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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 8:24:03
Hi,
Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?
Posted by JohnX2 on November 12, 2001, at 8:52:18
In reply to BPII and stress; can meds help one cope?, posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 8:24:03
Hi Sue,Sounds like there may be a little miscommunication
between yourself and your doctor. Hopefully this is
the case, otherwise he is giving you bad information.It is true that anyone suffering from any form of mental
illness is going to have difficulty "coping" with life
especially when we are on mood swings. It is *extremely*
frustrating for me for example (I'm bpii) if I have a
string of good days, make commitments feeling that I
am well, and then have a string of bad days for what
ever reason and then can't make those commitments.
The unpredictability of the situation adds on to the
stress of the situation greatly.It is possible and necessary to learn coping skills for
how to deal with these periods. For example, I try at
work to stay on projects that have longer term objectives
as opposed to short term ones. This gives me some bumper
room for mood swings which may interfere with my output.
When I'm feeling better I have to compensate by putting
in a little extra effort. Its kinda annoying because I
would prefer to be enjoying other things in life during
those episodes in feeling better.Regarding the addition of a mood stabilizer, if you
are indeed rapid cycling, then a mood stabilizer that
smooths things out and adds "predictability" to your
life will by default give you better coping skills.
You are absolutely 100% correct in your thinking there.I know it really sucks that we have to learn new coping
skills to maximize our life dispite our illness.I wish you the best of luck with any additional
mood stabilizers. BTW, what treatment path are you
taking ? I found Lamictal to be the best mood
stablizer for me (I rapid cycle too). But everyone
is different. I also did well on neurontin. A lot
of people do well on depakote,tegetrol,trileptal,
and lithium also (not to mention others...).Good luck,
John> Hi,
>
> Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
>
> A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?
Posted by JahL on November 12, 2001, at 12:31:03
In reply to BPII and stress; can meds help one cope?, posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 8:24:03
> Hi,
>
> Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
>
> A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?No. Hi. I was going to reply but then I read John's response & I pretty much agree with everything he said. Just to add, pdocs will often tell treatment-resistant patients (& as a BPII sufferer you almost certainly fall into this category) that failure to respond is somehow their fault ("you're not trying hard enough"). Personality disorders are also brought up. This is a pdoc ploy to disguise their own inability to treat successfully. This isn't necessarily their fault; fact is medical science is yet to catch up with this terrible condition. I just wish they were more honest & explained that this is the case.
Fwiw, I've dropped every pdoc that has dared to suggest anything along the lines of "maybe you're just made that way" or "maybe you just expect too much from life" etc etc.
J.
BTW I'm BPII. I try & avoid stressful situations like the plague. My temper can get the better of me...
Posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 14:32:31
In reply to Re: BPII and stress; can meds help one cope? » Sue4, posted by JohnX2 on November 12, 2001, at 8:52:18
Hi John,
Your response was comforting. Thankyou. I think I need to talk to my pdoc and find out what he meant by his response. To answer your question, I currently take Topomax 200mg, Neurontin 900mg, prozac 20mg. My pdoc wonders how much more fine tuning can be done; he thinks if we do it, the route to go is to add a more potent aed, like trileptal.
>
> Hi Sue,
>
> Sounds like there may be a little miscommunication
> between yourself and your doctor. Hopefully this is
> the case, otherwise he is giving you bad information.
>
> It is true that anyone suffering from any form of mental
> illness is going to have difficulty "coping" with life
> especially when we are on mood swings. It is *extremely*
> frustrating for me for example (I'm bpii) if I have a
> string of good days, make commitments feeling that I
> am well, and then have a string of bad days for what
> ever reason and then can't make those commitments.
> The unpredictability of the situation adds on to the
> stress of the situation greatly.
>
> It is possible and necessary to learn coping skills for
> how to deal with these periods. For example, I try at
> work to stay on projects that have longer term objectives
> as opposed to short term ones. This gives me some bumper
> room for mood swings which may interfere with my output.
> When I'm feeling better I have to compensate by putting
> in a little extra effort. Its kinda annoying because I
> would prefer to be enjoying other things in life during
> those episodes in feeling better.
