Posted by medlib on June 17, 2003, at 20:18:34
In reply to New needing help!, posted by StefL on June 17, 2003, at 16:37:36
Hi Stef--
Welcome to Babble! The mechanics of this board can be confusing, but I think that you might get a better response if you reposted your inquiry as a new thread. You can do that by scrolling down to the bottom of the page to "Start a new thread" and click on "Go to Form". That way, your questions about Lexapro-Trileptal-Ambien-Abilify won't get lost in someone else's thread about Effexor. (There's been a running thread about Effexor ever since I joined PB in '99.)
That said, I think that there's not much logic to making several med changes at once, and I wouldn't respect a pdoc (psychiatrist) who did so. You can't know now whether the SEs (side effects) you're experiencing are caused by increasing the Trileptal or starting Abilify. Similarly, you won't know which is responsible for any improvement you may experience. Ambien is a short-acting sleep med, so it is less likely to be a culprit.
From what you've told us, your pdoc's actions seem precipitate, if not ill-considered. It's particularly helpful to be clear about the nature of a chronic medical problem at the outset and to understand the long-term treatment strategy proposed--not just the "whats", but the "whys". If I were you, I'd seek a second opinion on your dx (diagnosis) and meds ASAP. In the meantime, there are many excellent resources available to learn more about bipolar disorders and meds. Babble has quite a number of well-informed bipolar posters who can share their experiences and favorite resources with you.
Good luck and keep posting!---medlib
poster:medlib
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/234638.html