How To Use Vraylar
Read the Medication Guide provided by your pharmacist before you start taking cariprazine and each time you get a refill. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Take this medication by mouth with or without food as directed by your doctor, usually once daily.
The dosage is based on your medical condition, response to treatment, and other medications you may be taking. Be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the products you use .
To reduce your risk of side effects, your doctor may direct you to start this medication at a low dose and gradually increase your dose. Follow your doctor’s instructions carefully.
Use this medication regularly to get the most benefit from it. To help you remember, take it at the same time each day.
Do not increase your dose or use this drug more often or for longer than prescribed. Your condition will not improve any faster, and your risk of side effects will increase.
Tell your doctor if your condition does not get better or if it gets worse.
How To Avoid Vraylar Side Effects
Vraylar may not be right for everyone. If you experience side effects while taking Vraylar, contact your healthcare provider. He or she can give you medical advice on how to prevent side effects and what to do in the event that side effects occur. While side effects can be discouraging, there are ways to prevent or reduce adverse effects while taking Vraylar, including:
Vraylar Withdrawal And Overdose
Vraylar has not been studied to determine the risk of dependence. The manufacturer reports withdrawal symptoms as possible, but not likely.
- For schizophrenia,the dosage is between 1.5 mg to 6 mg daily, with 6 mg daily being the maximum recommended dosage.
- For manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder, the recommended dosage is between 3 mg and 6 mg daily.
- For bipolar depression, the recommended dosage is between 1.5 mg and 3 mg daily.
If overdose is suspected, contact the Poison Control Center for guidance.
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You Could Also Develop Low Blood Pressure Or Feel Some Dizziness
Research suggests that initially, antipsychotic drugs can cause changes in blood pressure. Initially, you might experience an increase in blood pressure . But after that, its more likely that youll notice a drop in blood pressure and, therefore, some dizziness or lightheadedness, especially if youre standing up from a sitting position.
Although it might seem like a small thing, a significant decrease in blood pressure raises your risk for fainting, strokes, and heart attacks. So if you experience this, its important to check in with your doctor.
Vraylar Side Effects & Adverse Reactions
Vraylar , is an atypical antipsychotic medication approved in 2015 by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Occasionally, Vraylar is also prescribed as an adjunct for treatment-resistant depression and off-label for anxiety disorders. Although Vraylar is marketed as an improvement over older atypical antipsychotic medications in terms of efficacy and tolerability, many users will experience unwanted Vraylar side effects and/or adverse reactions throughout treatment.
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Known Drugs That Can Cause Hair Loss
Drug induced alopecia, hair loss that develops due to a side effect of medication, will often occur within three months after starting the particular medication, but the exact timeline will depend on a few factors. The type of drug, type of hair loss, dosage, and your sensitivity to the drug are all important factors in how severe the side effects will be.
What Depakote Does For The Brain
Divalproex sodium works by increasing the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the brain. The body produces GABA naturally. It is a chemical neurotransmitter or brain messenger.
Faster than normal electrical impulses in the brain can cause erratic impulses. These impulses overstimulate the nerves. GABA helps to calm and relax nerves. Relaxing nerves can stabilize moods.
Increasing GABA can also prevent abnormal brain signals that lead to seizures.
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Like All Medications Antipsychotics Can Come With Side Effects
While their benefit is thought to be largely related to their dopamine blocking or reducing effects, they have effects on other neurochemicals and receptors in the brain, Pandurangi says. So, they can cause symptoms that reach beyond the main dopamine-related effects.
The crucial thing is that anyone taking an antipsychotic, even at a relatively low dose, needs to be aware that there are side effects and needs to be working with a physician who they feel comfortable in contacting, should something come up, Russell Margolis, M.D., clinical director of the Johns Hopkins Schizophrenia Center, tells SELF.
That said, not all antipsychotic drugs are associated with the same side effects. In general, older antipsychotic drugs tend to have more serious side effects and are more likely to cause side effects in general. But more modern atypical antipsychotics can also produce side effects.
Still, even within the category of atypical antipsychotics, some drugs are more likely to cause certain side effects than others. And some people simply respond differently to specific drugs than others. So, no matter what medication you take, your mileage may vary.
Here are some of the potential side effects that you should keep in mind if youre taking antipsychotics.
What Medications Can Cause Hair Loss 46 Known Drugs
Losing your hair or dealing with baldness can be incredibly frustrating.
