Posted by judy on March 10, 2000, at 13:14:59
In reply to Re: Chris A, posted by cynthia on March 8, 2000, at 15:00:32
I truly feel for you- I have been through so many medications and combos, I can no longer remember them all. Many times I have felt like I've had enough and gone off meds. One time I tried to taper off under the care of a psychologist and MD- no psychiatrist would help me- and I got manic. But I did start feeling better physically without all those side effects, so I've gotten a lot more forceful with my pdoc about what meds I'll accept now. I am considered treatment resistant and the only thing left is ECT, which I refuse. So the only lessons I've learned are anti-depressants worsen my cycling no matter what mood stabilizer I'm on, my depressions are time limited and I tend to step up therapy to deal with that, and when manic (not hypomanic) I use benzos or neuroleptics if really bad to stay out of the hospital. This isn't a perfect solution by any means, it's just what I have to do. If it's any consolation, I don't know your age but I had a 3 year bout of rapid cycling in my early 20's, then was relatively stable for about 10 years (except for 1 or 2 episodes a year) until now. My hope is that this too will pass, and I wish the same for you. Take care.
poster:judy
thread:25457
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26631.html