Asenapine and Drowsiness: What Users Say (Page 2)

• MYA...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 27, 2013

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I have had some success in using Saphris, however, the side effects are somewhat mixed. I don't like feeling groggy or fussy the morning after taking the medicine. I also don't like having short-term memory loss. I like the stabilizing mental moods and the reduced depression and manic episodes. The medicine numbs my tongue and makes me hungry all the time, so I am hoping after time this stops. I have been taking this medication since May, 20mg."

• Anonymous
• April 23, 2012

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I was prescribed this for Bipolar I. I am also taking Lexapro. Taking this sublingually is a pain, mainly because it tastes horrible. I am also convinced that this medicine caused the severe panic attacks I was having, which seemed dose-dependent (I was on both 5 and 10 mg of Saphris). Upon first taking the medicine, I would get severe restless legs that would last for about 3 hours. The medicine makes me very drowsy, but it was hard to sleep with severely restless legs. This side effect went away after about a week."

• Anonymous
• June 12, 2010

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I have only been on this medicine for 3 days. It tastes very bad. Use a Listerine strip if you don't like the taste. It is not that bad for me. I take it twice a day, but I have to drink a pot of coffee in the morning so as not to fall asleep. I feel better, not sure if it is the coffee or the medicine. I do sleep very well with it. Haven't had this much sleep in years."

• Ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 23, 2021

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "Saphris has completely turned my life around and made me feel like myself again, taking away the depression and manic episodes! I literally could tell a difference the morning after I started taking it. No negative side effects with it. It does cause extreme sleepiness within 15 minutes of taking it, but I don’t mind as it allows a good night's sleep and I wake up feeling refreshed and rested. I am so thankful for this medication. It has truly saved me!"

• Joe...
• October 6, 2013

Saphris (asenapine) "I have been taking 20 mg of Saphris a day for two years now. I take it because I stutter. Dopamine-blocking medicines have been known to help with the symptoms of stuttering for years. I used to take Zyprexa, and it helped, but I needed to sleep 12 hours a day, and I gained 30 pounds. Since switching to Saphris, I lost the 30 pounds, and I only need to sleep 10 hours a day. I have pretty severe sedation in the morning, but the improvement in my speech has been pretty dramatic. Saphris has improved my speech fluency by about 80 percent."

• Anonymous
• April 22, 2012

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "My insurance covers the whole cost of the medicine, thank goodness, otherwise, it would cost over $700 per month. I only rated it an 8 because, even though it works wonderfully to completely wipe away my depression by taking my required dose of 5 mg once at night and once in the morning, I cannot seem to fight off the sleep in the morning, even if I take it right when I wake up. When I can fight off the sleep, I am so tired that I feel sedated for about 6 hours. The taste is awful but bearable. I just don't know what to do about my morning dose. It makes me hungry, but the downside is that if I eat within 4 hours of taking Saphris, it is a little hard to swallow my food, and I do get a tingling, numb tongue for about an hour after taking medicine."

• HSo...
• May 31, 2016

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "Bad drug. I wonder if all the good reviews on the internet were written by the company behind it. First, I took 5 mg x2. The morning dose made me sleepy to the point that I can't stay awake for 5 minutes. Now I take 10 mg at night. It makes me sleep for 12 hours (can't wake up) and gave me flat affect, totally impaired thinking, loss of hope in life, suicidal thoughts, problems in tongue and talking (because it's sublingual). Horrible drug, and don't believe all the good reviews you read!"

• Kai...
• June 10, 2023

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I had a wonderful time on Saphris the last year and a half. It was my miracle drug after being on Ziprasidone, which was horrible! Saphris is a great drug. I felt normal on it and not all drugged up or zombie-like. I hated the taste, though. Also, it made me sleep 14 hours a night, so my doctor currently lowered my dose from 15 mg to 10 mg. The past two days, I’ve woken up earlier and feel less groggy in the morning. Hoping 10 mg is my sweet spot. Good luck to everyone on your journey, I pray this is the miracle drug for you too!"

• Anonymous
• March 1, 2011

Saphris (asenapine) for Schizoaffective Disorder "It's under my tongue right now, and it does taste terrible. This medicine has been the best at controlling the depression and hallucinations for me, and I have tried many different medicines. The side effects I have are involuntary tongue 'flipping,' it makes me extremely sleepy. I have to work really hard to stay awake after I take it in the morning, and sometimes I get a sore under my tongue, or my skin peels in my mouth. I've had some really bad stomach/intestinal problems since I've started taking it, but I'm not sure if that is a coincidence or not. It's also hard to keep a pill under your tongue for ten minutes twice a day, especially if you need to say something. Better than the alternative, though."