As you age, it’s also not altogether unexpected: a majority of men will deal with hair loss sometime in their life due to natural causes, but it can be delayed — and hair restored — with proper hair loss treatment.
But medications for other conditions can also cause hair loss, and certain drugs can contribute not only to hair loss but excessive hair growth and changes in color and texture as well.
There’s good news though, as these changes in your hair are typically reversible once you stop taking the drug thats causing them. Here’s what you should know about medications and hair loss.
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You Could Develop Some Metabolic Issues Like High Blood Pressure Or Increased Blood Glucose Levels
They do affect changes in metabolism of glucose and lipidsessentially the kind of conditions that lead many to develop high cholesterol or diabetes, Dr. Margolis tells SELF. Luckily, these side effects aren’t common.
This happens, Pandurangi says, because antipsychotics interfere with and diminish the action of insulin on glucose . That can lead some people to develop hyperglycemia and eventually diabetes.
Pregnancy And Breastfeeding While Taking Vraylar
Below are details about Vraylars use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Pregnancy
Vraylar may not be safe to use during pregnancy. Not much is known about the drugs safety in humans during pregnancy. Animal studies suggest that Vraylar could cause harm to a fetus when taken during pregnancy. But animal studies dont always predict what will happen in humans.
If you become pregnant while taking Vraylar, let your doctor know right away. You shouldnt suddenly stop taking Vraylar unless your doctor recommends it. Stopping Vraylar without a new treatment plan in place could cause symptoms of your condition to return or get worse. Its also important to note that untreated mental health conditions during pregnancy can also have harmful effects on a pregnant female* and their newborn infant.
If you do use Vraylar while pregnant, consider signing up for the National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics. This registry collects information about the safety of antipsychotic drugs when used during pregnancy. For more information, talk with your doctor or visit the registrys website.
* In this article, we use the term female to refer to someones sex assigned at birth. For information about the difference between sex and gender, see this article.
Breastfeeding
Its not known if Vraylar is safe to use while breastfeeding. There arent enough studies that look at the safety of Vraylar while breastfeeding or its effects on a breastfed child.
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What If I Need To Stay On My Medication
If you need to remain on your medication there are a couple of options that may help.
- One is to reduce your dose, which may be enough to allow your hair to regrow.
- Another option is to switch to a different brand or the generic version of your medication, as it may be an inactive ingredient, rather than the drug itself, that is causing your hair loss.
If neither of these options helps, and you feel that you really can’t live with your hair loss, you will need to discuss with your doctor the pros and cons of switching to a different antidepressant.
Increased Risk Of Death In Older Adults With Psychosis Due To Dementia
Vraylar has a boxed warning for the increased risk of death in older adults with psychosis due to dementia. Vraylar belongs to a class of drugs called antipsychotics. These drugs are known to raise the risk of death in older adults with this condition.
What might help
Other treatment options besides Vraylar may be a better fit for an older adult with dementia-related psychosis.
If youre age 65 or older and develop dementia while taking Vraylar, your doctor will likely have you switch to a different medication.
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In Other Rare Cases You Could Have A Drop In White Blood Cells
A drop in white blood cells, which are an important part of the immune system that helps you fight infections, has been reported with some antipsychotics, such as risperidone, ariprprazole, olanzapine, and clozapine. It can cause serious and even life-threatening complications, but is rare and there isnt much research about why or how often it happens.
Treatment For Depressive Episodes
Depressive episodes are a particular challenge because many antidepressant drugs pose a risk for triggering mania. It is not clear if standard antidepressants work for bipolar depression. Depressive episodes are very difficult to control and people who do not respond to mood stabilizers may endure prolonged depressive episodes up to 2 to 3 months.
Lithium or lamotrigine are the standard first-line treatments for depressive episodes. Many studies indicate that lithium works better for controlling manic states, and that lamotrigine works better for bipolar depression.
If improvement does not occur within 2 to 4 weeks, an antidepressant may be added. Antidepressants alone are not recommended. The first choices for antidepressants are bupropion or SSRI such as fluoxetine .
Other drugs are also approved specifically for treatment of bipolar depression. Symbyax combines the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine with the SSRI antidepressant fluoxetine. Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic which is approved for both treatment of bipolar mania and bipolar depression. Lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic approved for treating adults with depression associated with bipolar I disorder. It can be used either alone or in combination with lithium or valproate.
