Posted by SLS on November 20, 2009, at 6:05:15
In reply to I don't understand what is going on! Help!!, posted by delna on November 20, 2009, at 2:44:52
> I'm finding it really hard to hang on and now I am feeling that there may be no point in bothering since I feel my chemistry is so random and messed up that nothing can help.
Try not to play neuroscientist. There is no reason to believe that your brain is ruined.
> Right now, my symptoms are changing daily even though I am on the same drugs. Most days I have been completely exhausted, but then suddenly one day I become much more awake but with bad anxiety. Again that passes and back to exhaustion. All this with no drug changes at all.
Bipolar?
Okay. I read further down and saw that you are.
> Now the terrifying thing seems that I am suddenly not tolerant to even 200mg of Provigil- it is giving me palpitations. I need stimulatnts to stay awake. Pre- Parnate, I was on 400mg + other stimulating things with no problems(that was around 5-6 weeks ago.) My anxiety never presents with palpitations so it's definitely not the anxiety.
With Parnate, heart palpitations sometimes occur just before a therapeutic response develops or it can signal the need for a dosage increase.
> The same thing happened to me post stopping Geodon- I suddenly couldn't tolerate even 25mg of Provigil (whereas I was used to 300-400mg daily.)
If your depression or anxiety gets worse upon discontinuing a drug, it might indicate that you are experiencing a symptom rebound. In this case, your autonomic nervous system can be provoked into malfunctioning, in which case stimulants might make things worse.
> Regardless to say I was a zombie for 6 months but somehow not depressed at all. During this time I regularly re-challenged myself with 25mg Provigil and found that it gave me extreme palpitations-
In this case, I have no explanations. Palpitations are often benign, and do not indicate heart problems. They are more the result of excessive excitation of the sympathetic nervous system. Again, this is the result of an autonomic imbalance.
I apologize for not remembering, but can you list the drugs you are currently taking?
Try not to challenge yourself or make changes in your daily routine of medication. The goal of treatment is to establish a new equilibrium of CNS processes. This can only occur if there is a stable biological environment within which the body can maintain homeostasis. With an ultra-rapid cycling presentation, this is critical. You are better off not playing with stimulants. Once the right treatment is implemented, you probably won't need them. Bipolar disorder, like major depressive disorder, can present differently between individuals. Depressed mood is not a necessary component of these disorders. The "zombie" effect and exhaustion is how some people experience depression. Anxiety and activation/agitation is how some people experience mania or hypomania. Your presentation of bipolar disorder is not uncommon.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:926292
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091117/msgs/926305.html