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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SoS on March 4, 2002, at 3:24:04
After reading a few of your posts, it seems like we have a lot in common as far as mood disorders go. I'm dxd BPII, at the moment, but have also been dxd with Severe Depression, SP, GAD, Agoraphobia and it's possible I've had PTSD since I was 6 and that's why I'm f***d up.
"I'm bipolar. Wellbutrin practically made me
psychotic. I felt like I had dopamine coming out
of my ears. If I didn't know it I would have had
an amphetamine overdose."
I'm on Wellbutrin right now, and this is exactly how I feel.
What have you tried that has been helpful? What meds have made you worse?
You seem really smart and I kind of just want to pick your brain, but I don't know specifically what to ask. What do you think about using Anti-Psychotics off label?
Thanks for any reply.
MM
Posted by JohnX2 on March 4, 2002, at 3:46:12
In reply to JohnX2, posted by SoS on March 4, 2002, at 3:24:04
Thanks for the complement. I really appreciate it.
I've been feeling a bit frustrated of late and
acting a bit contentious on the newsgroup.
Hopefully I can refocus to help some people.
This was my original intent.
I got some really good advice from pbabble when
I was in some hard times so I hope I can pay
homage.I'm a bit tired right now, but I'll get back
tomorrow.best wishes.
john> After reading a few of your posts, it seems like we have a lot in common as far as mood disorders go. I'm dxd BPII, at the moment, but have also been dxd with Severe Depression, SP, GAD, Agoraphobia and it's possible I've had PTSD since I was 6 and that's why I'm f***d up.
> "I'm bipolar. Wellbutrin practically made me
> psychotic. I felt like I had dopamine coming out
> of my ears. If I didn't know it I would have had
> an amphetamine overdose."
> I'm on Wellbutrin right now, and this is exactly how I feel.
> What have you tried that has been helpful? What meds have made you worse?
> You seem really smart and I kind of just want to pick your brain, but I don't know specifically what to ask. What do you think about using Anti-Psychotics off label?
> Thanks for any reply.
> MM
Posted by JohnX2 on March 5, 2002, at 3:50:43
In reply to JohnX2, posted by SoS on March 4, 2002, at 3:24:04
Hi,Sorry if you have gone through any of the
trials and tribulations that I have. Nice to
have something in common with someone, but not
this. Maybe we can share a good treatment.What medications are you taking currently?
Anyways, I wasted *A LOT* of time not getting dx'd as bilpolar and trying to
take antidepressants without a mood stabilizer.So I'm hoping you are on a mood stablizer, but
it sounds like from your Wellbutrin you need someting
anti-manic fast. Sorry I should have gotton back quicker.For bad mania/mood control, of the anti-psychotics,
I found Zyprexa to be very helpful. It did wonders for
anxiety/agitation and sleep too. Only caveat is a very small
chance of getting a movement disorder called tardive
dykinesia. But of the atypical anti-psychotics this is
a very popular medicine. Other options are Risperidone,
Geodon, Seroquel. I have little experience outside of
Zyprexa but you can dig through past posts to get
outsiders views.Hopefully you are on a good mood stabilizer/Lithium?
You MUST be on one of these before going any where near
an anti-depressant. In fact my current psychiatrists
thinking is that it is best to treat bipolar without
the use of any anti-depressants if at all possible.
Of the mood stabilizers, Lithium and Depakote are the
old standbys. Lamictal has become very popular recently
for its very robust anti-depressant properties and low
side effect profile. It seems most people start with
either Lithium, Depakote/Tegetrol, or Lamictal (me),
and then potentially add on another mood stabilizer.
Neurontin is a popular add on to help with anxiety.
I liked that one (except the 3x a day dosing). Topamax
is also helpful for manic symptoms and is VERY helpful
for people who believe to be PTSD. Also a lot of bipolars take medicines
like Klonopin, even though it is generally for anxiety,
it also helps alot with agitation from hypomania, etc.For anti-depressants, its somewhat dependant on
your profile/needs. Also a crapshoot for good
responses. Wellbutrin is popular for bipolar, allthough
I don't know the historical roots. For GAD I dunno if
Wellbutrin is the best answer, maybe others can
comment. I guess it may be ok if you are on a good
regimen of other anxiety medicines.Don't have much experience in agorophobia. Are there any panic
attack roots to the agorophobia? Dose this stem
way back from trauma in your childhood?Anyways, here is what I currently take:
150 mg Lamictal (mood stabilizer/anti-convulsant)
1 mg Klonopin
300 mg Serzone (anti-depressant)
400 mg Topamax (mood stabilizer/anti-convulsant)I just dropped my Zyprexa in favor of Serzone.
The Serzone treats really well a problem I have
with bad tension headaches.
I was taking a really strong dose of Klonopin (6 mg)
but found Topamax to be a really good replacement
for me. I seem to be one of the good Topamax success
stories. Again, good for PTSD symptoms.I hope maybe people reading this and/or I can help you
more if you have more questions or info.Best wishes.
John> After reading a few of your posts, it seems like we have a lot in common as far as mood disorders go. I'm dxd BPII, at the moment, but have also been dxd with Severe Depression, SP, GAD, Agoraphobia and it's possible I've had PTSD since I was 6 and that's why I'm f***d up.
> "I'm bipolar. Wellbutrin practically made me
> psychotic. I felt like I had dopamine coming out
> of my ears. If I didn't know it I would have had
> an amphetamine overdose."
> I'm on Wellbutrin right now, and this is exactly how I feel.
> What have you tried that has been helpful? What meds have made you worse?
> You seem really smart and I kind of just want to pick your brain, but I don't know specifically what to ask. What do you think about using Anti-Psychotics off label?
> Thanks for any reply.
> MM
Posted by SoS on March 5, 2002, at 17:22:11
In reply to Re: JohnX2 » SoS, posted by JohnX2 on March 5, 2002, at 3:50:43
My current medications are wellbutrin, depakote and risperdal, so yes I'm on a mood stablizer. I WAS on paxil, which was helping, but I gained 40 lbs so I tapered off. Before I was diagnosed with BP I had tried paxil alone, prozac, wellbutrin alone, serzone, zoloft...all the ssri's. THEY are what catapulted me into a mixed state. The agoraphobia comes from Panic attacks, Social phobia, and GAD. I've overcome the agoraphobia a few times, but I was on SSRI's so I was acting kind of strange, which added onto my embarassment about being this way, which is the cause of my agoraphobia, if that makes sense. I've also tried seroquel for sleep, but it wasn't my favorite. The only benzo I've tried is tomazepam for sleep. I still wonder if an anxiety medication would be more helpful to me, but I don't think my pdoc will consider it until we've tried every other med. The trauma when I was 6 was a serious fire (I wasn't hurt but our friends across the hall died) and although I feel fine about it now, I displayed classic PTSD symptoms; absolutely not wanting to talk about it was the main one. I think it's possible that the fire pushed my anxiety level to a certain limit and now when I get anxious, it's to a higher degree than it should be, but that's just my theory.
Anyway, the AD that I liked the most (although I didn't really like any of them, and it shot my memory to hell) was serzone if that means anything chemically. I do think the depakote calms me somewhat as well.
Thanks for your input John. I appreciate it.
MM
This is the end of the thread.
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