Posted by Lyrical13 on March 6, 2004, at 19:15:02
In reply to Re: Seroquel » Lyrical13, posted by Doctor Feel Good on February 27, 2004, at 1:34:43
I just found your msg dr feelgood. I must have missed it before.
I am diagnosed with bipolar 2. I have had a history of depressive episodes predominantly in the fall for the past 15 years. My bad time is usually from about Aug through Jan. I also have a lot of anxiety during that time. Can't concentrate, insomnia, no appetite. for many years my pdocs and counselors thought I had depression with GAD. I have taken various med combos over the years. Paxil, Buspar & Wellbutrin, Celexa& Klonipin, Serzone & Attivan and finally Effexor and Attivan. The Benzos were always short term while waiting for the ADs to get to therapeutic level. I didn't start taking meds steadily until fall of 1996 when I almost had to drop out of grad school due to the depression anxiety. I thought I was having a blood sugar rxn one day but it turned out to be a panic attack. My endocrinologist (hypoglycemic and always borderline low thyroid, low blood pressure too. Other medical hx includes endometriosis and ovarian cysts. Family hx mood disorders)
I maxed out the Celexa after a few years. That's when I got on the Serzone. Maxed that out eventually. got on Effexor in Fall 2002. It was wonderful. But in the spring of 2003 was absolutely euphoric, sleeping only 2-4 hours per night, literally 15 projects going on at the same time, spending sprees, lots of goal-driven activity and the ideas were coming fast and furious. I asked my pdoc about it and he said it was "just hypomania" and that if we medicated all Americans who were hypomanic we'd have to medicate the whole country. I was on 150mg Effexor at the time. So I just went along, not sleeping much, very busy, spending more money than I should...there was money in savings but my husband was laid off work again. I spent hundreds of dollars on gardening and craft supplies. In fall 2003 I changed docs. My doc was inconsistent in getting back to me when I had a crisis. My Effexor was increased to 225mg. I was still having a lot of difficulty...crying jags at work, extremely anxious (taking Attivan as well). My new pdoc put me on Seroquel. Within a few days at 25mg I was much better. The next week I went up to 50mg. I stayed at that dose until January. In November I started getting a little hypomanic again. Some trouble sleeping. Talking louder, faster, more. Not too bad on spending...shopped with my husband the majority of the time and we kept it in check. In Nov. when I told this new doc about the symptoms that my old pdoc dismissed as "just hypomanic", he said he thought my dx was probably bipolar 2. The more I've read about it, the more sense that makes. It really sounds like me. Looking back, I see a pattern of hypomania in the spring/summer most years. Followed by depression on the fall/winter. I tried Lamictal a few weeks ago but got a rash so we d/c'd that. The plan now is to increase the Seroquel to about 200mg and use it as a stabilizer and back off the Effexor. Am now on 75mg Effexor and 125mg Seroquel. I'm feeling less irritable and am able to control my spending for the most part. Still have some urge to spend. Still talking a lot more than usual. It's so hard to tell what's "normal" and what's hypomanic. When you've been depressed so often, it's hard to tell what normal and happy feels like. What's a normal reasonable amount of talking? HOw much energy is "too much energy"? I've been sleeping OK since I started increasing the Seroquel. At 125mg if I take it past 11pm I have a hard time getting up. And at any dose, if I get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, I'm very groggy and uncoordinated. I am usually quite sensitive to meds. For ex., in Nov when I was on 225mg effexor and 50mg Seroquel and having trouble sleeping, 1/2 of the lowest dose of Ambien knocked me out for the night. The first night I took 50mg of Seroquel, I fell down the last 3 stairs when I was walking downstairs in the early AM to let the dog out I was so groggy.
Anyway, that's me. I think I'm getting closer to the right combo and the right balance. I dont' know if I'll be able to go off of the Effexor totally. I'm starting to wonder if 75mg is going to be too little. I dropped from 150mg to 75mg a few days ago. Last night I went to see the new Adam Sandler movie (50 first dates) and in the kind of touching sentimental parts I starting crying and felt like sobbing. I cried a lot and it was basically a romantic comedy. But the sadness didn't last after the movie. I was OK. I thought as it was ending that I was going to need to go into the bathroom and have a little cry in one of the stalls but I was OK. When I'm depressed, I have to be very careful about the movies I see. Otherwise I find myself sobbing uncontrollably for 20-30 minutes afterward and feeling quite sad for most of the evening.
Well, I've rambled on long enough. I'm hoping that this combo is the right one...it will be interesting to see if I can make it through next fall without a major depressive episode. That would be a miracle. I can't remember when I wasn't depressed in the fall.
I hope all is well with everyone.
Lyrical 13
poster:Lyrical13
thread:302023
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040304/msgs/321312.html