Posted by Christ_empowered on August 2, 2010, at 15:08:38
In reply to Re: Ed: Re: Dragging + Irritable..., posted by ed_uk2010 on August 1, 2010, at 17:04:43
and sorry I dismissed your depression in an earlier post.
I agree with ed_uk that your doc doesn't seem like the best one. I mean, your dose of Adderall is, if I recall correctly, pretty low, but still...no coffee, but mixing uppers and downers by Rx is cool? Ummm...OK. Docs do sometimes use stimulants with antipsychotics, but I seem to read about it only in limited circumstances. Back in the day, they did it in controlled combos like ThoraDex and StelaDex and Eskatrol...a *low* dose antipsychotic (acted like a tranquilizer) and a fixed dose of dexedrine were combined to create what as basically an antidepressant w/ some anti-anxiety action. Your combo seems more like your doc's game plan is "I'm gonna knock her out at night, and rev her up in the day!" Not cool.
Have you tried Lamictal? I'm not saying "don't take Geodon," or "don't take an atypical," but an antipsychotic, no matter how "atypical," is pretty heavy artillery for BP II. I mean, I take a neuroleptic, but I've experienced severe mania and psychosis...the risks:benefits ratio is favorable in my case.
Ed's also right about using the Klonopin as a sleep aid. Klonopin loses its ability to promote sleep pretty quickly. It also has a super-long half-life, which may be contributing to your daytime slowness. It could, I imagine, help with nighttime agitation, but it takes forever for Klonopin to kick in...you'd be better off with PRN Ativan or something for that purpose.
I'm not an MD, just a patient, but I do think you need to see someone else. Drink your coffee. Get a new doctor. It'll be OK.
In terms of the depression...I hate to say it, but I personally (just my opinion here) think you should get a new doc, straighten out your meds, and THEN see about treating the depression. At this point, if you add something in, you could get worse; an antidepressant would boost antipsychotic blood levels and might even make you more apathetic and possibly set off some EPS or something. Plus, with Bipolar of all sorts, the ideal way to deal with depression is to get on a good mood stabilizer and then get the dose right (whether that means moving it up OR down) to minimize the depression. Then, if you're still feeling down to the point that you need meds, you can look into doing something about it (antidepressant, stimulant, supplements, whatever).
I hope you can find a better doctor who isn't so controlling and actually listens to you (and who doesn't put you on a weird combo, ignore your complaints, and demand that you give up coffee.)
Good luck!
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:956580
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/956893.html