Posted by BarbaraCat on February 28, 2002, at 10:33:20
In reply to Re: Having the rug pulled out from under you » misty99, posted by Ritch on February 28, 2002, at 0:15:16
Ritch and Misty,
I relate to your post re mixed states, ADHD etc. Some questions: 1. How does lamictal differ from lithium, i.e., why choose one over the other? 2. where does ADD leave off and bipolar begin and vice versa? How do we know these are different states and not just different points on the continuum of one state?In my wild and crazy days, methamphetamine was my self medicating drug of choice and in large quantities would calm me down. However, any speedy substance now in normal quantities makes me feel restless and can tip me into a weepy anxiety state. When I'm in the throes of a panic episode, nothing helps except time. I wonder if those selfmedicating days overamped me and burned something out.
Reevaluating a patient to Bipolar II seems to be a popular trend recently since so many of us are treatment resistant. Only time will tell if these mood stabilizers continue to work and don't have their own poop out. I don't know what my condition is for certain (pdoc and I are playing drug roulette) and sure do wish they sold Dr. Amen's SPECT gizmos at Radio Shack. Barbara
> > > I have seasonal bipolarII which requires med changes throughout the year. Sometimes it just turns into a waiting game for the remission. In my case it turns from having the rug pulled out from under you to a *magic* carpet ride you hadn't planned on.
> > >
> > Mitch,
> >
> > I am curious, what is seasonal bipolarII? It seems there are alot more subtypes of bipolar than the experts initially thought and it's hard to keep track of them.
> >
> > To answer your question, here is what happens. Just like what happened with Prozac, I got to the point with St. Johns Wort where a certain dose was too low and if you raised it to the next level,it's too high. I don't think it's cyclical or anything like that but it's like my body is just not cooperating with the antidepressant.
> >
> > What is happening right now as I have to have a four day washout period before starting Luvox, I am actually not depressed but am feeling the withdrawal symptoms from the SJW. In the past, when that particular med was completely out of my body, then I would feel the depression return in full force even if there was nothing for me to be depressed about. I don't think my depression was initially atypical so I don't know how to explain that.
> >
> > I am not sure I have answered your question so if I haven't, please forgive me. As an aside, I also take Adderall and Remeron for sleep.
> >
> > Thanks for responding Mitch.
> >
> > Misty
>
> Hi Misty,
>
> When I said "Seasonal BPII"-all that means is that the mood cycling is relatively predictable from year to year depending on what season it is.
>
> Your response about the Prozac being either "too low" or "too high" sounds a little like my experience with antidepressants and how they relate to a "mixed" mood state. I feel like the "envelope" gets inverted and there is no place that works, and no place where I can tolerate the med. I've got ADHD and BPII and Adderall worked to dampen cycling, but only when I was taking it without an antidepressant. In your post to BarbaraCat you talk about temporal lobe "issues" when you took the ADHD test. That is very similar to my results. That is the trouble with the meds available now for folks that have mixed BP/ADHD symptoms. A standard pstim may help a lot with a few major symptoms, but make others worse. A standard "mood stabilizer" may help with one symptom cluster, but make others worse, etc. etc.
>
> Mitch
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:95687
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020222/msgs/95823.html