Posted by Lyrical13 on December 30, 2003, at 7:37:35
In reply to Re: Best Approach for Bipolars (geodon for me) » Mr.Scott, posted by leopard on December 29, 2003, at 20:21:19
there are too many pdocs who start or titrate meds way too high and way too fast...just my opinion...I feel like, I have had this problem for so long, let's take it nice and easy to really determine what is best for my brain...if I started at 40 mg (which is what he suggested) I would never know that 20 is pluggin' along just fine for right now...
I agree. I am sensitive to meds and I ALWAYS bring this up when a doc (any kind) is getting out the Rx pad to prescribe something. I ask for the lowest dose available and sometimes will even start with half of that dose if possible. I've found that starting low and slowly working my way up to a therapeutic dose works best. It's often much less than a doc would have considered.
I really want to observe and isolate which drugs are affecting what. Know what I mean?
Exactly! I was supposed to start Seroquel and Synthroid at the same time but I wanted to see what did what...which one produced which side effects etc. I started the Synthroid a few days before the Seroquel. I chose that one first because it was supposed to have very little in terms of side effects. Also it was the middle of the week and I was afraid to start an AP then.. I've never taken one and didn't know what it would do to me. I started the Seroquel on Friday night so I would have the weekend to see what happened and my husband would be around to help if it went badly. I was supposed to increase the dose on both of the meds but I did it one at a time. I did one after 2 weeks and the other after 3 weeks (I don't remember which one went first now) The next time I went to my pdoc he was thinking of upping the Seroquel more but I told him I wasn't going to go any higher (I was at 50mg) because the morning after I upped it I fell down the last 3 steps as I was coming downstairs because I was so groggy. He was cool with that. (somewhat off-topic: It seems like my pdoc is often skeptical of what I tell him...like that steps thing...he raised his eyebrows like he thought I was making it up.. also I have low blood sugar and he was looking at my lab work and said my fasting was 98. Well, that's wonderful..usually it's around 70...but either way it doesn't mean anything. People with LBS often have normal fasting blood sugar readings. It's when you're up and about and haven't had anything to eat for a couple hours that you run into problems or when you eat sugar and your pancreas goes into overdrive...but I digress....)
Also, take your vitamins and try to walk 15 to 30 minutes per day...it's not a lot of effort but the results are amazing...I don't get crazy with working out but the walking seems to help...on the beach is best! (all those neg ions are supposed to do wonders for our poor little brains). I take 2 teaspons of merc free fish oil per day as well...Hmmm, what else? I have also read the vit D is a big help in combatting depression.
I too find that exercise makes a BIG difference. I really started doing it regularly this fall and it made a big difference...esp with the anxiety. When I was feelng really anxious I couldn't wait to exercise because I knew I was going to feel a lot better afterward. I take a multivitamin that's high in antioxidants, B vitamins and minerals that are supposed to be good for LBS (chromium, manganese, molybdenum (?), biotin, selenium) and extra C to help with immune system (esp since I work at a school... cold and flu central!) I didn't know about the Vit D and fish oil. Will have to try that. Getting enough rest, getting fresh air & sunshine also help as well as having a good support network.Helpful resource:
"The Antidepressant Survival Guide"
Info on how to make diet and lifestyle changes to improve effectiveness of meds and decrease side effects. Includes many of the above suggestions and more.
Question: What kind of med is Geodon? mood stabilizer?
I'm also on Effexor and we plan to start backing it down once I d/c Seroquel and start Lamictal. How are you doing it so that you don't have the nasty side effects? (rate, dose) I'm on the max dose of 225mg.
thanks
L13
poster:Lyrical13
thread:293032
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/294611.html