Posted by Chloe on March 5, 2002, at 17:23:36
In reply to Re: medication compliance with painful S.E's? » Chloe, posted by Ritch on March 4, 2002, at 23:10:44
Hey Mitch,
Yeah, I really have been feeling better and cycling so much less. Wow, you don't know how miserable you are, until you have a break from it!I probably should tweak the amitriptyline, rather than drop my MS doses. But I hate the anticholinergic effects of Ami. Yuck, like you hate gi distress from lithium, I hate dry mouth and constipation from ami. BUT, it sure has hell is better than being crazy. BTW, Depakote is very useful, but you are right about the weight gain stuff. I just always feel hungry. That is so unlike me. I am usually a very light, picky eater. But on dep, bring it on! It's not such a terrible thing for me. I have gotten rather unweight with all my cycling and depressions over the last few years.
Now, have you ever tried adding Metamucil, or any psyllium fiber to your diet? I have a friend with IBS who is "cured" since taking a tbs of the orange smooth texture stuff two or three times a day. Maybe with the addition of fiber, you could tolerate a little Extended release lithium? And if you had a little TCA on board too, you might really be ok, gi wise.
I remember reading a post you wrote about a month back where you said you took 150 mg of Li the night before and the next day you just felt very calm and undisturbed by things around you. Well, this is why I like Li. It might be the calming, stabilizing agent you need right now, since you feel like you are going to blow! The Eskilith CR can be broken into quarters, so you can take about 100 mgs/day. It is taking the edge off things for me and has helped with the psychotic symptoms some too.I hope you start to feel better as the WB leaves your body. I can really sympathize with your agitation. It's an awful place to be. I hope you and you pdoc can come up with a good plan for you. Though I think you are on the right track with Nort. and/or lithium or dep. I think Ritalin would send you into hypoland/crash or a rage without a major tranquilizer on board, and I don't think enough is known about Provigil for BP2's yet...
Thanks, and take care, Mitch
Chloe
poster:Chloe
thread:96004
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020301/msgs/96577.html