Posted by AMD on April 30, 2004, at 13:58:23
Folks,
I'm slowly going mad ...
I've been experiencing cyclothymia for the past few months, with alternating episodes of hypomania and depression, typically with week-long cycles.
My depressions, in particular, have been brought on often by an unhealthy obsession with some part of my body: my pupils being unequal, my eyes hurting, bumping of my head leading me to thinking I have brain damage. I will obsess to the point of depression, become severely depressed and sleepy for a few days, and slowly come out of it into a "feel good" hypomanic state.
On Tuesday night I drank a canned protein shake, and realized it tasted rather funky -- like it'd gone "bad" (although it's water, not milk, based). My stomach turned a bit, and of course, some obsessive thoughts entered my head.
The next day I started to feel a numbness in the left side of my face, strong enough that I went to a doctor who suggested I might have Bell's palsy. No one else I know noticed a thing. Today I am still feeling a numb, tingling feeling. I'm really wondering: is this all mental? Does this sound like a symptom of mania? To top it off I feel sick (flu-ish), and I am having a really hard time concentrating, both from feeling sick and from obsessive thoughts.
I'm taking 50 mg Lamictal, 40 mg Celexa daily, and I've just upped the Lamictal from 25 mg to 50 mg yesterday. I also took a 2.5 mg Zyprexa Wednesday night, and at the urging of my pdoc I will probably take one nightly until my follow-up next Friday.
Has anyone else experienced these symptoms? Is there a chance this is related to a more serious, physical disorder? I guess I'm just afraid I'm losing my ability to think clearly with each passing week -- and I wonder, any stories out there of Zyprexa and/or Lamictal being calming in this effect, and helping one think more clearly? Or of people with similar, physical-like symptoms who are now OK?
My face still feels 'fuzzy' and it's getting irritating. It's like I am coming off a novocaine shot to the left side of my face.
poster:AMD
thread:341853
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040429/msgs/341853.html