No it isn't a mood stabilizer and neither is risperdal, they do not affect the right brain chemicals to be considered that way - they are awesome antipsychotics though. It is strange he would put you on it after you had akathisia on risperdal. It is like the more active ingredient from risperdal - kind of like Celexa & Lexapro... I had severe akathisia on Invega, and I can have bearable akathisia on Risperdal if I go over a certain dose I just take cogentin and I do ok...on Invega cogentin does hardly anything (and I maxed out on cogentin) I cannot take Risperdal long term though because it makes me lactate and that isn't a good side effect. Invega does last longer - it has a longer half life, so if you do aquire akathisia it will take longer for the drug to get out of your system... But there are drugs to counteract it that work for some people - like cogentin which I mentioned above, or propranolol, artane and others. If you want more of a mood stabilizer acting antipsychotic a better bet would be Seroquel, Geodon, and Abilify - I also think Zyprexa is one too (not entirely sure on that one though)

If you have never been psychotic I would wonder why the antipsychotics, but maybe you have an issue with mania - or more likely mixed mania? Could that be why maybe? (I really have no idea your background and am only guessing)

It's just another AP but newer. It's not suppose to have as many side effects as Risperdal and I thought it was suppose to be more weight neutral. It probably just hasn't been approved yet for BP so they prescribed it off label. It doesn't mean you have schizophrenia. Amalzihir is right, AP's are not mood stabilizers but for some reason a lot of pdocs like to prescribe them as such. I have a friend that had really bad akathesia while taking Geodon but did ok with Invega. He is BPII. Everyone is different how they react to medication. As the saying goes, you won't know until you try it. Hugs

I've already been on seroquel, abilify - which made me so agitated and irritable I attempted suicide after just a few doses, and he keeps mentioning about putting me back on abilify. been on Geodon too, which agitated the hell out of me. Then he asked me about trileptal, I've been on that one before too with no help. He says well u gotta try. Doesn't he understand that I've tried these damn drugs already and they don't work. I've had it. They've ran out of drugs, so there putting me back on the ones I've already been on. There is no pill that will help, I can't live like this anymore. The hell with pills. So many people say they can't live with out there meds, well I can't live with them. Maybe I'm not bp, maybe thats why no meds work for me. Mixed states oh I live in them all the time too. Its fun being depressed and raging with anger and agitation, and being impulsive. I'm ready to just throw the shoe in. tx for everybody's response. I really shouldn't have even posted. Its like all the pdocs and therapist I've seen over the last ten years say "Your a complicated case." Oh I just love it when they say that, it really means ur a lost cause. I'm not as dumb as I look.

Seroquel is the least likely to cause akathisia out of what is currently available in the atypical antipsychotic category, supposedly there will be another one called Fanapt that is the same way in regards to akathisia.. I had akathisia on everyone we tried but Seroquel, I also know of another person the same way - akathisia on Abilify, Geodon, Invega, and Risperdal... For me the worst ones were Abilify & Geodon. But if you are so sensitive to them, and don't have psychosis - why be on them? Really... Why won't he just stick to anticonvulsants (like Lamictal, Tegretol, Trileptal, Depakote etc... ) or Lithium? If your pdoc won't listen to you - can you switch? Akathisia is hell, and if yours was that bad (I can so relate, I was hospitalized for mine) why would he even think about trying that again? Is he freakin insane?! :big hugs: This time around know that it is akathisia - don't try to hurt yourself when you get that crazy urge to not sit down, the horrible worst anxiety agitation of your life - just go to the ER and tell them you have had this before and it was so bad you tried to kill yourself and that you know it is akathisia caused from antipsychotics. Be adamant about it. They gave me ativan for it and quite a bit (don't ask for that or they will think you are drug seeking) and it worked so well.

Oh my gosh you sound just like me!!! I've been through the exact same thing with medications and I really do know how you feel because i have said those very words. I've heard the we're running out of options I am now only on 2 medications plus a sleep med and not doing too bad but still struggle sometimes. Hugs