>
> Regarding the addition of a mood stabilizer, if you
> are indeed rapid cycling, then a mood stabilizer that
> smooths things out and adds "predictability" to your
> life will by default give you better coping skills.
> You are absolutely 100% correct in your thinking there.
>
> I know it really sucks that we have to learn new coping
> skills to maximize our life dispite our illness.
>
> I wish you the best of luck with any additional
> mood stabilizers. BTW, what treatment path are you
> taking ? I found Lamictal to be the best mood
> stablizer for me (I rapid cycle too). But everyone
> is different. I also did well on neurontin. A lot
> of people do well on depakote,tegetrol,trileptal,
> and lithium also (not to mention others...).
>
> Good luck,
> John
>
>
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
> >
> > A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?
Posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 14:37:50
In reply to Re: BPII and stress; can meds help one cope? » Sue4, posted by JahL on November 12, 2001, at 12:31:03
Thanks, Jahl....I don't want to be a superhero; I just want to get through a reasonable amount of stress without becoming a victim of my moods...> No. Hi. I was going to reply but then I read John's response & I pretty much agree with everything he said. Just to add, pdocs will often tell treatment-resistant patients (& as a BPII sufferer you almost certainly fall into this category) that failure to respond is somehow their fault ("you're not trying hard enough"). Personality disorders are also brought up. This is a pdoc ploy to disguise their own inability to treat successfully. This isn't necessarily their fault; fact is medical science is yet to catch up with this terrible condition. I just wish they were more honest & explained that this is the case.
>
> Fwiw, I've dropped every pdoc that has dared to suggest anything along the lines of "maybe you're just made that way" or "maybe you just expect too much from life" etc etc.
>
> J.
> BTW I'm BPII. I try & avoid stressful situations like the plague. My temper can get the better of me...
Posted by JohnX2 on November 12, 2001, at 17:28:03
In reply to Re: BPII and stress; can meds help one cope? » JohnX2, posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 14:32:31
I hope you do well. I think that lamictal augmentation of
topomax has been one of the latest crazes. Lamictal by itself
anecdotally on this board is one of the better meds for
rapid cycling. Its mode of action is a bit different than
topomax, so the 2 are thought to work well together. All in
theory and the anecdotal data is fairly fresh on that one.Best of luck, and if you don't like your pdoc you can
always dump him for another one. Don't forget you are the
customer paying good money for his service. Just like any
bad service (car mechanics, etc) if the experience is bad
you move onto someplace else..good luck,
john> Hi John,
>
> Your response was comforting. Thankyou. I think I need to talk to my pdoc and find out what he meant by his response. To answer your question, I currently take Topomax 200mg, Neurontin 900mg, prozac 20mg. My pdoc wonders how much more fine tuning can be done; he thinks if we do it, the route to go is to add a more potent aed, like trileptal.
> >
> > Hi Sue,
> >
> > Sounds like there may be a little miscommunication
> > between yourself and your doctor. Hopefully this is
> > the case, otherwise he is giving you bad information.
> >
> > It is true that anyone suffering from any form of mental
> > illness is going to have difficulty "coping" with life
> > especially when we are on mood swings. It is *extremely*
> > frustrating for me for example (I'm bpii) if I have a
> > string of good days, make commitments feeling that I
> > am well, and then have a string of bad days for what
> > ever reason and then can't make those commitments.
> > The unpredictability of the situation adds on to the
> > stress of the situation greatly.
> >
> > It is possible and necessary to learn coping skills for
> > how to deal with these periods. For example, I try at
> > work to stay on projects that have longer term objectives
> > as opposed to short term ones. This gives me some bumper
> > room for mood swings which may interfere with my output.
> > When I'm feeling better I have to compensate by putting
> > in a little extra effort. Its kinda annoying because I
> > would prefer to be enjoying other things in life during
> > those episodes in feeling better.
> >
> > Regarding the addition of a mood stabilizer, if you
> > are indeed rapid cycling, then a mood stabilizer that
> > smooths things out and adds "predictability" to your
> > life will by default give you better coping skills.
