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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by francesco on February 23, 2004, at 9:11:55
I tried to procrastinate this moment but now I feel I can't wait anymore. Here's my recent story.
August 2003 Tried Wellbutrin for what I thought it was an ADHD problem. In the ten days I did the trial I become extremely irritable and forgetful. In the same period I get drunk almost every day just to try to come back to my old me and feel something again, and developed what turned out to be a bacterical phrostatis (E.Choli).
I quit the Wellbutrin but I felt ill and confused, short-memory problems, flatness of mood, so I went on Prozac (just for ten days).
I got suicidal and severely depressed and I had to quit.After I quit the Prozac I came back to my old me, feeling emotions again.
September 2003
Then I decided to try other solutions. I went to a new psychiatrist that let me try Ritalin. The trial lasted just 5 or 6 days. I felt robotic while on it and then quit it. I was still able to have emotions when Ritalin faded out.At that point my psychiatris diagnosed me as having bipolar issues.
I don't want to tell all my story life but in the last months I was able to take different meds only for very short periods of time.
Tried Imipramine, Desipramine, Trileptal, Remeron, Lithium and last but not least the awful Parmodalin a compound that mixes Trifluoperazine with Parnate.I got easily very confused while on it and had to quit. The withdrawal was awful and I think it has never ended. Curious to say I quit Parmodalin three weeks ago or more and I'm still confused, anhedonic, language problems, short memory problems, spaced out, no emotions, period of blank mind, extreme fatigue during the day, not reactive to the environment, not being able to carry on a coherent conversation, sometimes feeling like I'm sleeping while I'm awake. I would prefer not to say that word but I feel like I had 'derealization'. I had none of these syntoms before the 'trials'.
I'm wondering what's happening. Maybe this reaction is similar to the one I had on Wellbutrin on the last August but it's worse ... I can't understand the reason of this long-term effects (aren't meds like Parnate supposed to be out of your system in a couple of weeks ?) and moreover what to do to come back to feel something. My psychiatrist told me to take Xanax until the appointment but I can't see his point.
I'm wondering if I have some kind of neurological disorders or if the infection that gave me phrostatis is contributing somehow ... I mean, I know that these seems to be delirating ideas but I have nothing else to explain what's happening to me.
I go out with friends and I have to come back home after a couple of hours because I just don't feel *anything*. Sometimes I have also trouble walking as my legs were very fragile. I started SAM-E two days ago but I thing it's contributing to confusion. Sorry for this very long post but I'm scared. I'm acting as I had Alzheimer's disease and I'm just 28. And moreover ... I'm not on meds !!!
Every suggestion or attempt to explaination is greatly appreciated ... Thanks
Posted by Sad Panda on February 23, 2004, at 10:15:34
In reply to any idea of what is happening to me ? (long), posted by francesco on February 23, 2004, at 9:11:55
> I tried to procrastinate this moment but now I feel I can't wait anymore. Here's my recent story.
>
> August 2003 Tried Wellbutrin for what I thought it was an ADHD problem. In the ten days I did the trial I become extremely irritable and forgetful. In the same period I get drunk almost every day just to try to come back to my old me and feel something again, and developed what turned out to be a bacterical phrostatis (E.Choli).
>
> I quit the Wellbutrin but I felt ill and confused, short-memory problems, flatness of mood, so I went on Prozac (just for ten days).
> I got suicidal and severely depressed and I had to quit.
>
> After I quit the Prozac I came back to my old me, feeling emotions again.
>
> September 2003
> Then I decided to try other solutions. I went to a new psychiatrist that let me try Ritalin. The trial lasted just 5 or 6 days. I felt robotic while on it and then quit it. I was still able to have emotions when Ritalin faded out.
>
> At that point my psychiatris diagnosed me as having bipolar issues.
>
> I don't want to tell all my story life but in the last months I was able to take different meds only for very short periods of time.
> Tried Imipramine, Desipramine, Trileptal, Remeron, Lithium and last but not least the awful Parmodalin a compound that mixes Trifluoperazine with Parnate.
>
> I got easily very confused while on it and had to quit. The withdrawal was awful and I think it has never ended. Curious to say I quit Parmodalin three weeks ago or more and I'm still confused, anhedonic, language problems, short memory problems, spaced out, no emotions, period of blank mind, extreme fatigue during the day, not reactive to the environment, not being able to carry on a coherent conversation, sometimes feeling like I'm sleeping while I'm awake. I would prefer not to say that word but I feel like I had 'derealization'. I had none of these syntoms before the 'trials'.
>
> I'm wondering what's happening. Maybe this reaction is similar to the one I had on Wellbutrin on the last August but it's worse ... I can't understand the reason of this long-term effects (aren't meds like Parnate supposed to be out of your system in a couple of weeks ?) and moreover what to do to come back to feel something. My psychiatrist told me to take Xanax until the appointment but I can't see his point.
>
> I'm wondering if I have some kind of neurological disorders or if the infection that gave me phrostatis is contributing somehow ... I mean, I know that these seems to be delirating ideas but I have nothing else to explain what's happening to me.
