Posted by sailboat77 on October 1, 2010, at 10:42:46
In reply to Re: Adderall and Bipolar II, posted by alchemy on September 30, 2010, at 19:56:17
Thanks for responding. It sounds like we have very similar issues with taking stimulants. I'm either unipolar or bipolar II. I've been trying Adderall/Vyvanse off and on for the past 2 years. The only time I feel positive or truly happy is when taking stimulants, though I don't get manic. Just like you, I thought Vyvanse and Adderall were my saving grace until I realized that I was getting depressed soon after they wore off.
Right now, I'm actually taking Vyvanse which is just like Adderall but it's a slower release and lasts hours longer (the Adderall only lasts 3 hours for me). My greatest problem is that Vyvanse makes me feel motivated and happy for about 5 hours but then I slip into an even deep depression for the rest of the day. My greatest hope/wish is that I can find a combination of meds that provide a longer lasting stimulant effect (i.e. Happiness/Motivation), and most importantly, a mood stabilizer or anti-depressant that prevents me from crashing.
In terms of mood stabilizers, I tried Lamictal 2 years a ago but it didn't have any effect on me. Recently, I've been taking Lithium for for the past 2 months. The Lithium seems to weaken Vyvanse's stimulant effects. But some people get improvement on Lithium because of its anti-manic properties. After talking to my doc, I think we will put the Lithium aside.
[I should it should be known that I'm Treatment-Resistant to Unipolar or Bipolar II disorder. I've almost every 3rd generation SSRI or atypical antipsychotic without any improvement. (Cymbalta. effexor, prozac, abilify, seroquel, ect...]
I'm currently taking:
30mg Vyvanse (taken every other day)
3mg Lunesta (helps take the edge off the stimulant so I can sleep)
75mg Nortriptyline (doesn't help my depression, but it makes the Vyvanse crash slightly less worse)
600mg Lithium (I recently stopped taking it though because it negated the benefits of the stimulant)
.5mg Xanax (helps alleviate sadness when I'm very depressed)I'm going to my doc today so I can ask him to change two of my medicines. Instead of nortriptyline, I want to try Tofranil (a different sort of tricyclic). Instead of Vyvanse, I want to try Provigil.
-Thanks again for posting and sharing your wisdom. Respond back if you have any other experiences that might be helpful.
poster:sailboat77
thread:964252
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100926/msgs/964378.html