Re introduction

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-31-2006
Re introduction
5
Thu, 05-03-2007 - 7:12am


It has been a very long time since I have been here. Been off the meds & finally after a really rough 6 months decided it was best to get my act together since the cycles where getting harder to cope with.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2006
Thu, 05-03-2007 - 9:46am

I have been on almost all meds at some point. I am currently taking Prozac 40mgs and lithium 600mgs. I was on ALOT more meds until I made the doc take me off all of them. It was way too many at high dosages.


Seroquel I can only handle 25 mgs and then I feel hung over. I did take it for awhile and got used to it and upped it to 50mgs but then he changed it. Lamictal was good for me while I was on it. Then he added the lithium and it was doing good...than we cut back on the lamictal and eventually stopped it because the lithium was working so well.


I have been on paxil, prozac, lexapro, amtriptiline(sp?), nortriptaline, depakote, wellbutrin,

     ~ Tina ~

Avatar for kdvaleski
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2004
Thu, 05-03-2007 - 12:38pm

Hi Harmony. Sorry you're struggling now. Here's my experience with the meds you referenced:

Zoloft caused a drug-induced Parkinson's-type syndrome for me. I shook so badly I literally could not write, and I developed a serious stutter. Both of those took months to go away. I also had a grand mal seizure on the Zoloft. (Keep in mind that I had VERY SEVERE AND RARE side effects from that one.

Prozac is one that I took on and off for many years while I was still misdiagnosed with just recurrent major depression. That seemed to work okay (not knowing then that I'm bipolar). I took it at high doses, up to 80 mg. But, when I was cycling down a couple months ago, I eventually called pdoc, who added 10 mg of Prpzac daily to my regular med, and it caused me to become manic.

Depakote didn't do much for my moods and caused weight gain.

Seroquel was very sedating for me, so I took it at bedtime. I still had a bit of a med hangover in the morning, and it didn't work very well in terms of quieting the illusions/delusions. For me.

Lamictal is my constant friend. I take 400 mg daily, and when I am not cycling, it's the only med I need. With Lamictal you have to be very watchful for rashes, because Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a potentially fatal rash, but it's pretty rare.

I've also been on so many other meds it's ridiculous. I am now completely medication compliant, because I know how badly I deteriorate when I don't take them. It may not happen right away, but without my meds I will ALWAYS decompensate. And I want more and deserve better in life than what I can ever have when my illness is raging. So meds are a godsend for me.

They're tricky though, so you have to stick with it. Some meds that don't work by themselves or with one drug may be really good with another combination. It's all trial and error, so you have to keep your pdoc informed of any symptoms. Also, even when you're stable on meds you'll still need changes from time to time. That used to really get me down, but now I just know that's how I can continue with my life. My episodes are not as severe and I have much more time between them when I'm on meds.

Don't take my experiences with these meds and think the same will be true for you.

I hope any of this is helpful. If not, I apologize. I'm still trying to stabilize my Prozac-induced mania, so I may have gone off in a different direction. See, we're adjusting dosages and changing meds right now.

Best,
Kristen

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-31-2006
Fri, 05-04-2007 - 5:15am
thanx for all the news :) I find iot very useful I took the Seorqul & I'll call and ask for a lower dose I tookit at 130 yesterday and I couldnt get up till about 430 this morning I feel so blah right now with in a hour I was done I couldnt even talk lol I feel like Im high on pain meds or something so I think 100mg is a little to much I could try 1 more day and cut it in half??? Such a waste for a entire bottle of pills. we will see I'll call PD this moring...Thanks for reading & responding It helps so much :)

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-02-2006
Fri, 05-04-2007 - 10:02am

Hi there. I have taken seroquel before. When I was manic I was taking 800 mgs of it and it was barely making a dent in my sleep. However, when I hit a depressed mood 25 mgs knocked me on my butt. So I'm no longer on it. My 17 yo DD takes it and she does well with her dosage, which is 300 mgs per night. So, different people can take different meds and have different reactions. So don't lose hope. The right combination is out there for you. I tried lithium but it was toxic to my system so I had to stop that. I'm currently on lamictal, depakote, zyprexa, cymbalta and klonopin. It took 3 years to get me to this point, but I'm here now and enjoying the ride of stability. So hang in there, the docs will get you there.


Hope to see you around here more.


Hugs,
Traci

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Sat, 05-05-2007 - 3:21pm

Welcome back!