Posted by dove on December 23, 2004, at 8:31:27
In reply to Re: Calcium Channel Blockers in Bipolar Disorder, posted by linkadge on December 22, 2004, at 17:24:18
This was the first med I ever took that gave me hope and sent me searching for help against my depression. I was given Verapamil to alleviate my classic migraine headaches with auras and discovered a whole wide world of emotional and mental equilibrium. Verapamil had such a profound effect on me that I began searching for answers (after talking to my Internist who explained that the change was merely due to the fact that I wasn't having migraines anymore) and found Dr. Bob and Psychobabble around 1997-98.
I'm not dxed as bipolar, although *I* was sure I must be after my initial reaction to Verapamil--LOL! I am dxed with severe major depression, with atypical features manifesting every few years; in addition to ADD (severe ADHD as a child and teen), PTSD, remittent panic disorder, and GAD. I have a past riddled with alcohol abuse and self-injury which has caused me to procure DBT and CBT as well as hospitalization on occasion.
However, it has been the meds that have made the most rigorous distinction in my struggle. I've tried other "classic" bipolar meds without any beneficial results. Furthermore, they actually seemed to make both the depression and ADD much much worse. Verapamil quieted my mind and soothed my inner self-destructive beast. Unfortunately, I was switched to Amitriptyline because of severe low blood-pressure and some other inane reason which I can't remember anymore. Consequently, when I tried Verapamil again, it still had the same negative effects on my preexisting low blood-pressure accompanying the same positive effects on my mood.
dove
poster:dove
thread:433001
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041223/msgs/433258.html