Latuda and Restlessness: What Users Say (Page 5)

• ano...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 16, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "Latuda works great at first until I started having severe side effects. I became extremely restless and felt like I couldn’t breathe, and my heart was racing. I thought it was just anxiety, so I pushed through, miserable for 2 years. I gave birth this past summer and took my dose in the hospital while I was hooked up to monitors. I woke up not long after to the monitors going crazy and had the same feeling that my heart was racing/not being able to breathe. Found out that these “anxiety attacks” were not what was going on, I was experiencing tachycardia. Never took it again."

• Wil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 9, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "20 mg - It helped take away the high sense of hearing, high sex drive, and daily symptoms. I still would get my manic episodes about twice a month that would last for a week, but it helped otherwise. I noticed an improvement with depression as well. 40 mg - I was suicidal upping to this amount. I had bad akathisia. I had to take 30 mg of propranolol to make it slightly bearable. 60 mg - Major akathisia and suicidal, I had to get off immediately. Since I react to meds and they don’t work easily for me, I was fairly satisfied with the 20 mg. However, not anything higher because the side effects were too much. I also gained about 10 pounds on it."

• Lea...
• January 17, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I cross-tapered from Risperdal to Latuda back in July and August. Noticed right away that I was more outgoing and motivated, even though I wasn’t really depressed before. I got bad anxiety from it for about a month, but I pushed through it. Stomach pain and upper back/rib discomfort. Went from 20 to 40 to 60. 60 was too much! Around Thanksgiving, I had to put in an emergency call to my pdoc to lower back to 40 due to akathisia. In December, I started getting involuntary movements that I reported to my pdoc. He said we can wait and see! I made an appointment with a neurologist for a second opinion. This is by far the best med I’ve ever been on for mood, but the side effects suck! I’m so torn on what to do next."

• shr...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 30, 2022

For Schizophrenia "Akathisia on this drug was so bad I would pace my roommate's house and drove him crazy. Eventually, it started evening off with some anxiety medicine, but I couldn't go back to work due to the high price without insurance. I got off it, but there were times I would be with my friends and simply have to leave due to moving my feet around, needing space to move and stuff. My doctor helped it a little by lowering it and slowly raising it over a few days, but I agree the akathisia may make you want to get off it, it's not always comfortable for every person, I am sure. Just pure pacing circles all day, and when I would take it at night, I felt dysphoria, like a sense of dread that made me cuddle up in a ball. It wasn't too bad on weight gain at the time, which is why I liked it so much, and I will say it was the most effective med I have been on other than Seroquel, which is my current medication. I literally had to leave friends' houses due to the uncomfortableness and canceled plans."

• tay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 20, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "This was the first medicine to actually help with my bipolar disorder, but the side effects were just so awful that I had to go off of it. I gained 20 pounds in just a few weeks, but the worst part was the feeling I’d get a couple of hours after taking it. I can only describe it as wanting to crawl out of my skin. No matter how I moved or twisted, it felt like my bones were twitchy and irritated. It was such a horrible, restless feeling that I ended up trying to sleep through my hour or two of side effects every day. Not a fun way to live."

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "It's been about 6 weeks on Latuda. During this time, I experienced joint pain, severe anxiety, and panic attacks. I have asked for advice from pharmacists, doctors, and other sources. I have Ativan to help with the akathisia. Lamictal started helps with the panic and anxiety but helps, the Latuda built up a wall between my brain and body. And Latuda - I can only sleep a couple of hours each night. No drowsiness here. What I really want is to be titrated down to 20 mg and see if the side effects are negated. Otherwise, looking towards Seroquel... help!"

• Why...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 24, 2018

For Schizophrenia "My wife took Latuda for her psychosis. At first, it was great because among the 5-6 antipsychotics she had tried, none were effective at all on the auditory hallucinations. Only Latuda works (at 40 mg) in reducing the voices. However, the akathisia that came with it was so bad that she was unable to be in public places without people staring at her because her legs were shaking constantly and vigorously. It badly affected her social life, and we had no choice but to give it up."

• Ivy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 6, 2021

For Schizophrenia "I was prescribed this earlier this year, in July, and I was only on it for a day. It helped my benzodiazepine withdrawal SOME, but it immediately gave me insane akathisia, where I felt extremely anxious in my legs and couldn’t sit still. Everything was making me panic and cry, and I felt sleepy as anything, almost nodded off several times while in public and even on my date with my boyfriend, and I threw up a few times. That was my first and last time taking it. Never again, wouldn’t recommend 0/10."

