Posted by med_empowered on August 6, 2005, at 0:12:32
In reply to Re: scared and lonely, posted by seanincanada on August 6, 2005, at 0:04:06
hey! Try not to feel so bad; this feelnig will pass. In time, you will strengthen and re-build your social support system (meds are important, but *nothing* beats good social support). Hospitalization may sound appealing but please...avoid it unless you feel its absolutely necessary. Hospitalization takes you out of society and into a controlled environment...it is *not* the way to adapt to a condition; at best, mental hospitals are comfortable holding cells where docs keep patients until they're "OK enough" to go back into the world outside. Now, as for your meds...my only big problem is w/ the low-dose Abilify mixed with a pretty heft dose of Depkote. I think you might do better upping the Abilify to 10-15mgs (the doses for schizophrenia...also effective for mood-stabilization) and ditching or greatly reducing the Depakote. BUT...if you're sensitve to antipsychotic side effects (EPS, apathy, etc.) you may want to avoid this. I'm super-sensitve to antipsychotics and I dont really like them, but Abilify was pretty tolerable for me, even helpful at lower doses. Another option would be Symbyax; you'd get a mood-stabilizer and an anti-depressant in one, which would simplify things *and* reduce medication costs on some insurance plans. After I did a Trileptal and Abilify combo for a while, my doc decided to taper off the Trileptal...it was a good move. Anyway, good luck, and you really will feel better. :-)
poster:med_empowered
thread:538048
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050803/msgs/538151.html