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Is Convulsion Possible While On Abilify And Klonopin?
Question: Hello, I am taking 15 mg of abilify in the morning and 1 mg of klonopin three times a day. Today I took 300 mg of Lithium in the morning because I was feeling depressed. In the FDA reports, it said that taking abilify, klonopin, and lithium can cause a convulsion. Here is the article where it says that: http://www.ehealthme.com/sdi/abilify/lithium%20carbonate/convulsion/
It says 23 people out of 911 people who take abilify and lithium have the side effect of convulsion, and six of those 23 people were taking klonopin. You can scroll down to the bottom where it says this. So do you think I will have a convulsion today and do you think I should stop taking Lithium? Do you think I should take half of my usual klonopin dosage for the rest of the day so I won't have a convulsion? If I break the pills in half, I start to feel shaky like I'm going to have a seizure. So what do you think I should do? And since I am feeling depressed and the lithium doesn't seem to be a good choice with my other medications, what medication do you think is good for depression that doesn't interact with abilify? I have tried pristiq, and it gave me chest pain, and others like seroquel, paxil, lexapro can increase the effects of abilify which can increase the risk of seizures, tardive dyskinesia, etc. Zoloft can also do this but it has less side effects when combined with abilify and klonopin according to the FDA reports. So do you think zoloft is a good choice or will I get seizures with combining it with abilify and klonopin? Is it okay to take 50 mg of Zoloft tomorrow even though I took lithium today? Please tell me if you think I will get a convulsion since I took lithium today, and if I should cut my dosage of klonopin in half for the rest of the day, and what medication I should take for depression that won't interact with abilify and klonopin.
It says 23 people out of 911 people who take abilify and lithium have the side effect of convulsion, and six of those 23 people were taking klonopin. You can scroll down to the bottom where it says this. So do you think I will have a convulsion today and do you think I should stop taking Lithium? Do you think I should take half of my usual klonopin dosage for the rest of the day so I won't have a convulsion? If I break the pills in half, I start to feel shaky like I'm going to have a seizure. So what do you think I should do? And since I am feeling depressed and the lithium doesn't seem to be a good choice with my other medications, what medication do you think is good for depression that doesn't interact with abilify? I have tried pristiq, and it gave me chest pain, and others like seroquel, paxil, lexapro can increase the effects of abilify which can increase the risk of seizures, tardive dyskinesia, etc. Zoloft can also do this but it has less side effects when combined with abilify and klonopin according to the FDA reports. So do you think zoloft is a good choice or will I get seizures with combining it with abilify and klonopin? Is it okay to take 50 mg of Zoloft tomorrow even though I took lithium today? Please tell me if you think I will get a convulsion since I took lithium today, and if I should cut my dosage of klonopin in half for the rest of the day, and what medication I should take for depression that won't interact with abilify and klonopin.
Brief Answer:
Convulsion is possible but very rare
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.
I read your query and understand your concerns.
First of all I like to make it clear that side effects are not as common as it appears in books or literature. 300 mg of lithium, 15 mg of abilify and 3 mg of klonopin is unlikely to cause seizures unless otherwise the individual is either slow metabolizer or predisposed to convulsions. I understand your reference but there are many loop hols in this particular study and the data need to be interpreted with pinch of salt.
I need to reemphasize again that the risk of convulsion is very low if any and decrease dose of klonopin unlikely to help in this regard. It is possible that decrease dose of klonopin may precipitate convulsions and it should be avoided.
I also like to inform you that after prolonged use the dose of klonopin should be reduced very slowly unless there are some compelling reasons. This is done to avoid unpleasant withdrawal effects of klonopin.
I understand that lithium have some antidepressant properties but it is not the primary drug for depression. If you have issues with tolerance effexor will make a better choice followed by zoloft. I do not mean that they do not have side effects but the safety profile is relatively better and it is possible that they may be effective for you without causing any serious side effects such as convulsions.
I do not find any objection to reject use of zoloft tomorrow except unsupervised treatment. If your doctor is there at the time of need I think you can go ahead with zoloft as single dose of lithium unlikely to affect zoloft or any other medication in your prescription.
I hope this answers you.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
In future if you wish to ask any more questions , you can use the below mentioned link to contact me.
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
Convulsion is possible but very rare
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.
I read your query and understand your concerns.
First of all I like to make it clear that side effects are not as common as it appears in books or literature. 300 mg of lithium, 15 mg of abilify and 3 mg of klonopin is unlikely to cause seizures unless otherwise the individual is either slow metabolizer or predisposed to convulsions. I understand your reference but there are many loop hols in this particular study and the data need to be interpreted with pinch of salt.
I need to reemphasize again that the risk of convulsion is very low if any and decrease dose of klonopin unlikely to help in this regard. It is possible that decrease dose of klonopin may precipitate convulsions and it should be avoided.
I also like to inform you that after prolonged use the dose of klonopin should be reduced very slowly unless there are some compelling reasons. This is done to avoid unpleasant withdrawal effects of klonopin.
I understand that lithium have some antidepressant properties but it is not the primary drug for depression. If you have issues with tolerance effexor will make a better choice followed by zoloft. I do not mean that they do not have side effects but the safety profile is relatively better and it is possible that they may be effective for you without causing any serious side effects such as convulsions.
I do not find any objection to reject use of zoloft tomorrow except unsupervised treatment. If your doctor is there at the time of need I think you can go ahead with zoloft as single dose of lithium unlikely to affect zoloft or any other medication in your prescription.
I hope this answers you.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
In future if you wish to ask any more questions , you can use the below mentioned link to contact me.
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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