Posted by phidippus on October 25, 2012, at 16:35:06
In reply to Re: F U Prozac and 5htp and... serotonin crazy makers, posted by GreenP on October 25, 2012, at 14:54:54
>On Celexa I was so sedated, and my anxiety was still horrible, so decided to try to switch back to zoloft.
If you are bipolar, you should have been on a mood stabilizer along with the antidepressants, otherwise you would have experienced manic symptoms-in your case, worsened anxiety. Yes, mania can express as horrible anxiety. Do you remember having racing thoughts?
>So three months::: ago I began to titrate down on the Celexa and introduced Zoloft and began having insane symptoms: hot flashes, back spasms, seeing lights, panic. It was so crazy and terrible that I decided to try to just stay off of meds, as I became paranoid about my health.Again, if you're bipolar, the reaction to the Zoloft might have indicated worsened bipolar symptoms. I had much the same reaction to Zoloft and had to go to the hospital.
An alternative explanation is the Zoloft just made your panic and anxiety worse, which it can do.
>I decided to try to just stay off of meds
as I became paranoid about my health.If you are bipolar, the hard truth is you need to be on medication to keep your mood stable and you will need to take that medication every day for the rest of your life. It is not so bad, though as some mood stabilizers are actually beneficial to the health of your brain. Lithium is a neuroprotective agent and has shown protect against some neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. I have been on Lithium for 10 years and I owe it my life. I've never had any health issues surrounding it.
Don't be afraid of the drugs.
>we are going to try Trileptal
I think this is a good choice. It should calm some off your anxiety, but I have a feeling some of your panic symptoms may remain, which you should continue to use the Ativan for. If the Trileptal really helps stabilize you, you may need to bring an antiidepressant back on board for remaining anxiety/depressive issues.
>I'm so worried about taking drugs long term, it's so hard to face this.
I understand. Can you tell me what you're afraid of?
>I don't show as bipolar because I never have a manic (happy) state.
You can have what are called 'mixed states' which are very unpleasant-one in a mixed state can experience intense anxiety, racing thoughts, motor agitation and awful depression all at the same time. Having these mixed states can qualify you for a bipolar diagnosis. This is how my bipolar expresses itself-I have never once been manic.
>Do you take Lithium? Do you know anything about Trileptal?
I have taken Lithium for 10 year. It works very well for both manic and depressive symptoms, which is not true for all mood stabilizers-most, besides Lamictal are only good for treating manic symptoms, but not depression.
Trileptal is an anticonvulsant and works by blocking sodium channels. It is related to another anticonvulsaant, Carbamazepine-basically its the same drug but with an extra Oxygen atom. Trileptal, by blocking sodium channels, reduces the firing of neurotransmitters in the brain, which makes it useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder.
I don't want to freak you out, but Trileptal has a 3% chance of causing hyponatremia-this is lowering of sodium levels and can be dangerous.
>I really want to try just the Lithium Orotate
Just try Lithium Carbonate-900 mg. Lithium Orotate is basically a salt of orotic acid and lithium-it tends to have more side effects than Lithium Carbonate.
Eric
poster:phidippus
thread:1029313
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121018/msgs/1029758.html