Posted by Cece on February 28, 2001, at 22:29:17
In reply to Re: rapid cycling, posted by jessie on February 28, 2001, at 11:45:29
Hi Jessie-
I really feel for you- what you are experiencing sounds terrible.
I haven't experienced such rapid cycling, I'm bipolar II (I guess! seems like diagnostic categories aren't always especially precise). But I'll share my experience with mood stabilizers, and also mention my neice's, who is Bipolar I, with chronic low grade depression. I hope you don't mind reading a long post.
I've taken clonazaepam for a long time (8 years), in a very small daily dose. It is an anti-anxiety agent, but also a mood stabilizer. Unlike some other people who have posted, I haven't experienced it pooping out. Unless I take only a tiny dose, I get very groggy/sloggy. I have just now started to try reducing the dose to go off it, to see if I'm okay without it as I suspect it may be contributing to an ongoing problem with feeling mentally fogged even at a very small dose. And I'm taking other mood stabilizers now, so may not need it any more. BUT, I've read of other people's very good experiences with it at higher doses over long periods of time. (There is a lot of discussion of it on the Panic Disorders Bulletin Board).Over these 8 years, I have tried MANY meds, in different doses and combos. I now take a pretty substantial mix, several in small doses.
I tried Depakote very early and immediately felt a weight (like an electric charge on my skin) lifted off. I took a "regular dose" of 1000mg/day for several months, got some anti-depressant effects as well, but felt I was getting too much sedation. But if I stopped entirely (gradually going down), I got quite agitated again. Now I take 250mg/day which seems a good dose for me.
When I started Neurontin, I felt a new experience of well-being- amazingly so for awhile, then less but still significantly- I take 1200mg/day. It seems that for people who it helps, it works well as an adjunct to other meds, rather than a stand-alone.
Topomax did not work for me as a mood stabilizer, and did give me some trouble with word-finding. However, on the 10 months I was on it, I lost quite a bit of weight (caused by the Depakote, and also by Nortiptyline). If it weren't for the cognitive problems, I would have stayed on it for the weight loss!
The Nortrityline has help my sleep and depression significantly. Since it caused weight gain and I got horrible dry mouth, I went down to the lowest dose that held off bad depression and reduced those side effects- 40mg/day- and have stayed at that dose for several years.
I also was on zoloft for about 2 years- 25mg/day, and it did have some good AD effects- but it was unclear whether it might be causing me agitation, and I was sexually disabled. I have been completely off it for 1.5 years, and don't miss it at all.
Last year I started Lamictal, since low energy and low grade depression continued as a problem and it is a more activating mood stabilizer. I have found that it has improved my mood overall. I take 125mg/day, a relatively small dose. I did a very gradual increase schedule to get on it- my pdoc is cautious, having seen some bad reactions in patients, and I seem to be quite sensitive to meds in general. It has seemed to help me with weight loss also (contrary to other people's experiences), but not as dramatically as the Topomax.
I also take xanax, not a lot- total of 1.25mg/day, with extra PRN if I have a period of heightened anxiety. It works on anxiety and also has some anti-depressant effects. I find it to be a very helpful med.
My neice, who has had 2 manic episodes that required hospitalization, has very comfortably settled into Topomax as her only med, having been on many others (mood stabilizers and AD's) over several years. She had sedation/cognitive problems with most of the other mood stabilizers- (Tegretol, Depakote, and Neurontin).
Just to fill in, I also take cytomel (for several years, as an AD adjunct), and just recently started Adderall (10mg/day total), and Levotroid (50mcg/day). Each of these were added to help continuing brain fog/low energy/focussing problems, and each has helped significantly- although if I go over these low doses I get agitation.I am still struggling with some background, chronic "demon"- trying hard to describe well what it is. It's some kind of lack of well being, physical tension, suseceptibility to stress, agitation, low motivation- I've described it sometimes as chronic grief. I've asked my pdoc about Xyprexa (based on what I've read on other people's postings here) and he thinks that it is worth trying- but we're going to wait for the new version, ziprasidone to come out in March to avoid the weight gain side effects. If it works, I might be able to drop something else out.
If anyone reads this who recognizes my "demon" and has any feedback, I'd appreciate hearing it.I get very tired of dealing with all these meds and running my own home pharmacy. But each one has helped in its own particular way, so I try and accept it. I spend an evening every 3-4 weeks and pack up my meds into little ziploc bags so that I don't have to deal with all those bottles all the time.
By the way, both my neice and I take daily Flax Seed Oil- I think that the dose I take is 10grams/day (2 tablespoons of the oil- my neice uses the capsules). She is positive that it has helped her to feel better overall- I'm less certain, but since it is good for health in general, I continue.
So everyone's experience is a bit different, with some common overlaps- but there is sure no one answer. Hopefully your new doc will work out the right combo for you before too long. All I can say is hang in there, be as honest and articulate as you can with your doc, and have faith that other people have gone through these awful experiences and gotten better. It is great that you are able to work with the same person for psychopharmacology and therapy.
Best wishes,
Cece
poster:Cece
thread:1228
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010221/msgs/55183.html