I was prescribed this medication as a mood stabilizer (not for Bi Polar Disorder and not for Schizophrenia). I was given a trial of 28 days - I couldn't get passed day 5 due to the extreme dizziness/lightheadedness that was so disabling I could not even drive to work for 3 days. It also made me extremely groggy/tired but I couldn't sleep. I do NOT recommend this medication.
I grew an inch after taking it for 2 1/2 years. Can't go without it. Got to have it. I think my doctor and parents would agree with those last two statements.
No sperm. So I guess it's stopping the spread. For a few weeks it made my left eye twitch but that has stopped. It works really well at stopping hearing voices that are not there. Compared to other antipsychotics it's a life saver. Doesn't make me feel high at all. Causes some drowsiness where it feels really heavy and slow going up stairs. It's probably the best antipsychotic but antipsychotics seem to have really low standards. There are times in my day in stressful situations with lots of people around where I know that without fanapt I would definitely be hallucinating voices but the fanapt is still working. I've gained about 100 pounds though but it's not as bad as zyprexa. I think the weight gain is mostly from not exercising. It makes exercising harder. Sometimes if I get up real fast I can feel my heart beating really strong but I don't faint. I don't think it's making me overly hungry but it does make exercise more of a challenge.
I have a very high tolerance to medication but after 1mg morning and night of Fanapt I felt completely horrible. I thought I might be catching the flu or something but then I realized it was the medicine. It made me feel so out of it. I was drowsy, slow moving and thinking, felt like I was going to faint when I got up and walked around, got headaches, my heart kept racing which made my anxiety worse. I was surprised how strong this medication effected me in such a short time and small dose. Not for me!
When I was ready to give up on medicine all together, I decided why not give this a try my doctor put me on all of the most expensive antidepressants and anti-psychotics for ocd. All of them did not work.I decided to give this medicine a try , I remember taking it long time ago. The only side effect I noticed is weight gain , which can be managed with diet and exercise. Within in days I noticed improvement.
It works well I am on 6mg of Fanapt.It works well for OCD.
My blood pressure drops dangerously low.
I have been taking this medication for 12 days now. My voices are almost gone. I still eye some things. The one side affect that I am having is sleeping about 2/3 of the time. People say that I look extremely tired or they say I look like a zombie. After being awake about 15 minutes I feel like i need to sleep. I hate living this way.
Seems to be helping with my mood but I now have retrograde ejaculation (no semen comes out when I orgasm) which I can only hope is not permanent.
This is the most awful medication on the market that can be used to treat bipolar disorder. It is an 'atypical' which is generally not prescribed for this however my doc wanted to try it since other RX weren't having much effect. The side effects were overwhelming with racing heart rate, low blood pressure, muscle aches, fatigue, drowsiness and dizziness being the worst. One major reason I stopped is because of the potential increase in aggression. I'm a competitive athlete and naturally aggressive and I do not want my aggression to become worse or violent. I've already injured myself prior to taking Fanapt due to my natural 'safe' aggressive behavior and recklessness but I do not want it to become a problem of violence where I could hurt others. One other side effect that can affect athletes or people who exercise regularly is the abnormal rise in heart rate. My resting heart rate is between 40-50 which is very low. I noticed that my heart races to approximately 120 beats per minute or so just doing simple chores around the house. 120 beats per minute is normally a very vigorous workout for me so this is a crazy situation. Fanapt made exercise and training impossible. Maybe this medication can help others who are resistant to the side effects however the cons outweigh the pros for me. This RX is a no go for me.
I experience depression, mania, psychosis, and anxiety, and this really takes the edge off. It hasn't been a cure but has been the only med that really made a difference for me and without horrible side effects. My left hand shakes a little, my mouth is dry, and it made me a little tired when I first started it but that is gone now. The pluses have been majorly decreased anxiety (less panic attacks), less hallucinations, and better depression. I also lost five pounds on this, which either means that I lost weight I gained on the previous med or Fanapt itself made me lose weight. I LOVE this stuff and it has turned me from a student failing all classes to one getting straight As. Fanapt changed my life!
Taking 12mg unable to concentrate, lack of motivation, no more sex
This is one of the only drugs that has ever helped me. I have been taking Fanapt since early in 2010. Most side effects listed don't impact my life as severely as my disorder did. My selling point was that I was able to lose 50 of the 80 pounds I gained because of other medications.
my daughter took one 6 mg. pill and fell out with dangerously low blood pressure!!!!! her heart raced, she felt like vomiting, and turned blue. Also she began to hurt all over, and she felt like she could not breath!!!!!!!!!!!! She is only 21!!!! I looked up the side effects and holy cow there are so many that are severe that it is going in the garbage. I looks more and more like we are all the doctors little lab rats!! TEST SUBJECTS and that's all. I really think they could care less if they kill us to test their poisons. I am wondering how long will this last, she took it 6 hours ago and still cant stand up.
I am not the one taking this drug. My 5 year old was prescibed this for his ADHD and ODD. My son was probably 50 lbs before. In a matter of months, he ballooned up to over 70 lbs. Now is is 76 lbs or more. We have him in baseball and it is not working much. The medication works well for calming him down and at each check up with the psychiatrist, his weight is more. He looks miserable and I feel awful at how heavy he has become. Its wonderful that it does what the dr wants it to, but I am not happy about the weight gain.
for tha past year, my ears have been ringin, finally a few months ago went to tha doctor then to a special ear doctor an said it could be medican related but it was diagnosed as tinnitus, earlier i searched online an seen in very rare cases that fanapt can cause this never realized this till now, i agree with tha ones that have mentioned it takes tha sex drive away an i had no clue until i read another review bout it but took all my sperm away, i was hopein to have a kid someday so if my doctor which im sure will takes me off this med an tries a new med. tha sperm an sex drive will come back
Serious side effects steadily increasing from start to stopping: extreme tiredness, hard to swallow, pounding heart, dizziness, light- headiness. Lastly - Sudden: faintness, inability to walk without being held, and steadily dropping blood pressure (HYPO- TENSION) at dangerous level.
Medicine will make you tired. No more wanting to have sex, because you can't get it up.Grew man boobs.Price of medicine is high even though it has been out for years.Started off at 105 pounds and now 195 in three months.I'm a short guy about 5'5" and now it harder to walk because of the weight gain.
i have been takeing this med for over a week it is not helping my side effects are worse
Honestly I feel like this med saved my life. I started having a face twitch with vraylar and they told me it wouldn't ever go away. They switched me to this and a med for the face twitch. I couldn't get the face twitch med filled but I started taking Fanapt and not only have I been so much happier and interacting with my kids again, sleeping well and less anxious, but all the movement went away.