Other Treatments
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Is My Antidepressant Causing My Hair Loss
While hair loss caused by antidepressant use is rare, it is a possible side effect for just about all antidepressants. One study suggested that bupropion had the highest relative risk compared to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Unfortunately, because there are so many potential causes of hair loss, sometimes the only way to know for certain if your antidepressant is causing your hair loss is to stop taking it and see if your hair regrows.
Always talk to your doctor before stopping your medication.
Why Do Antidepressants Cause Hair Loss
The type of hair loss generally caused by antidepressants is called telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium occurs when your body is stressed in some wayperhaps by childbirth, illness, surgery, mental stress, poor nutrition, or medicationwhich causes hair follicles to enter into the resting stage prematurely. Because more hair follicles are now in this resting stage, more hair is shed, leading to diffuse hair loss all over the scalp.
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Depakote Serious Side Effects
Taking Depakote has been linked to some serious and even deadly side effects.
Liver damage is one of the side effects that may be fatal. This is especially true in children under 2. This risk is highest in the first months of taking the medication. The risk may still be present even after the Depakote medication is stopped.
Another potentially fatal side effect is inflammation of the pancreas, or pancreatitis. This is when digestive enzymes start digesting the pancreas itself.
When pregnant women take Depakote, their unborn babies are at risk of developing birth defects. These defects can affect the brain, spinal cord, heart, arms, legs and penis. These babies also risk developing lower intelligence. Women who are or may become pregnant should not take Depakote.
You Could Experience Some Involuntary Muscle Movements
One odd potential side effect of typical antipsychotics is something known as tardive dyskinesia, a condition characterized by repetitive involuntary movements that usually occur in the face, neck, and tongue.
However, this usually only occurs after long-term treatment. It tends to appear after several months or years of taking antipsychotics, the National Alliance on Mental Illness explains, so it’s probably not something you’ll see if you’re only taking a medication for a few weeks.
It might manifest as chewing motions in the jaw, Dr. Margolis says, or as grimacing or eye blinking, the Mayo Clinic says. That is something every clinician prescribing these medicines monitors over time so that it can be identified early, and adjustments made as necessary, Dr. Margolis explains.
Unfortunately, its possible for tardive dyskinesia to persist even if the drug is stopped.
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How To Diagnose Drug Induced Hair Loss
If you think that you may be experiencing hair loss as a result of a medication, you should speak with a healthcare professional, particularly the doctor that prescribed the suspect medication. Some of the early signs of excessive hair loss include an increased amount of hair on your pillow, more hair on your brush, and more hair in the shower drain.
Whenever a doctor is attempting to diagnose drug induced alopecia, they will take a complete medical history in order to account for the new medications, changes to doses, and family history of hair loss.
Types Of Bipolar Disorder
The American Psychiatric Association classifies bipolar disorder according to the pattern and severity of the symptoms. The main types of bipolar disorder are:
Specifiers
A bipolar classification can also have a “specifier” to describe certain features specific to that person’s condition.
For example, a person with bipolar I disorder may have a manic episode “with mixed features” to describe episodes of mania accompanied by severe depression. Similarly, a person with bipolar II disorder who experiences depression accompanied by mania or hypomania is described as having a depressive episode “with mixed features.”
The specifier “with anxious distress” is used to describe people who experience symptoms of anxiety that are not part of the bipolar diagnostic criteria.
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How To Deal With Hair Loss
Unwanted hair change can be traumatic at any age and for any reason. These strategies from patients who’ve experienced it may help.
Prepare others. Reassure family and friends, especially children, that although you may look different with no or thinner hair, you’re getting healthier thanks to your medical treatmentwhether it’s chemotherapy, surgery, or medication.
Do what’s important to you. If you feel comfortable in a fuchsia wig, wear it. If you have no problem with your hairless dome, raise your head proudly. “Don’t be afraid of your choices,” says Rohina Hoffman, a neurologist-turned-photographer and author of Hair Stories . “Don’t let fear of judgment hinder your needs or wishes.”
Seek support. Consider seeing a professional therapist, leaning on friends and family, or joining an online support group. “Hair loss is emotionally challenging, and support is crucial,” says Kelly Baker, who lost her hair after taking divalproex sodium for epilepsy. Her hair grew back after her neurologist adjusted the dose.
Find an understanding stylist. Baker has high praise for both her current hairstylist and the one who worked with her when her formerly straight hair came in curly, although they had very different approaches. Her current stylist has shown Baker how to shape her curls and what products to use, while her previous stylist tried to remove the curls with relaxers and gelsbut both provided much needed support.