Posted by dove on June 12, 2001, at 13:04:21
In reply to VERAPAMIL?? calcium channel blocker for bp?, posted by jodsteroo on June 7, 2001, at 20:05:53
>
> has anyone tried verapimil or any of the other calcium channel blockers for rapid cycling or bipolar?if so... what were the side effects? weight gain? fatigue?? any help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks...jodi...
>Verapamil changed my life, literally! I've had 'emotional problems' all my life, and I didn't figure out that these 'personality defects' were something more until I was prescribed Verapamil for relief from my life-long migraines. Actually, when I discovered this new beautiful world I was speechless and stunned. I tried telling my Internal Med Dr what was happening, but he wrote it off as merely the freedom from my migraines. I *knew* there was something else under that generalized blanket answer.
So, for the first time, I really started to dig for info on mental illnesses. I was dumbfounded to find thousands of people struggling with the same symptoms that I had fought against all of my life. It was at this junction that I stumbled across P-babble, and I have never found a better place to share, learn, critique, and find support.Now, onto diagnoses and Verapamil.... I have been dxed with multiple disorders (ADHD, Bipolar, Panic, GAD, Specific Phobias, OCD...) my doc's are still unsure which are the most prominent and/or dominant (They're guessing the ADHD and Bipolar). I was taken off the Verapamil by my Internal Medicine Doc due to the return of my headaches (only had a few that were nearly blinding), and a few side-effects (super-dry skin, dizzy spells brought on by very high temperatures and exercise, and weight gain.) and then initiated Amitriptyline in place of Verapamil.
I went into a huge nosedive at that point, very very depressed and unable to cope. I went back to the Doc and asked him for some Verapamil until the Amitriptyline kicked in, but he said that was not a good idea. Finally went in for a mental consult, was quickly dxed and assigned a Psych-doc, who immediately started me on Adderall with the Amitriptyline. I have gone through more drug cocktails than I can remember over the last couple years and have never regained that magical something that Verapamil gave me for that short period of time.
I would encourage anyone who is Bipolar (or even dealing with anxiety) to at least give it a try before writing it off. On the internet and even at P-babble, I have found that the majority of people who have tried Verapamil don't find it earth-shaking in any manner, but there are some of us with hard-to-treat bipolar and/or multiple disorders that it really did a job on (a good job that is!). I seem to remember it taking effect in a subtle manner--smooth--almost unnoticeable until I began starting the day with a smile rather than a frown. It didn't cause any memory problems for me either, which is something I really really hate!
I encourage you to just give it a go if your Doc recommends it, you never know, maybe this non-psychiatric med with no mind-numbing or weird discontinuation side-effects will do something for you! Best of luck to you!
dove
poster:dove
thread:65688
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66222.html