Posted by EmilyAnn on July 4, 2002, at 15:51:21
In reply to Re: thank you, posted by cybercafe on July 4, 2002, at 3:56:57
> Yeah I know I can do something for others -- as long as they don't expect too much. It's really hard to tell how bad your irritability and irresponsible behaviour is and how it effects your life without seeing you in person. Also... one problem I also find is that besides leaving things out by mistake, all of us are somewhat selective about what symptoms we want others to know about -- i.e. suicidal behaviour, hallucinations, what have you.
> Keeping that in mind -- it's great that you listen to what people say online, but you definately need to confirm things with your doctor first. Especially if it involves herbal remedies, ... since so many drugs can be fatal in combination, or have other serious side effects (exacerbate psychosis, cause suicidal agitation, etc etc)....
> Anyways enough of a disclaimer from me! :)
> ***:) the disclaimer is all good. I understand hon! You do seem very well educated on this subject. I think that's very important. We need to know about our illness and the treatments. I do value the opinions and experience of others and I try to research the meds as well.> What would you like to know? I can't tell you what's worked for me 100%, cuz nothing has yet ;)
> but I've only tried a few meds.
> **Is that common? That not med works 100%...I guess it is because therapy is an important component too.> Right now I'm taking Parnate and a little Gabapentin (I'm BP II as well)
> The Parnate is good for me cuz I sleep way too much, and the Gabapentin I take so that I can sleep while on Parnate :) and it also works wonders for anxiety and agitation.
> I find it less potent than benzos, but I seem to be able to tolerate life without them (both Parnate and Gabapentin offer anti-anxiety effects).
>***The Gapapentin is Neurotin. I was on that for about a month and a half. Still on it, but tapering off...in about a week I'll be off. It seems strange the my new psych would not have me on a mood stabilizer. What I've read on BPII shows that a mood stabilizer is crucial and that you have to watch how much of an anti-depressant you take b/c it can induce mania. But, he said that there are many mood stabilizers I haven't tried and if I need it, we'll try them. It just sucks that I have to try all these meds just to be functional! It's a bit frustrating, as all of you proably know. I'll research Parnate and see what's up with it. I just want to know what's out there so I can work with my psych. in finding the best meds for me (in case the new tx doesn't work).
>
> augmentation just means you combine one medication with another.... or other times it more specifically means that you combine drugs that interact with one another -- "synergism" would be a better description here
> ***oh, I get it. :) Yeah, I've been on multiple meds for about two years now.> Yeah I hear ya :) I wonder if that violates the constitution at all?
> Or if you could rob a bank, and plead not guilty by reason of necessity
> ***LOL!! yeah really! I took a human services course and we discussed the issue of HMO benefits a great deal. The ethical problems for the counselor...because the patient may not be better and you have to let them go because they can't pay. It's a shame. \
>
> Yeah Effexor XR probably helped me improve like 40% or so. But I could sure do a hell of a lot better than that, I'm sure
> **I hear ya!> I get the anxiety and definately lots of irritability and agitation, .. but I always slept way too much
> ***it's weird. I sleep too much too at times. Esp. when I am depressed. but other times I just can't sleep at all. I guess that's when i'm cycling. Wouldn't it be better to have the 'fun' mania? LOL. Just kidding. But sometimes feeling grandious seems better than being so dang irritalbe and agitated. But all of it is difficult.> Did the mood stabilizers help with that at all?
> If not, what does your doctor intend to put you on instead? Benzos, other mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics?
>***the mood stabilizers I've tried (depakote and neurotin) have not worked with respect to the cycling. It seems that all meds work for me maybe at 40% and I am able to function a bit better, then they just stop working. I don't think I need an anti-psycotic b/c I 've never experienced those type of symptoms (thank God, my friend who has BP w/ psychotic features, says it bites but his meds are working fine for him now). Do the anti-psychotic meds have any other benefits rather than stopping psychosis?
>
> Ahh... so that you can make the informed decision that many people often aren't made aware of -- drinking will really screw you up. And I'm not just talking about depressive effects of alcohol...
