Posted by barbaracat on June 16, 2005, at 16:45:51
In reply to Re: I LOVE lithium » barbaracat, posted by yesac on June 16, 2005, at 10:18:08
> > Hi Wonder Druggies,
>
> Who are you callin a wonder druggie?! ;)
>
**Wasn't me!>>I've heard that too-- that lithium works better for bipolar I, and anticonvulsants often work better for "non-traditional" types of bipolar, including BP II, BP NOS, BP spectrum, mixed states, and rapid cycling. But for me, and I am definitely not classic BPI, lithium seems to help me feel better and the other drugs don't.
**I was originally dx'd as BP-II and it seemed to fit in that my typical symptoms were primarily depressed with the occasional hypomanic state. This could be intense productivity or just extreme irritability. I'd also have plain old depression as well. And then normal life for long periods of time.
But SOME of my episodes were real corkers that didn't fit any description. I called them 'depressions' for lack of any other label but these were nightmarish hallucinogenic horrors that scared me and everyone around me. Extreme despair, existential angst, constant wailing, precognitions of doom, combined with constant panic attacks. These were the episodes that no meds helped and I'd just have to live through them and pick up the shattered pieces of my existence afterwards.
Lithium has blessedly stopped these horrors and after much research into the many flavors of bipolar, I've come to the conclusion that these extreme episodes were Bipolar I Mixed-states depression. My impression is that BP-I differs from BP-II primarily in intensity and the presence of psychosis. But note that it wasn't always like this. The gradient moved around.
Now, who knows what these gradients mean? They all get lumped under the term 'bipolar', but maybe they're not just a gradient, but a different condition? I do know that lithium works primarily on the electrical potential of the neuron rather than the chemical messenger system, as most of the other meds do. So maybe that's what needs tweaking and without proper electrical conductivity, all other meds will fail. It would be interesting in your case, if Depakote and Seroquel or some other combo would work as well. Depakote and Seroquel are considered a very good combo. But definitely not for me. It's a crap shoot. But If I had to take any of them, I'd take lithium. It seems to have the most benign s/e profile when taken in moderation. And like you mentioned, even has neurogenesis properties that the others may not.
I know that as long as I have lithium on board, I can experiment with other meds, even SNRI's which before were not a good idea. But I can't do any of the other mood stabilizers or antipsychotics. Weird. Lithium acts very differently from these. So, maybe there is another country where lithium is the language. Who knows. I just know that I have symptoms that are mainly BP-II and occasionally descend into BP-I and lithium works and I need a pinch of an AD. You know, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck... As long as the lithium keeps working, the labels are just of academic interest and a guidepost for what to be aware of if things start getting weird.
Good luck to you. I truly hope you're on your way to some lasting relief. - Barbara
poster:barbaracat
thread:509665
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050611/msgs/513837.html