• Gil...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 7, 2022

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "Gained over 30 kg during a few years on this. The sedation was dreadful. Could never get up before 10:30 a.m. Some weekends I would sleep until 3 p.m. I can’t believe I persisted for so many years. Dreadful drug for me. Effective in preventing mania, in fact, it made me feel mildly depressed the whole time, but that may have been the sheer weight of the sedation. The sedation was also hard for my very supportive family to deal with. Funny taste not a problem. Did have a constantly dry mouth and increased thirst. A little trouble with stiff mouth muscles, which made speaking annoying at times, especially in my second and third languages, which require rolling of the 'r' sound. I found I was choosing to talk less due to the mouth muscle twitchiness. My dose was 5 mg at night only."

• ste...
• May 18, 2011

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I'm not quite sure as of yet. I have been on 10 mg at night for a week, and I sleep great, a bit drowsy the next day. Hopefully, it will wear off. Woke up last night for a restroom break, and I could barely make it to the bathroom without falling over. Strong medicine. Helps with the mood stabilization, though."

• BPD...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 27, 2016

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I have been on Saphris for over 3 years, varying between 5 and 10 mg per day. It really does help with obsessive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and has a slight antidepressant effect as well. I take it with 80 mg Prozac as an adjunct to treat depression and anxiety. It's a shame this medicine is so expensive and not more popular, as it is very powerful and works well. This medicine does make you drowsy, but the effects pass after a month, you should take it at night starting out. (I still am.)"

• muc...
• February 23, 2011

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "This is the only thing that has worked for me. No more voices and I don't feel sedated the next day. They do have it in Black Cherry flavor, and it is better than the regular, which is horrible. I know it tastes bad, but it is the best thing I have found."

• bip...
• December 19, 2015

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I was diagnosed with Bipolar II (with very few manifestations of depression), so mostly problems with mania. I started on 5 mg at night for a week, then went up to morning and night doses of 5 mg. I did that for 2 days, as the daytime doses made me feel restless, uncomfortable, edgy, weird, and sedated. I couldn't stand it and would count down the time before it would wear off. Then I tried taking 10 mg at night, but then I couldn't sleep. I would wake up exhausted for the 4th time in a night. Went back to just 5 mg at night, and this had little to no effect. I worried about weight gain, but I lost weight-helped that I was extra cautious about what I ate. If 'increased appetite' is listed, I take extra measures with exercise and diet to stay healthy."

• she...
• June 3, 2011

Saphris (asenapine) for Bipolar Disorder "I've been taking Saphris for four days now, and I'm not sure what I think yet. I'm still having major anxiety at night, and it's not helping that much at all. Also, I feel sedated when I take it in the morning, so it's difficult to care for my two-year-old. Hopefully, this will wear off as my body adjusts to the medication. I have been eating more, which I'm not happy about, since I just lost a lot of weight. I wish my doctor would put me on something for the anxiety, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

• tay...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 20, 2023

For Bipolar Disorder "Definitely does the job. I started it for my bipolar disorder, and my mood is much more stable, and I finally feel like myself again. I was also having sleeping trouble, so taking this at night has been helping me sleep, as it can make you very drowsy. The only negative thing is the absolutely horrible taste. Some nights, I find myself not wanting to take it because when it dissolves under your tongue, it leaves a rancid, sour taste, and it makes your mouth numb for like 15 minutes. Really wish they could do something about that."

• Ded...
• December 3, 2019

For Bipolar Disorder "I am bipolar 1, schizoaffective, and have PTSD due to growing up in the Balkans in the '90s. I have been on ~15 meds to treat my problems. I take Keppra, Klonopin, and Onfi for epilepsy from a traumatic brain injury I received as a child. I have been on 120mg of Latuda and 900mg Gabapentin with decent success, but have had akathisia and some sleepless bipolar/schizoaffective episodes, and occasional overwhelming bad memories until my doctor started me on Saphris. Big improvement. I feel like myself, not lobotomized like many meds have caused, nor have I felt the extreme akathisia I get from some meds, nor the weight gain that others have caused. It hasn't caused the total emotional numbness that other meds have shown. I have a great experience with this med, though I know it is not for everyone, and I am on a mixture of Latuda, Gabapentin, and 10mg Saphris daily (and the epilepsy meds I mentioned earlier in this review), so others may need a cocktail of meds to achieve normalcy."