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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sheilac on May 25, 2011, at 6:58:06
I mistakenly thought I was "stable" since I was getting great sleep (with low dose Seroquel) and pretty much insulating myself against any stress. This is just not realistic.
I have been under terrible stress the past couple of weeks and I have had terrible manic episodes (irritability, rage, etc.)
I have ADD and take a small dose of Adderall. But I know for a fact that the Prozac my doc gave me only feeds the rage monster.
I need a mood stabilizer. I am TERRIFIED of gaining weight.
I am wondering what med I should add. I am thinking of adding back 450mg of Lithium. Would low dose Depakote be better?
I won't stick with a med that makes me fat or sleepy.
I just need stability. Can't take Lamictil.
And adding more Klonopin has not taken care of the problem.
Posted by SLS on May 25, 2011, at 8:05:30
In reply to Not stable - need help, posted by sheilac on May 25, 2011, at 6:58:06
You might want to investigate Trileptal.
- Scott
> I mistakenly thought I was "stable" since I was getting great sleep (with low dose Seroquel) and pretty much insulating myself against any stress. This is just not realistic.
>
> I have been under terrible stress the past couple of weeks and I have had terrible manic episodes (irritability, rage, etc.)
>
> I have ADD and take a small dose of Adderall. But I know for a fact that the Prozac my doc gave me only feeds the rage monster.
>
> I need a mood stabilizer. I am TERRIFIED of gaining weight.
>
> I am wondering what med I should add. I am thinking of adding back 450mg of Lithium. Would low dose Depakote be better?
>
> I won't stick with a med that makes me fat or sleepy.
>
> I just need stability. Can't take Lamictil.
>
> And adding more Klonopin has not taken care of the problem.
>
>
>
Posted by Phillipa on May 25, 2011, at 11:22:01
In reply to Re: Not stable - need help » sheilac, posted by SLS on May 25, 2011, at 8:05:30
I once took a low dose of trileptal and no weight gain that's a good option. Phillipa
Posted by sheilac on May 25, 2011, at 13:18:27
In reply to Re: Not stable - need help, posted by Phillipa on May 25, 2011, at 11:22:01
As I recall I tried both Trileptal and Tegretol and they gave me night sweats, so I'm not sure. I didn't have any weight gain from them, just sweaty.
Posted by torrid on May 25, 2011, at 17:49:53
In reply to Not stable - need help, posted by sheilac on May 25, 2011, at 6:58:06
prozac did that to me when combined with ritalin. not monster rage but it made me worse, monsterusly worse. later down the line a pdoc told me that prozac is dangerous with stimulants. It seemed true to me because of prozac was a good drug for me until they figured out I was ADHD and combined the prozac with ritalin.
Posted by Christ_empowered on May 25, 2011, at 19:21:08
In reply to Not stable - need help, posted by sheilac on May 25, 2011, at 6:58:06
don't take this the wrong way, please, but you are taking a lot of drugs. My experience with multiple meds, especially when there are both uppers and downers in the mix, is that they can make you "crazy."
I guess the quickest thing to do would be to taper (or just stop) the adderall and see if that helps. If not, try and see if maybe you'd better w/o an antidepressant, or maybe try to see if you'd be better with an antidepressant *or* a stimulant, not both. I guess as an alternative you could try upping the seroquel for a little bit, see if that helps.
I'm not a doctor or anything, so feel free to reject my advice.
Posted by sheilac on May 26, 2011, at 7:09:55
In reply to Re: Not stable - need help, posted by Christ_empowered on May 25, 2011, at 19:21:08
Yea, I think the Prozac pushed me over the edge. I just can't tolerate ADs. I guess if I was on a mood stabilizer I could, but the Prozac really made me nuts.
Plus, everytime I try Seroquel, I love the sleep but it messes up my moods. Only good for sleep - bad for my stablity. I never truly felt stable on Geodon either.
My doc has me taking Lithium again (just 450mg a day) along with 1.5 mg of Klonopin and a small dose of Adderall in the morning. I see her in a week and a half and we'll see how it goes.
I now know that ADs are out for me and so are anti-psychotics.
I think I will stick with the low dose Lithium and Klonopin. My concern is weight gain with Lithium, but I will continue to exercise (which helps me as much as meds!) and watch my diet and hopefully I won't gain.
I agree, too many meds mess you up.
Posted by Christ_empowered on May 26, 2011, at 8:39:32
In reply to CE- Re: Not stable - need help, posted by sheilac on May 26, 2011, at 7:09:55
hey. I'm glad you weren't offended by my advice/input.
I know how you feel about lithium...docs have offered it to me, and it scares me so much that always say no. At lower doses though, I don't think its that bad, or at least that's what I've heard. Just be sure to exercise, stay well hydrated, and do get your blood levels done frequently (I'm sure your doc is on top of that...I'm just sayin').
Antidepressants really aren't for everyone, although the way they're prescribed you'd think they were. I think the the lithium+klonopin+adderall sounds reasonable, personally. Klonopin has some mild mood-stabilizing/anti-manic properties, so that's probably the best benzo for you right now.
Have you tried Ritalin? I think you usually need a higher dose of Ritalin to get the same amount of "oomph" you get from Adderall or other amphetamines, but it is pretty mild (in my limited experience) and it didn't make my moods as unstable as Adderall did. Just a thought.
I hope everything works out for you. Good luck.
Posted by floatingbridge on May 27, 2011, at 9:15:22
In reply to CE- Re: Not stable - need help, posted by sheilac on May 26, 2011, at 7:09:55
Sheila,
I recently stopped snri's and realized that they created mood instability for me. That's years of treatment. Just saying, because you certainly aren't alone in that dilema. You treat add or adhd, too.
Are the sweats you get on triptrgel (ouch! Spelling!) a deal breaker for you?
Good luck whichever way you go.
fb
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