> Alcohol prevents your liver from metabolizing medication for... I believe 56 hours minimum. That's 2.5 days. So if you are drinking every 2.5 days, or more frequently, you may as well just take no medication
***Dang, I didn't know that! Hmm, no wonder it was worse when I was drinking alot!> Or to put it more positively -- stop drinking, if at all possible, and you might find yourself getting a lot better. Of course maybe you already have stopped, but I just don't want you to miss out if you havn't.
***I've been sober for 5 months (b/c of the program I am in and w/ God's help). It's partly more difficult now b/c I have nothing to 'self-medicate' when I get anxious or depressed. Does that make sense? But when I was drinking, my moods were all messed up too...but I didn't care b/c I was drunk
!
> Your doctor should have a few means at his disposal to help you quit -- again, no offence if you already have :)
>***no offense taken hon! You are so helpful and very sensitive to others. Great qualities. Are you in a helping profession?
> Yeah this is something that I wish someone had told me about --- I was experiencing unbearable depression, and it wasn't until I was forced to leave the house that I realized it was in a large part due to sensory depravation :(
***hmm, that's a good point.> Don't worry, anxiety is probably one of the easier symptoms to treat if it is a big problem... if you have substance abuse problems, maybe your doc is reluctant to give you a benzo, but there are other meds available (possibly not as good, but a hell of a lot better than nothing)
> ***thank you :0) the benzodiapines addictive? I had better steer clear of those then!
>
>
> What?! ... I don't know the circumstance, but that does sound like a bad idea
> ***Hell yeah! I think I need to be more assertive w/ my doctors. I tried explaing things to her, but I think I get caught up in the fact that she is a doctor and knows more than me. But, I know myself and what is and is not working...so darn it, I should stick up for myself, huh? Hopefully I will be able to w/ my new Doc.
>
> I have never taken a med that hasn't worked at least 20%, conservatively, so it's not hard to beat that 0% you're getting. Of course I encourage you to give it a decent trial, a fair dose, a fair period of evaluation, possibly even a blood test ...
> ***I agree. :) And yeah, anything is better than 0% effective! I am just so fearful that soemthing else won't work or even worse make me sicker.> When Effexor didn't work for me completely (I hesitate to say it didn't work, because when a med works 30 or 40% and you are feeling like total crap you really appreciate that 30 or 40%) .. my doc decided to try an MAOI ... so I'm on Parnate now, and it's definately doing something. It's been about 4 weeks and I'm probably looking at somewhere between a 30 and a 50% response. (these numbers are non-systematic guesses of course).. and the dose can be increased, I'm sure
*** MAOI's are a bit tricky aren't they? I mean don't you have to watch your diet with those? Well I guess that's a fair trade off for being able to function. I'm happy for you that the Parnate seems to be working for ya. :)> If you're looking for antidepressants, I can give you a long list of different drugs and strategies you can go over with your doctor
> **thank you :)> If you can't take an anti-anxiety med and get out and get rid of that depression, .. then perhaps you should try to find a way to predict whether it will work or not...
> I don't know how many doctors know how to get a blood level done
> I don't know how many doctors know how to use an EEG to predict an early response ...
> probably worth looking into yourself, though...
> ***thanks for that information. Dang, you're like an encyclopedia!! :) I'll look into it.> How long have you been on Wellbutrin for btw (this time around)?
***I just started the Welbutirn (this time) yesterday (wed).
>>
> No problem .... sorry I can't be more help, .. I might just become one of those happy people who goes off and lives their lives and you never hear from them again
> Or at least we can hope ;)
> ***you HAVE been of help. and I truly appreciated it.> Really though... I was surprised how much better I feel when I'm interacting with people... but it might just be me I don't know
***I understand. When I can force myself to leave the house, it's usually a good thing that I'm around friends. But it's hard...most of my friends are in the alcoholism recovery program taht I'm in and they are totally great and I love them all, but some do not understand my mental illness and that's difficult.Thank you again. God bless you.
-Bernadette (my real name...I couldn't use it as a screen name, it was already taken!)
poster:EmilyAnn
thread:111312
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111403.html