> > You are absolutely 100% correct in your thinking there.
> >
> > I know it really sucks that we have to learn new coping
> > skills to maximize our life dispite our illness.
> >
> > I wish you the best of luck with any additional
> > mood stabilizers. BTW, what treatment path are you
> > taking ? I found Lamictal to be the best mood
> > stablizer for me (I rapid cycle too). But everyone
> > is different. I also did well on neurontin. A lot
> > of people do well on depakote,tegetrol,trileptal,
> > and lithium also (not to mention others...).
> >
> > Good luck,
> > John
> >
> >
> >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
> > >
> > > A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?
Posted by JohnX2 on November 12, 2001, at 17:31:52
In reply to Re: BPII and stress; can meds help one cope? » JohnX2, posted by Sue4 on November 12, 2001, at 14:32:31
BTW, my 1st pdoc was a moron and said I was treatment
resistant. I think Jahl was right about how they want
to "cover their tracks". My 1st pdoc said that medicines
were "crutches". I asked him if he ever experienced major
depression, and his answer was no. So HTF would he know.
I share in the anger in the air! ;)-john
> Hi John,
>
> Your response was comforting. Thankyou. I think I need to talk to my pdoc and find out what he meant by his response. To answer your question, I currently take Topomax 200mg, Neurontin 900mg, prozac 20mg. My pdoc wonders how much more fine tuning can be done; he thinks if we do it, the route to go is to add a more potent aed, like trileptal.
> >
> > Hi Sue,
> >
> > Sounds like there may be a little miscommunication
> > between yourself and your doctor. Hopefully this is
> > the case, otherwise he is giving you bad information.
> >
> > It is true that anyone suffering from any form of mental
> > illness is going to have difficulty "coping" with life
> > especially when we are on mood swings. It is *extremely*
> > frustrating for me for example (I'm bpii) if I have a
> > string of good days, make commitments feeling that I
> > am well, and then have a string of bad days for what
> > ever reason and then can't make those commitments.
> > The unpredictability of the situation adds on to the
> > stress of the situation greatly.
> >
> > It is possible and necessary to learn coping skills for
> > how to deal with these periods. For example, I try at
> > work to stay on projects that have longer term objectives
> > as opposed to short term ones. This gives me some bumper
> > room for mood swings which may interfere with my output.
> > When I'm feeling better I have to compensate by putting
> > in a little extra effort. Its kinda annoying because I
> > would prefer to be enjoying other things in life during
> > those episodes in feeling better.
> >
> > Regarding the addition of a mood stabilizer, if you
> > are indeed rapid cycling, then a mood stabilizer that
> > smooths things out and adds "predictability" to your
> > life will by default give you better coping skills.
> > You are absolutely 100% correct in your thinking there.
> >
> > I know it really sucks that we have to learn new coping
> > skills to maximize our life dispite our illness.
> >
> > I wish you the best of luck with any additional
> > mood stabilizers. BTW, what treatment path are you
> > taking ? I found Lamictal to be the best mood
> > stablizer for me (I rapid cycle too). But everyone
> > is different. I also did well on neurontin. A lot
> > of people do well on depakote,tegetrol,trileptal,
> > and lithium also (not to mention others...).
> >
> > Good luck,
> > John
> >
> >
> >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Does anyone know if the condition of BPII, and in particular rapid cycling, make it harder to cope with stressful situations, and if so, does medication, in theory, help?
> > >
> > > A doctor recently said to me that he thought my difficulty coping was "me" not the "illness"; if so, why should I bother taking a second mood stabilizer as he suggests...if it's not to treat an "illness" then it sounds like it serves no purpose at all. I have liked this pdoc in the past, but that statement made me feel rather hopeless. To some extent, he may have said it because he doesn't know how much more "fine tuning" we can do on the meds...I may be at the best that I can be, but still does that mean I'm in full remission when he says my difficultly coping is me and not the illness?
This is the end of the thread.
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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Script revised: February 4, 2008
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