Posted by Geezer on July 12, 2002, at 18:52:02
In reply to Just dx bipolar--some questions, posted by Mandy on July 12, 2002, at 16:44:45
> I am sorry if it seems like all I ask is for support from these sites and not give back, but these have been some tough months. And now after years of thinking I had depression, I am told that I am bipolar. And probably the times when I felt normal and could get things done were my mania periods. So this is Bipolar II, I think. I am so confused. My meds are Prozac 80mg ( I have been on this forever), Neurontin 800mg tid (these seems to help osteo pain) and Trileptal 300mg bid. And I am in an intensive outpt program. BUt what is normal??? And how will I know if meds are working? I wake up so depressed each day and go in and out of feeling suicidal (just for a few seconds), happy days are rare.
> What should I expect? Will I ever be just a functioning person without all these mood swings? ThanksHi Mandy,
No need to apologize about asking for help, you will have plenty of time to give back later.
My experience was identical to yours, treated for Major Depression for many years, now Bipolar II pops into the picture. In fact I have been treated by 4 different pdocs in the past year, 2 say major depression recurrent and 2 say bipolar II. I think the important thing is to bring the symptoms under controll. I also agree if I ever had hypomania, these were the periods when I felt "normal". I have never taken Neurontin or Trileptal and don't know the dosage range. I currently take Depakote and Lamictal with low dose Ambien and Klonopin for sleep. I will be adding Prozac (restart of the only AD that ever gave me relief from depression) next week.
After dealing with this illness for many years I can't claim to know a lot but do believe in one thing. If you truly have mood swings the first thing that needs to be done is stabilize the mood. If your major symptom is depression Lamictal has shown promise as a good mood stabilizer with AD effect (Careful titration to avoid serious rash). I would suggest a search on this board under Lamictal. I know I need ADs along with my current meds.
"Will I ever be just a functioning person without all these mood swings"? YES! It can be a difficult struggle but you can get there. Can you tell me what your "intensive output program" is?
Hang in there,
Geezer
poster:Geezer
thread:112136
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/112147.html