Posted by MJC on October 12, 2002, at 18:52:14
Hey, I've been recently diagnosed as being Bi-Polar II which doesn't surprise me since I fit the bill perfectly and it seems to have run through my family tree.Anyways, I need to find a mood stabilizer that will be right for me.
My Doctor is leaning towards Epival which I'm really cautious about because I've been seeing all these reports online about people dying from liver problems and stuff while taking this medication. I don't want to take something that will just cause me to drop dead.
I also need to be fairly alert and be able to use my head. I don't want to be walking around like a brainless zombie just in order to keep control of my Bi-Polar symptoms. In fact, I'd rather be dead than to be a zombie like that. When my Doctor put me on Paxil to try it out for 3 months, that's basically what happened, every week I'd get slower and slower till I turned into a couch potatoe that couldn't even keep his mind on track to watch TV shows so I'd focus on the great commercials instead.
So are there any mood stabilizers that won't kill me and won't turn me into a zombie?
Also, if anybody is going to suggest Epival... what's this about going to get my liver checked every so often? Would this be like a weekly event? Maybe every 4 months? Once a year?
Anyways, any information would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying damned hard to fight this thing off but my mind and body are starting to get tired of this ever changing drug cocktail.
Currently on 1.5mg of Clonazepam a day
75mg of Effexor XR every 36 hours
50mg of Trazadone every night (which my Doctor just suggested today to cut out for a few days)
poster:MJC
thread:123387
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021012/msgs/123387.html