my childhood many jobs, my self esteem, my college scholarship, 
a chance to go to high school, and years of my daughter's 
childhood to psychiatry and indiscriminate psychiatric drugging. 
I still see a therapist and now find the 
support that I get from her to be invaluable. 
I had to quit taking meds for my mind to be clear
enough for her to be able to help me.


My goal is to tirelessly spread the word about the dangers of 
Psychiatry and psychiatric drugging in the hopes that others
will not have to go through what I did.


Sincerely Shandra Jones



	










But I knew better after reading this. 

Taking Wellbutrin may have caused my psychosis in the first place.
----------------




http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2002/ph802.htm
Q:  Wellbutrin; Movement Disorders & Psychosis


I am wondering if Wellbutrin could be the source of my movement disorder and my psychotic
episode.  I was on Wellbutrin (for bipolar disorder) for one year.  During that year I
rapid cycled and basically lived a very hellish life.

I went off the Wellbutrin in January 2001. In February 2001 I had my first ever psychotic
episode and I started taking Seroquel for it. Exactly when this episode occured my movement
disorder also started.  I had many delusion at the time but the biggest one what that
voices were making my arms and legs jerk and twitch.  I know that was just a delusion now
and am looking into the idea that I have a movement disorder.


Now August of 2002 I still get these twitches.  It's mostly in my right leg but sometimes
it hits both shoulders at once, or both legs at once. It also affects my neck at times but
this is more rare.  It's a strong jerking movement and sometimes it hurts.  Coffee and
wine seem to make the jerking worse.  I only get this twitching / jerking when I am
relaxed and I can will it away for short periods of time.

Anyway I've been reading that Wellbutrin affects Dopamine and I know that other drugs that
affect Dopamine cause movement disorders and rebound psychosis.  So I am wondering if you
think that Wellbutrin withdrawal could have made me psychotic and unmasked a movement
disorder that was cause by Wellbutrin?

I've been rediagnosed as Schizoaffective  bipolar type but I have been off all medications
for 7 months and have not had any more psychosis and I've only had one mania and no
depressions.

I feel so much better off medications.  I exercise a lot and watch what I eat and go to
therapy and do relaxation exercises.

Thanks
Kirk 

Kirk  -- 
Congratulations on having found one mood stabilizer I wish I could get all my patients to
take, namely exercise.  And on using relaxation exercises as well.  

Your story is disturbing, partly because of the severity of what you've been through, and
partly because I've not seen this before with Wellbutrin but I think the explanation
you've come up with could be right.  I wonder if someone who specializes in Tourette's
disorder, particularly a researcher in this area, might be interested in your story at
least if not be able to help somehow (as you might imagine though, one of the ways to help
Tourette's is with medications, including some of the medications you're glad to be
off...). 

Here's a list of mood stabilizer options to be aware of if someday your own management is
no longer enough to control your symptoms. 

Dr. Phelps 





"The degree to which we suffer indicates the degree to which we are alive. When we take drugs to ease our suffering, we stifle our psychological and spiritual life." - Peter R. Breggin M.D.










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