risperidone schizophrenia side effects with ginkgo biloba

[ginkobiloba]

I would like to find out if anyone else with schizophrenia have used ginkgo biloba to reduce their side effects?

I'm taking antipsychotics, risperidone (rispolept), this had major side effects during my second episode (high dose of risperidone) in May 2019 and after 3 months in hospital I was unable to function at all, the side effects were so strong that I couldn't do any mental activity for more than 1 to 2 minutes, so couldn't watch tv, read or even walk for longer than 2 minutes.

My dosage was reduced to 1mg of risperidone in Jan '20 (I just couldn't cope at work with 2mg) and I was able to function mentally for about 2 to 3h a day and I took ginkgo biloba in September '20 and my biggest side effects was brain fog and inability to focus for more than 2 or 3 hours a day, after about 2 or 3 weeks my biggest side effect has disappeared and I could function mentally for 10h to 12h a day (kind of my normal state)

I also slept 16h a day on high dose, and 12 to 14h on 1mg, after taking Ginkgo biloba my sleep was reduced to 9 to 10h.

I also had problems with my eyes and that side effects has also disappeared.

I stopped taking Ginkgo bilabo in November and after several weeks all my side effects have returned.

I've started taking it again yesterday and noticed brain fog disappeared for about 30 minutes and I hope to continue taking it regularly.

I have a visit with my psychiatrist on Monday to discuss it but I did a google search and it appears it's commonly used in China to treat schizophrenia for thousands of years in used with antipsychotics for a while now, some sources also say it improves efficiency of antipsychotics medication while reducing side effects, so I hope my psychiatrist will allow me to take it.

Is anyone else taking this supplement and does have any positive effect on you or any negative effects.

 

[daffy]

Staff note

Please get the advice of a medical practitioner when starting to take any supplements that may interact with your prescribed medications

 

[ginkobiloba]

I'll speak with a psychiatrist on Monday, and see what she says.
So far I found that this seems to be a commonly used supplement in China specifically for Schizophrenia. There is an article published (2018) by Cambridge University press called "Chinese herbal medicine for schizophrenia".
It looks very positive with comments like "Some earlier reports have suggested that Chinese herbal medicine is effective for psychosis and that combination treatments (drugs plus herbs) are useful to enhance antipsychotic efficacy or reduce the period of recovery and adverse effects (Saku, 1991; Wang, 1998a )."
I hope my psychiatrist will evaluate my unique situation and give her advice for my case, but I must admit so far my quality of life without it was 3/10 whereas with supplements it's 10/10.

 

[EdEd]

I take Gingko Biloba and I have schizophrenia. For me it works rather well and I experience great results from it.

 

[EdEd]

I also take nootropics from time to time also.. so yea, I enjoy the brain supplements and compounds.

 

[ginkobiloba]

I spoke with my new psychiatrist and she has no problem me taking Ginkgo biloba, although she did mention that my dose of rispolept 1mg is too low to be effective. There is some research about it that seems to suggest that might be the case, although it doesn't quite apply to my unique situation.
I spoke with another psychiatrist who says that medication is to treat symptoms only and psychotherapy is needed to resolve core issues, although in my case I have used psychosensory techniques using EFT / The Havening techniques and must admit that I don't experience any symptoms of schizophrenia, just side effects.
Every psychiatrist tells me a bit different side to the story so I'll continue to refine me questions and try to find psychiatrist that are willing to go into more details, as some ask me to google evidence myself ;p which is not that helpful.

 

[ginkobiloba]

I also sent a message to Chinese Mental Health centre and I hope I can find a psychiatrist who has a lot of experience with using supplements and particularly let me know if I can benefit from traditional chinese approach that seems to be more detailed then western one and see if I can find more effective treatment for myself.

 

[Jam1990]

I would like to find out if anyone else with schizophrenia have used ginkgo biloba to reduce their side effects?

