overmedicated?

[amycus]

My husband is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder II.  He is currently taking 5mg of Abilify and 7mg of Zyprexa.  Should he be taking both of these medications?  I thought they were basically the same medication.  I'm afraid he is being overmedicated.  He is also on 900mg of Lithium and 200mg of Lamictal.  He is having trouble getting up in the morning.  He has been having an episode for the past 4 months.  Thank you.

[colie316]

Hi, just read your post and found it interresting.  My thoughts after reading it are first, why is taking antipsychotic medication for mood disorder?  The Lithium makes sense as does the Lamictal.  A Lithium level can be drawn to see if he is on the accurate dose and it is becoming common practice to use anticonvulsants for mood stablization as well. (Depakote, Lamictal, & Carbamezapine are some that I am familiar with them using.)  If your husband does have thought disorder that would explain the Abilify and Zyprexa I guess.  I agree with Dr. Gould, if he is having difficulty functioning then definitely consult with his psychiatrist and try to adjust his medications.  Whatever he does, do not encourage him to stop any of his meds cold turkey on his own or it will most likely guarantee him a stay at your nearest Psych Unit.  Also, just a personal observation I have made about the patients I care for, Abilify is great out of the gate but then often finds patients crashing harder than they did before the Abilify was started.  ( I do not like this medication!  However the Psychiatrist I work with says it is not a good monotherapy drug, but is very good when used in combination with another psych med.)  I wish both you and your husband good luck.    

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

That is a huge amount of medication, and if he can't function because of it, it is by definition too much....talk to your doctor about lowering it in steps.