• jus...
• November 22, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "The first few days were fine, and my mood was stable. Then, I started getting really bad restless leg syndrome. Someone else on here said feeling mentally exhausted and restless at the same time, and I also experienced that. It was a very strange, uncomfortable feeling. Once I actually got to sleep after the restless leg and other issues, I slept really well on this drug. I won't take it anymore because the mental exhaustion/restlessness is unbearable."

• Wil...
• November 15, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "Horrible medication! It caused me to have medication-induced akathisia! I experienced extreme restlessness and uncontrollable tics in my mouth. My legs would continue to jump up and down while sitting! My psychiatrist initially placed me on propranolol to stop these side effects and it worked initially. Then, he had to increase the dosage because it came back. Eventually, he had to take me off propranolol and place me on Cogentin (benztropine mesylate). Cogentin is used for Parkinson’s disease. That’s how bad it got! Never again!"

• Wil...
• November 15, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "Horrible medication! It caused me to have medication-induced akathisia! I experienced extreme restlessness and uncontrollable tics in my mouth. My legs would continue to jump up and down while sitting! My psychiatrist initially placed me on propranolol to stop these side effects and it worked initially. Then, he had to increase the dosage because it came back. Eventually, he had to take me off propranolol and place me on Cogentin (benztropine mesylate). Cogentin is used for Parkinson’s disease. That’s how bad it got! Never again!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 3, 2018

For Schizophrenia "Best antipsychotic I've been on in regards to psychotic symptoms being treated and cognition returning to normal. The main catch was akathisia. An intense internal feeling of distress and inner tension mixed with objective motor restlessness. I bounced my legs constantly and felt tense. I was fine during the daytime, but after I took it, it was awful every night. My eyes would roll backwards from the emotional agony. I would feel frustrated and tense mostly every night. I had to take Benadryl to cope with it. I would not recommend this if you're prone to akathisia. Good drug overall besides that."

• lat...
• March 29, 2018

For Schizophrenia "I've been on Latuda for 6 months now for schizophrenia. I've had paranoia and persistent auditory hallucinations; this drug was a miracle for blasting them away. For the first 3 weeks, I was a sleepy wreck and didn't dare drive, but a lot of that went away over time. It took probably about 2-3 months for the hallucinations to finally go away; you could tell the volume on them was going down every day. I had moderate akathisia. This was on 40 mg of Latuda. After months of having no voices, I decided to try tapering off to 30 mg, and noise hearing has started to creep in again (sob!), but my akathisia went away, and I felt a bit more alert. I'm debating staying on this at 30 mg; I seem to also have a lot of demotivation and anhedonia since I started taking the drugs, but they could just also be negative symptoms of psychosis. In sum, great for hallucinations, not that great for everything else."

• Rig...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 20, 2016

For Bipolar Disorder "So tonight was my first 20 mg Latuda at dinner, and I was super afraid that akathisia (a restlessness from taking antipsychotic pills) would happen. But so far, so good. I guess some people get it, and some don't."

• Zor...
• March 3, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "So I was on lithium for Bipolar 2 and the doc put me on 80 mg. After about a week, the 'edge' was lifted. But then the craziness started. I could NOT sit still. I would at times literally be upside down in an armchair, legs over the back, just trying to find comfort. My dad said it was painful to watch. I never took it with food as you're supposed to. I took it before bed and went to sleep. If I took it earlier, I felt I was about to have anxiety attacks almost to the point of vomiting. Dread and doom, people. But I liked how that edge was gone. So, we went down to 60 mg. Better, but still too much moving around all day long, unable to sit still. 40 mg. Nope, still moving. 20 mg. AAAAAh, better, but the edge was back. So, now we're back at 40. Oh, the adventure of psych meds. I will say this: I named my Balance Druid Troll on World of Warcraft after this drug. If I can withstand the restlessness and anxiety, it's worth not having that... feeling... around anymore."

• DPa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 7, 2018

For Bipolar Disorder "I took Latuda for two months. It helped with the mania and crying spells, although it made me tired. I felt sluggish all the time. It worsens tardive dyskinesia. I felt restless at times and had severe anxiety. I worried about anything. I'm now on week three since quitting. The withdrawals were awful at first. I'm finally beginning to feel like myself again. I'm having headaches and mild depression, but so glad I quit. I wouldn't recommend this drug. The side effects and withdrawals are awful!!!"