I'm taking antipsychotics, risperidone (rispolept), this had major side effects during my second episode (high dose of risperidone) in May 2019 and after 3 months in hospital I was unable to function at all, the side effects were so strong that I couldn't do any mental activity for more than 1 to 2 minutes, so couldn't watch tv, read or even walk for longer than 2 minutes.

My dosage was reduced to 1mg of risperidone in Jan '20 (I just couldn't cope at work with 2mg) and I was able to function mentally for about 2 to 3h a day and I took ginkgo biloba in September '20 and my biggest side effects was brain fog and inability to focus for more than 2 or 3 hours a day, after about 2 or 3 weeks my biggest side effect has disappeared and I could function mentally for 10h to 12h a day (kind of my normal state)

I also slept 16h a day on high dose, and 12 to 14h on 1mg, after taking Ginkgo biloba my sleep was reduced to 9 to 10h.

I also had problems with my eyes and that side effects has also disappeared.

I stopped taking Ginkgo bilabo in November and after several weeks all my side effects have returned.

I've started taking it again yesterday and noticed brain fog disappeared for about 30 minutes and I hope to continue taking it regularly.

I have a visit with my psychiatrist on Monday to discuss it but I did a google search and it appears it's commonly used in China to treat schizophrenia for thousands of years in used with antipsychotics for a while now, some sources also say it improves efficiency of antipsychotics medication while reducing side effects, so I hope my psychiatrist will allow me to take it.

Is anyone else taking this supplement and does have any positive effect on you or any negative effects.

Interesting stuff on the ginko Biloba. I’ll have to do some research on it as well.
My psychiatrist told me to take fish oil because it helps heal the brain and he also told me to take vitamin D because antipsychotics lessen the immune system. I was once on risperidone and didn’t have any negative side effects. I’m now on Seroquel and don’t have any major side effects.

 

[Ras]

never tried ginko biloba. I dont even know what that is. i am on Risperidone myself though and i remember when they first put me on it and i was on such a high dose that i couldnt even function. Felt like a walking corpse.
Maybe you should see about getting the dose lowered

 

[ginkobiloba]

I had the same experience with risperidone, I couldn't function on high dose at all. My dosage was being lowered every few months down to 2mg, but then I had to get a job due to financial difficulty and I couldn't cope with side effects so I lowered it to 1mg myself and told my psychiatrist about it a few months later. He was ok with that, although recently I found from another psychiatrist that 1mg that in her opinion of evidence is that this is ineffective and I should increase it, but she didn't want to listen to the fact that I have severe side effects and I wouldn't be able to do my job!
I need to investigate this in more details with psychiatrist that is willing to tell me more or figure out the details of existing evidence, instead of asking me to google it, which is the reply I got on my latest and last visit with this particular psychiatrist.

 

[Ras]

I had the same experience with risperidone, I couldn't function on high dose at all. My dosage was being lowered every few months down to 2mg, but then I had to get a job due to financial difficulty and I couldn't cope with side effects so I lowered it to 1mg myself and told my psychiatrist about it a few months later. He was ok with that, although recently I found from another psychiatrist that 1mg that in her opinion of evidence is that this is ineffective and I should increase it, but she didn't want to listen to the fact that I have severe side effects and I wouldn't be able to do my job!
I need to investigate this in more details with psychiatrist that is willing to tell me more or figure out the details of existing evidence, instead of asking me to google it, which is the reply I got on my latest and last visit with this particular psychiatrist.

You're down to 1mg and still getting bad side effects? maybe they should see about you trying out another Antipsychotic instead.
I am on 6mg and dont get any real negative side effects now. If lowering the dose doesnt work, they should change the medication and on 1mg you cant really lower it any more, maybe that is something to inquire about

 

[ginkobiloba]

I have asked the question before and they doctor didn't give me alternatives, but offered to try injection in the future. Right now I've been taking Ginkgo biloba for a week and all my side effects are very minimal so I'll continue with the same medication, as it's difficult to work out what would happen if I change things to a different one.