Posted by Mitch on January 4, 2002, at 16:41:43
In reply to Re: GABITRIL (tiagabine) new anti-anxiety drug????? » Mitch, posted by MB on January 4, 2002, at 15:33:14
> > I would give yourself some permission to be lazy-hey school starts soon-you won't have the luxury then! I had to work full time and go to school 3/4 time and slept an average of 4 hrs a nite and then hypersnoozed on Saturday mornings to catch up-don't miss it.
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> Wow--was this the cause of your bipolar disorder or did the mania allow you to do this. I hear stories like this and I feel like such a wimp.Just before I was diagnosed BP I went to college the first time and made it through the first fall semester, but when Spring semester started I was in the middle of a very bad depression (late Fall-early Winter episodes I had been having since I was a little kid). I only made it to class half the time, then dropped out. I tried to go back a few years later and made it another two years (on Lithium+diazepam), then sank into another depressive episode in late November and dropped out again shortly into the begining of the next Spring semester (back in '88). I had a job offer from a high school friend to start working construction jobs and travel around a lot. It was so different from the life I was leading at the time (always broke-studying-depressed), I jumped at it and left school for several more years. I pretty much was off meds altogether for quite awhile-but construction work slows a LOT during the wintertime and coincided with my depressions and it fit well for me. Well, I got into a fight with my boss, lost my job, had a bad wreck, got very depressed, went back on lithium, and finally got leveled out again. This time Prozac had been around for a little while and my doc suggested I try some with my lithium. WOW, what a difference! I was back in school within a few months and stayed in there until I finished. I don't think I could have done it without the Prozac. As far as being able to juggle working/school, etc., it isn't as difficult as you might imagine, it is just very tiring. Semesters would end-I would just collapse and sleep 10+hrs/day for a week or two after finals. Once you get into the regimen of doing all that it becomes easier (especially when you are not severely depressed anymore!).
> > I don't really think you have to feel *worse* to feel better. Usually meds that made me feel *worse* usually just stayed that way! If I have a sfx from a med I either find a way to tolerate it or I get it switched. That's probably why he backed off your Trileptal dose. That stuff is a little odd-I definitely felt energized on it at lower doses. Neurontin is the same way. If I take 100-200mg doses I feel energized and attentive, if I take 300mg doses I get some sedation (although I still have good cognitive function), if I take 400mg or larger doses I am dulled out.
> I don't feel energized and attentive on Trileptal, but I sometimes feel agitated and I can't sleep (other times I can't get enough sleep). My temper is much better. I start to get mad, then I pause and think, "Oh, whatever..." In the past I threw things and screamed a few times a day. He asked me how I felt on the low dose (150 mg) and I told him that I tolorated it pretty well. I think that's when he decided to keep me on it and taper more slowly. I have to admit, I haven't had any *serious* side effects from it...just an overall "icky" feeling. I wouldn't want to feel like this for ever, but I can wait and see if it goes away.
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> Are you pretty much sticking with your combo? Hows the seasonal affected depression?
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> MB
Yeah, I am still on low-dose Neurontin+Klonopin+Celexa+Wellbutrin. Anything that is like a stimulant works for the seasonal depression-it's real weird. I have even backed off the WB to just 37.5mg/day and I am still feeling OK. The seasonal depression usually starts lifting by mid-January anyhow. But it takes until late March before it is entirely gone.Mitch
poster:Mitch
thread:86944
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020103/msgs/88770.html