Posted by Squiggles on September 6, 2002, at 7:01:18
I may never know. It's been about 20 yrs
since i've been dx'd BP. It was sudden and
during grduate studies stress. The thing is,
I had been taking Valium erratically for
jitters at exams and such; I was not watching
the dose so much or the time, or if I tried
to stop suddenly - it was a popular drug then
and I think my dr. just gave it to me as needed;It has been suggested to me that what presented
as bipolar symptoms was infact withdrawal from
Valium. I just don't know how to tell if this
is true or false, but it certainly suggests
that I may have just been taking all these
meds for so long, and have gone through so many
iatrogenic misadventures, for nothing. That,
infact - the severe depression, anxiety, insomnia,
rapid switch of one idea to another, anxiety
attacks, all over a period of about a year,
and ultimate breakdown - were all the result
of withdrawal. It's conceivable.
I am trying to find a criterion to know. Part of
the problem is I cannot stop the drugs now because
I have been taking them too long (e.g. Klonopin
w/d almost killed me and I had to reinstate);
and there is no way my dr. wants me off lithium
(esp. with the Synthroid balance at stake).So, I was trying to think of a way to know;
for example, whether a normal person taking
lithium would feel the same way a bipolar one
would - or at least during a Valium withdrawal
(hypothetical), and then just get used to the
drug;If you have any medical detective experience
or suggestions, please let me know. It's something
of a puzzle to me. I suppose at the end of the day
it may not matter - what the cause was, if I am stable now,Thanks
Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:118993
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020906/msgs/118993.html