• Fer...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 27, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I have treatment-resistant bipolar depression. I also have anxiety disorders and OCD. This was added to my treatment. It worked really well... I felt good. Then the side effects hit and hit me hard after 5 weeks. My restlessness left me shaking and hot from my pounding heart. I would sit in front of the A/C to cool down... it didn't work. I felt like I had to 'go, go, go' all the time. The sweating left me with constant damp. Luckily, my doctor slowly decreased the med."

• Mat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 14, 2021

For Schizophrenia "I’d rate this a 2/10. I took this from October 2016 to April 2017 when I was 18 years old, 60 mg twice a day for schizophrenia, anxiety, and panic attacks. Although it made the paranoia and anxiety go away, it gave me insane akathisia where I would move around in my seat as if I had to pee really, really bad, paced back and forth even though I couldn’t keep my eyes open, my arms felt restless, and I had this unexplainable cold feeling inside my body. I stopped in March 2017, but to this day I still have tardive dyskinesia, and I’m on a different medication now. This one sucked, smh."

• Kae...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I went to a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts, and they talked to me for 5 minutes. All I told them was bipolar runs in my family, so supposedly that means I have it. They put me on this med and went from 20 mg to 40 mg to 60 mg in the span of three days. Every day I told them I felt horrible. I’m skipping my dose tonight and want to get off this. It’s horrible. I experienced such bad akathisia and horrible anxiety. I felt like I was in a nightmare, and I've only been on it for a week. I've never felt so horrible in my life. I have horrible insomnia and exhaustion at the same time, but the inability to stop fidgeting. The doctor even knew I was having these problems and prescribed a med to help, but it didn’t, and I only felt worse. And never gave me the information on it before I took it. Do not take this med until you dig deeper and find all the side effects. It works for some, but sure didn’t work for me. Good luck, everyone. Live a full life!"

• JJ1...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 9, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "I was prescribed this for depression-off label-added 20 mg to my Paroxetine. It seemed to help greatly with the depression, but I had to quit after 7 weeks due to akathisia and extreme dry mouth. Dry mouth was so bad, I began to get sores on the inside of my lips. I’m nervous about not taking it because it helped a lot. My doctor upped my Paroxetine when I quit the Latuda-I've got my fingers crossed!"

• Got...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 26, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "20 mg & only made it 3 days. Day 1: cloud lifted. Appetite subsided. Day 2: couldn't sit still & kind of queasy, even with extra food. Appetite was practically gone (which, as a binge eater, was an amazing feeling). Day 3: compulsory restlessness; I literally had to be moving. The nausea, even with taking a meal, was too much to bear on day 3, which put me into a kind of medicated 'funk', so there was no day 4... My Pdoc said nausea gets worse, so why bother with trying day four. Had been on Seroquel XR in the past and dropped it because I was getting heart flutters where I had to catch my breath, and involuntary muscle movements. For 3 years, it had worked wonderfully, and I hate that I had to drop it."

• Spy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 28, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) with some bipolar symptoms, and I also have serious anger issues. I took 74 mg myself, without asking my psychiatrist. At first, it was awesome, I slept on time, and the next day I felt calm like never before. I loved it. I talked with my psychiatrist, and he wrote me 37 mg, but the next day I took 74 mg again. The first hour was fine, I smoked a cigarette, and after that, I felt sleepy, but also I had akathisia, so I decided to take Atarax to sleep. The Atarax gave me extreme nervousness, I had extreme apnea, a symptom of nicotine. I couldn't even breathe, so I went to the hospital. My psychiatrist told me it was a huge mistake taking the big dose with Atarax and gave me Xanax for some days and to continue Latuda when I felt relaxed. I started the medication again, but the akathisia was brutal for me, I couldn't manage it, even with 2 mg Xanax per day. I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to hurt myself. I stopped it because of akathisia. If you can manage that, don't hesitate and take it at the correct dosage."

• Jen...
• April 12, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been on Latuda for four years. It’s masking my depression, but I’m experiencing side effects that are pretty bad. Facial movements, which include tardive dyskinesia and masking. I’d like to decrease my 120 mg and hope they go away. I would like to change medication. The restlessness and uncontrollable facial expression are making my life difficult."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "Horrible experience with Latuda. Severe akathisia and horrible restlessness felt like I wanted to jump out of my body. Do not recommend."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "Horrible experience with Latuda. Severe akathisia and horrible restlessness felt like I wanted to jump out of my body. Do not recommend."