Posted by SLS on September 19, 2012, at 6:52:26
In reply to To SLS, posted by Jeroen on September 19, 2012, at 3:21:57
Navane and Haldol are not in the same class of drug. They come from very different series of molecular structure. Navane is the only thioxanthene available in the US. They also produce nearly opposite effects on brain glucose utilization as seen on PET scans. These differences reflect brain activity in various regions. If you fail to respond to one drug, you might respond to the other.
Both Navane and Haldol are very potent dopamine D2 receptor antagonists; Navane being slightly more potent than Haldol. I don't know if there is a difference in the risk of EPS between these two drugs. Very little has been written about this. One study from 1984 reported Haldol having a higher rate of producing akathisia EPS than Navane. However, one source claimed that Navane was somewhat more likely to produce movement EPS. Either way, the incidence of tardive dyskinesia for these drugs is about 5 percent per year of exposure. Over a lifetime, the incidence is close to 50 percent.
I guess you could rationalize using Haldol or Navane as a temporary bridge until novel antipsychotics become available. Perhaps administering one of these drugs for a short period of time would undo what Lamictal did to you, allowing you to function without them. Some people stay well after discontinuing their antipsychotic treatment. This represents a small minority, though.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22121861
Then again, yours is an atypical case. You might want to attempt discontinuation at some point if you achieve remission. I know I would. I would probably wait a year, though. If I were to relapse, I might then attempt a crossover to Seroquel or some other second generation antipsychotic (SGA) before going back to a first generation antipsychotic (FGA).
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1026045
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120912/msgs/1026103.html