Saphris and Dizziness: What Users Say

• LJ ...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 13, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been on Saphris for nine months. I am taking 20 mg at night. I find the medication puts me to sleep 10-15 minutes after taking my dosage. If I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I stumble around in a daze. After sleeping 9-10 hours, I wake up feeling refreshed. I also take Lamotrigine and Sertraline. To manage anxiety, I take Lorazepam as needed. It took me several months to see the full benefits. Today, I am under control. No suicidal thoughts. No aggressive behavior. I am no longer having the delusions that people are out to get me and/or I am being followed. Best of all the medication did not throw me into depression. I still have problems when I become overwhelmed or in a busy environment."

• Ano...
• December 20, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I have Bipolar Disorder I, with rapid cycling and mixed states. I tried Saphris when I was recovering from a hospitalization, which was very unpleasant and ended very badly. So I was a bit manic and terribly anxious going on it. I took it for 6 days. It seemed to work almost right away. I was shaky and anxious throughout the 6 days. Extremely sleepy and dizzy after my 5 mg at bedtime. But that wore off after 4 days. Mood-wise, it seemed to completely stall my cycling. Miracle! And I was much calmer and less reactive, but definitely awake during the days. Then, after my 6th dose, I noticed my lips were puffy, and my tongue was fatter, then my throat got tight = allergic reaction. Worked great until that!"

• You...
• July 20, 2017

For Schizophrenia "I've been taking Saphris 10 mg twice a day for over a year. It has helped me tremendously. I no longer hear 9 voices, down to 2 voices that are quiet. I do not get dizzy or tired on it as well. It has given me clarity and rest from voices. It has been good for me so far, so grateful. I no longer have anxiety as well."

• Anonymous
• November 13, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I am a fine artist with bipolar. I have been taking Saphris for almost a month, which was added to my other medicines, lithium and Depakote. The first night (5 mg), I woke to use the restroom and felt so dizzy I thought there was no way I would be taking it again - even in the morning, I felt so tired, but it lifted around noon and I just felt calm the rest of the day. The next day was a little better and so on. After a week, my psych doctor put me on 10 mg at bedtime, but after 4 days, I still felt too tired to do much but watch T.V., so I went down to 5 mg again. Racing thoughts have leveled out, and I no longer have paranoia/suspicious feelings, and anger problems are all but gone. Best of all, I enjoy working on my art again and can concentrate more on it!"

• Anonymous
• October 20, 2011

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I am on Day 2 of taking Saphris, and I think it is a miracle. My doctor put me on 10 mg at bedtime, and I have slept like a baby for the first time in 3 years. He kept me on 1200 mg of Trileptal, also at bedtime for mood swings. He also added Neurontin to take 4 times a day with my Klonopin. Yesterday, I actually got out of bed and cleaned my apartment from top to bottom happily. I feel wonderful. I'm not tired or hung over, and my mood is great. Also, my anxiety is almost gone. I have not had any auditory or visual hallucinations so far. I have noticed that I eat like crazy for about 30 minutes after I take Saphris, but then I get dizzy and fall fast asleep and don't wake up until morning."

• jma...
• January 3, 2013

For Schizoaffective Disorder "I've been taking Saphris, and it puts me to sleep. I've been taking it for almost 2 months. The only problems I have on it are that I have an extreme drop in blood pressure, becoming very dizzy, easily agitated, plus suicidal thoughts. It's a good sleep medicine, though. I've been sleep deprived for several months, and since I've been on this medicine, I've been getting the proper rest that I need. Other than that, I've been okay on taking Saphris."

• Bra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I was prescribed Saphris for bipolar disorder. The morning after my first bedtime dose, I had a number of side effects. I experienced confusion, dizziness, hallucinations, and acute short-term memory loss. As a result of the confusion and acute short-term memory loss, I unintentionally overdosed on my morning medications, resulting in extreme doses of medications. The most concerning was a 900 mg dose of Wellbutrin (bupropion), which in doses of 300 mg or more can cause seizures."

