Posted by dove on July 26, 2000, at 15:57:20
In reply to Re: Update on meds - P.S. - CAM, posted by Greg on July 26, 2000, at 13:25:53
Hello again Greg :-)
Affirming St. James' input about drug interactions, I too count on the meds interacting with each other in order to take smaller dosages, have less side-effects, and to obtain better and wider results. I was on Amitriptyline, Adderall, Wellbutrin, and Prozac all at the same time. If you run this combo through a drug interaction checker I think you'll find some "serious" interactions. Unfortunately, it didn't do a whole lot of good for me, as I degenerated into a suicidal mess, unable to even look at myself in the mirror. I don't know enough about Desipramine to say definitively whether or not it is as dangerous as combining Amitriptyline w/ Prozac.
Tegretol... I hate this med with a passion, as it brought me out of my dream world into the darkest pits of depression. I was a depressed, detached zombie. I dropped out of college, got pregnant, and sat in the dark for days on end. I never laughed, never felt any joy, and was scared to death that I was actually going to die due to sitting on the floor, in a corner, with no lights, with no food, for days and days at a time. So... I'm happily surprised by your significantly more positive reaction to the med :-) I should also note that I was prescribed Tegretol for migraine black-outs (black-out as in fainting and hitting the floor really hard and possibly epileptic in nature.). At that time I was taking no ther meds and my initial dosage was some where between 450mgs and 600mgs. All I did was sleep and sleep at first, and when I woke up, all I did was behave like a vampiric zombie.
I'm not being very positive with regard to the mood-stabilizer Tegretol, but on a more positive note I just started an anti-seizure med Neurontin (Gabapentin) for my own extreme mood-swings. Initial dosage was 600mgs, taken all at once before bed (with my all-in-one dose of Amitriptyline and Serzone, and I'm *still* struggling to fall asleep at night. Yikes!!!). I've been super-duper surprised by my reaction to the mood-stabilizer, I was *so* afraid that I would turn into zombie woman again (like with the Tegretol) but instead I feel truly tinged with mania for the second time in ten years.
I had this feeling momentarily when I increased my Wellbutrin I believe, but it only lasted 24 hours. Whereas, this Neurontin induced manic feeling has lasted since last Thursday, and I can definitely tell the difference between this aggravated-agressive-hot-tempered, but optimistic and in love with people and the world "high" versus the really mellow subdued "UP" that I experienced with Verapamil (Oh how I miss it). I've been dxed w/ bipolar for a while now and my p-doc was totally centered on ridding me of my depression before starting a mood-stabilizer. My p-doc move to sunny Cali last month and it was my new p-doc (although temporary because he's going to retire in a few months) who said I really need the mood-stabilizer in order to beat the depression.
I am having some short-term memory difficulties, can't keep track of all the loose ends I need to attend to, lose track of time in hours not minutes, and am experiencing big angry downs when the Neurontin has worn off, so-to-speak. I really want to split the dosage in half, in order to cover the daylight hours better, but my doc wants me to take it all at once. I do metabolize meds at double the normal speed, this being part of the problem with my negative response to Prozac (nausea and the shakes in late afternoon and evening and super adrenalin-filled *rushes* for the first three hours after I took it in the morning.). I've even had blood tests done, especially when I was taking Tegretol, that would convince my doc that I wasn't taking the med at all, and she would up the dosage, telling me that I was either lying or I needed more to actually do the job.
We're all so unique and yet, fundamentally the same under our thick and thin skin. Best wishes and thoughts are keeping vigil for you Greg!!!
dove
poster:dove
thread:41333
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000717/msgs/41456.html