Posted by Ritch on March 5, 2002, at 23:35:49
In reply to Re: medication compliance with painful S.E's? » Ritch, posted by Chloe on March 5, 2002, at 17:23:36
> 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.
Hey, try some FLAX OIL, a dab will do ya! I just restarted it after having aggravated IBS/d symptoms from it. In all seriousness-try it to see if it helps and then maybe you can take a little more AMI.
>BUT, it sure has hell is better than being crazy.
Chloe, I am not sure what is worse-being chained to a toilet or being crazy. It was my number#1 compliance problem with lithium. The only thing that really worked was Lomotil twice a day to solve it. But docs didn't like the *opiates* in there... like I was going to become a diphenoxylate addict with the atropine as icing on the cake...
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.Yes, I took a 125mg tab of Depakote today before I went to work to keep me from throwing a coffee mug at my boss. It did help a lot I must admit, in preventing a politically incorrect hostile outburst. Unfortunately, I noticed that I was up and grazing the cafeteria an hour or two earlier than usual and returning an additional time after lunch. I am already 30 lb overweight with a family history of heart disease-I can't take this crap.
>
> 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.Yes, I tried the so-called Metamucil "solution" to SSRI induced diarrhea/IBS and it failed big time. I also got some very weird perceptual scale distortions the last time I tried some Lithium(a week or so ago). I swear this whole thing is an ADHD thing coupled with temporal lobe instability. The IBS is the worst when I notice "photophobic" sensitivity, etc. almost like migraines. Strangely enough, when I was taking Adderall the IBS symptoms completely dissapeared.
> 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.Yes, if it wasn't for the "spacey-scaley" feelings (everything seemed bigger than normal) from taking it-I wouldn't think twice about taking it to control things acutely for a few days at a time. However, it is a little easier to take a little Dep. here and there.
>
> 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...You are probably right about the Ritalin. BUT, there are some people who feel uptight on Adderall, but feel calmed on Ritalin and vice versa. Interestingly, I *never* got hypomanic on the Adderall. I had some mild insomnia the first couple of nites, and then after that I just felt focused, alert, and my mood was kind of flat and "mechanical". Wellbutrin and SSRi's triggered far worse hypomania than the Adderall. Nortip. would be OK for anxiety/ADD sfx, but I don't want the cardiovascular crap with it. That is why I wonder if low-dose Duloxetine when it is avail. might be a good choice (with Neurontin+Klonopin).
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:96004
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020301/msgs/96627.html