Posted by manowar on November 29, 2001, at 11:37:33
In reply to Re: adderall update neuropsychological tests » manowar, posted by Mitch on November 28, 2001, at 23:32:27
> > > You mentioned having cyclothymia and ADD (I have BPII and ADHD). Is Adderall XR and Wellbutrin the only meds you are taking-no mood stabilizers? If not, what rationale does your pdoc use for *not* needing them? Just curious,
> > >
> > > Mitch
> > I forgot to mention that I was also taking klonipin 1.5 MG in the evening. My doc thought that the klonipin is not that effective as a mood stabilizer and could be making my depression worse so he had me stop taking that and started me on Seroquel a couple weeks ago. I had some bad side effects with the Seroquel, so I have stopped taking it. So right now I'm not taking anything to stabilize my mood, but I will see my doc in a week. My doc in California told me that a good mood stabilizer was very important. He suggested I try Neurontin on his report, but for some reason my doc up here wanted to try me on Seroquel. Anyway, what should I ask my doc to try next-- an atypical mood stabilizer like Neurontin or something like lithium or depekote?
> > --Tim
>
> Tim,
>
> Neurontin was the only mood stabilizer that I have taken that seems to help with anxiety, attentiveness, and moodswings. Depakote, Lithium, etc., seem to work well for one problem or the other but worsen or do little for the others. ADHD-wise only Neurontin and Trileptal seemed to *help* with attention. Lithium, Depakote, Gabitril, and Topamax all worsened cognitive functioning (sometimes to the point of derealization). I haven't tried Lamictal, however.
>
> It is interesting that you mentioned Seroquel. There was a short interval of a few weeks when I hit what I call a "total clear spot" when I was on Neurontin 300mg bid, Adderall 5mg AM, and was still experiencing edginess from the pstim (what to do?). Seroquel 25mg at bedtime got added. The mornings were a little rough (even after my Adderall dose), but when the Seroquel *wore off* later in the day I had a really boosted focus that was really incredible. I didn't get hypomanic at all. Just quiet and focused-no restlessness-needing to continually move around. Mind you-this was when the D2 receptors were becoming *unoccupied*. But, I got some dystonia even from a small dose of Seroquel and had to stop it. The pstim eventually made me too panicky and it got ditched as well. That was very dissapointing. I really believe that if my pdoc would have simply added Klonopin (for the anxiety) to my Neurontin and Adderall it might have all worked out ok.
>
> MitchMitch,
Thanks a lot for the info. I made an appointment to see my doc today. Now that I'm just taking the Adderal XR and Wellbutrin I really notice that the Adderal is really kind of dragging my mood down even lower than normal. So I'm going to ask him to put me back on the Medadate (methylphenidate XR). The Medadate and Concerta are practically the same but I felt the Medadate kick in a little sooner than the Concerta.I hate polypharmacy because it can be so damn confusing. It's hard to tell whether you feel worse because of a side effect of one of your drugs, or because of a combination that may not suit your particular system - or whatever. It takes so long for AD's to be effective. You have to be very patient and suffer through side effects to really give a drug a good trial. What a racket!
Anyway, what I'm trying to figure out is this: Since at this time I'm only taking Wellbutrin which by itself is not helping me, should I ask my doctor to stop taking that too, and start a trial of Neurontin clean? My pdoc in CA that evaluated the scans told me that the first order of business is to find a good mood stabilizer to stabilize function in the temperate (sp?) lobes which for me are under functioning and the basil ganglia which is slightly over functioning. I guess that finding one drug at a time to help one problem at a time would be the most logical approach to my treatment.
>There was a short interval of a few weeks when I hit what I call a "total clear spot" when I was on Neurontin 300mg bid, Adderal 5mg AM, and was still experiencing edginess from the pstim (what to do?).
What is pstim?
Years ago I think I tried two different mood stabilizers. I wish I knew which ones they were so I could try to avoid them. But I do remember feeling the "dumbing down" effect, so my trials were very short. But I never had to have my blood tested. Don't you have to get your blood tested for all the regular mood stabilizers? I know that Neurontin is an atypical mood stabilizer that doesn't require blood testing.
I've read that psychostimulants can also act as mood stabilizers. Maybe the Medadate was slightly effective in that area.
Well hopefully today I'll get a script for the Medadate and Neurontin. Neurontin affects GABA doesn't it? Hopefully it will help me feel nice and cozy like the klonipin did when I took it in the evening. I really felt the Klonipin worked synergistically with the Ritalin. It was great to take the Klonipin at night because it just shut down any excess stress and tension that I might have gotten from the Ritalin. When I took the Ritalin in the morning it was like "HELLO-TOP OF THE MORNIN TO YA!” It was sort of like the Ritalin was the Ying to the Klonipin, which was my Yang. Anyway, I hope I get some relief with the Neurontin.
I went Mountain biking a couple weekends ago. I took my regular dose of Adderal XR (30 mg). Since stimulants improve cardiovascular threshold, and I had some extra Ritalin, I decided to take 20 mg of Ritalin before my ride. I had a blast! I wasn't in a hypomanic state or anything-- I just felt like a kid out there, just full of P & V. When I got home I got in an argument with my roommate, and I swear I could feel the adrenalin pump through my veins which is a sensation I hadn't felt in a very long time. Being that I have been in almost a continual state of lethargy and apathy in the last few years, it sure did feel good to be at that level of aliveness again. I've noticed that if after I take my morning dose of stimulants, if I augment the stimulants with exercise it seems to double the effectiveness of the drugs.
Have a great day.
--Tim
poster:manowar
thread:84890
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85510.html