>
> I go out with friends and I have to come back home after a couple of hours because I just don't feel *anything*. Sometimes I have also trouble walking as my legs were very fragile. I started SAM-E two days ago but I thing it's contributing to confusion. Sorry for this very long post but I'm scared. I'm acting as I had Alzheimer's disease and I'm just 28. And moreover ... I'm not on meds !!!
>
> Every suggestion or attempt to explaination is greatly appreciated ... Thanks
>
>
>You were right to stop taking Prozac if it made you suicidal. But you haven't spent long enough on any of the other medications to know what they do. Just because Ritalin makes you feel robotic for the first 5-6 days doesn't mean it will be like that forever. What made you stop taking Clomipramine? You said you managed to get a degree with it so why was it so bad?
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by francesco on February 23, 2004, at 11:23:04
In reply to Re: any idea of what is happening to me ? (long) » francesco, posted by Sad Panda on February 23, 2004, at 10:15:34
Thanks Panda, you've been helpful in the past and I'm glad you answered me. I quit Ritalin because I felt drugged while on it, couldn't concentrate any better, ups and downs, rebound effect, hypertension problems to say any. It was not the right med for me and when you take the Rit you say exactly what will be its effects on you over the long period because it's the same effect you have in the short period (or so they say).
Anafranil made me concentrate better but it made me shy and social phobic (kind of misanthropist). I don't like to be that kind of guy, but I cannot say for sure I won't finish to come back to it, since, so far, it's the only med that has seemed to work for my concentration problems. Unfortunately the last time I tried it gave me fever, which lasted ten days, and immediately ceased when I quit the med. So, maybe I become allergic to it, or I can't tolerate it anymore.
Moreover it's known to cause constipation (like all TCAs) which is something that I should have to avoid since it worsens my urological problems.
(and antidepressant per se seems to make prostatis more difficult to treat).I also think that my psychiatrist won't prescribe it to me without a mood stabilizer since he thinks I can be bipolar II rapid cycling or bipolar III (bipolarity induced by meds). I've tried Trileptal and it flattens me (but again, I can't say for sure I won't try it again) and lithium that made me act like I were drunk. So, the picture is a bit messy.
The good news are that I take a xanax 0.50 and the confusion passed. Therefore my psychiatrist is right. Xanax improves my confusion issues. The other part of the dylemma is that I don't know why I'm so confused without Xanax and I'm scared about taking Xanax because one of the syntoms of benzo withdrawal seems to be confusion. Another thing I would like to report is that SAM-E actually made me feel far worse even at the dosage of 400mg.
I could try it at the 200mg dosage but for some of the posters (like ron hill) even that dosage seems hard to tolerate without a mood stabilizer. So, once again, my psychiatrist seems to be right. I need a mood stabilization before going on a new antidepressants. The problem is to find a mood stabilizer that don't damp me down. My psychiatris seems to believe that xanax can act as a mood stabilizer but, you know, there's the dipendence issue. So, if you or someone else, has a suggest to give to make some order in my disorder I would be glad to hear.
Thanks again
Posted by PoohBear on February 25, 2004, at 13:01:38
In reply to Re: any idea of what is happening to me ? (long) » Sad Panda, posted by francesco on February 23, 2004, at 11:23:04
Francesco:
I don't know if this will be much help, and I've been following your posts for a long time, but I thought I might add my twwo cents, for what it's worth, as I'm battling some of the same symptoms.
I'm currently being treated fro clinical depression with Effexor XR. After titrating up and down I was comfortable at 75mg for several months and then recently had to go up to 150mg to achieve more efectiveness. (No pun intended...) I'm also ADHD and taking Seroquel at night for sleep and mood stabilization for atypical bipolar.
In two week we'll start meds for the ADHD. We feel that we've had enough time to get the depression under control and now can concentrate on the attention (or lack of it...) I believe that we're going to start with Adderal. I don't want to take Ritalin. We also might look at Cylert.
I believe you said that stimulants were hard to get in Italy. How did you get Ritalin? You might try Adderal. It's supposed to be tolerated much better with a smoother release throught the day.
Seroquel is a great mood stabilizer, which is one of the reasons why we're sticking with it. It might be something you'd want to look at. If you're not sleeping well, it could greatly affect you outlook during the day, so the Seroquel could help there as well.
You might have better luck with Lamictil than lithium for your bipolar. Most that I've read suggest that you're right, that mood stabilization is the most important for bipolar, then antidepressant afterwards. I have had no mania boost with Effexor, which makes sense, since it's not an SSRI. I'm not worried about the withdrawal horror stories.
I really hope that you find a combination that works for you and that makes you comfortable. I'm 47 and resolved to be on meds for the rest of my life if the quality of that life can be made better.
Take Care,
Tony
Posted by PoohBear on February 25, 2004, at 13:05:56
In reply to Re: any idea of what is happening to me ? (long) » francesco, posted by PoohBear on February 25, 2004, at 13:01:38
Wow, sorry for all the typos in that last post... I'm still comin off Topamax and it really DOES mess with your cognitive abilities.
Tony
This is the end of the thread.
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