• Fir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 21, 2019

For Schizophrenia "I was put on this medication while in the hospital for voices and other symptoms. It is the worst antipsychotic I've been on. Not only does it taste foul and numb your mouth, but it also made me dizzy and extremely nauseated. The nausea and dizziness were so horrible that I ended up getting physically sick; I could not keep food or water down. Whenever I stood up, I could feel my blood pressure drop, and I had difficulties walking straight. I was lucky that I was with other patients while off the ward because I could have easily fallen. After two days of misery, I told the staff that I wouldn't take it anymore. I'm sure it was helpful for some people, but the amount of sickness it caused me wasn't enough for me to stay on it."

• Won...
• January 26, 2016

"I was on Seroquel XR for the longest time, and I was having really violent mood swings and always felt depressed. Even worse than when I started it, but my doctor wouldn't take me off of it, so I finally went to someone else, and he put me on Saphris. I feel like a fog has been lifted from me. It's been so long since I have actually felt true happiness. The only downsides are that it's incredibly expensive, and it gave me a lot of nausea and dizziness the first week I took it. I'm still new to it, so I still have a little bit of dizziness, especially in the morning, but hopefully that will pass. I really don't want to have to switch again, especially since this has been working out so well for my mental state."

• Mys...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 1, 2020

For Schizophrenia "Um, Saphris made me not go to the bathroom, and I have IBS already. It has made me really tired, and my mood has really decreased. I have been really depressed the last couple of days, and I have been on it for three weeks now. I had dry mouth, and I have felt dizzy for two weeks, but both went away after two weeks. I have felt like I would pass out a few times, but I was outside and got overheated. So, in other words, on this drug, don’t stay in the sun for long because you will get overheated and pass out with a heat stroke. My doctor at the hospital put me on this drug. I would say from my experience my advice is don’t take it or try it out at your own risk because it is not working out for me. By the way, I take 5 mg in the morning and 10 mg at night. At this point, I would say this drug sucks and is the worst drug I have ever been on, with side effects that have affected my mood in a bad way. I would think really hard before you get on this drug. Good luck and take care."

• Raz...
• November 19, 2010

For Bipolar Disorder "I have just started taking this medicine. I just took my third dose about 30 minutes ago. The first night taking the medicine was difficult. Bad taste-definitely. My legs were fidgety and I tossed and turned for about 4 hours (very unusual for me, I normally sleep like a rock). I could hardly get out of bed for more than 10 minutes the first day. Dizziness was very bad. I took the second dose about 16 hours after the first dose (4 pm on day 2). The second day has been a bit better. I was able to get on the exercise bike for a few minutes even. This is my third day. I took the third dose at 8:30 am. I am working up to taking 5 mg every 12 hours, but am not there yet. I have a follow-up with the doctor in a couple of days."

• RPO...
• February 11, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "My experience was very negative. I felt light-headed and dizzy immediately, and within two weeks, I started falling asleep at random times, even while driving on the freeway. I had violent nightmares. I threw up constantly, and according to my family, I started to lose my memory. I couldn't sleep more than a few hours at a time without waking up and having a panic attack. Sleeping medication did nothing to help that. The side effects became so debilitating that I had to stop it and move to something else."

• Moo...
• December 31, 2010

For Bipolar Disorder "Started medicine December 22. Hadn't been able to get good nights' sleep in months. My moods were all over the place. Have had a terrible year. Tired and ready for it all to end. Couldn't stop crying, to sleep well, didn't trust anyone. The first 2 days, I was asleep, exhausted, slept 24 hours, woke for food and bathroom. Afraid to take 12/24, might miss Christmas. I didn't. Still take Xanax: leg goes restless, can't stand to be confined, etc. I do have more energy and focus. My appetite has been reduced, thank goodness. Complaints: I feel like my stomach swells like to triple its size when I eat, constipation, gas, dizziness, less urination, and have noticed my back has been hurting (not medicines/my increase in energy). Loose wild dreams and sleep soundly."