Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by HawaiiStud on January 3, 2003, at 17:19:33
I have bipolar II and my most debilitating symptoms are racing thoughts, irritability, and associated anxiety. My internal monologue just comes out of my mouth and makes no sense.
Is Zyprexa good for this? Or something better? I already take Lamictal, Keppra, and Neurontin...
Posted by sebastian on January 3, 2003, at 18:11:36
In reply to Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety , posted by HawaiiStud on January 3, 2003, at 17:19:33
I'm not diagnosed as bi-polar but have had some racing thoughs. Zyprexa is fixing me prity good and realy good on the anxiety.
Posted by JahL on January 3, 2003, at 19:25:48
In reply to Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety , posted by HawaiiStud on January 3, 2003, at 17:19:33
> I have bipolar II and my most debilitating symptoms are racing thoughts, irritability, and associated anxiety. My internal monologue just comes out of my mouth and makes no sense.
>
> Is Zyprexa good for this? Or something better? I already take Lamictal, Keppra, and Neurontin...Hi.
I've found low - dose Sulpiride to be the most helpful for my own internal monologue - not to mention social phobia - though I've heard Zyprexa mentioned in this context a few times before.
I found Zyprexa to be quite useful at reducing my suicidal ideation.
I find Lamictal helps with overall cognition.
I won't win any popularity contests for this but I use low - dose (5mg/d) Methadone for irritability. Helps a bit, as well as giving me a little more energy.
J.
Posted by neetie on January 5, 2003, at 17:07:29
In reply to Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety , posted by HawaiiStud on January 3, 2003, at 17:19:33
Hi,
I found Zyprexa to be the best drug for racing thoughts and irritability. Risperidone also worked for me, but Zyprexa had a faster onset. All of the atypical antipsychotics should work except maybe aripiprazole, which can cause anxiety.
good luck,
anita
Posted by BrittPark on January 7, 2003, at 16:29:14
In reply to Re: Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety » HawaiiStud, posted by JahL on January 3, 2003, at 19:25:48
> I won't win any popularity contests for this but I use low - dose (5mg/d) Methadone for irritability. Helps a bit, as well as giving me a little more energy.
>
> J.<rant>
You're popular in my book (so's your doctor). The whole opiate receptor complex is largely and, I believe, mistakenly ignored in treating mental illness. So every person who is using an opioid successfully for treating some aspect of mental illness is more evidence that opioids need to become part of the psychiatric vocabulary and need to be studied in that context.If there were an opioid that didn't cause tolerance and an amphetamine that didn't cause tolerance, I think that we would be able to successfully treat 99% of depressions.
BTW I have been taking 1 5/500 vicodin every evening for more than a year now and it has helped significantly in treating my depression and anxiety. If I could take more without developing tolerance I would, and would probably drop my imipramine and Remeron.
</rant>
Apologies for the rant but I make it a policy to bring this subject up whenever there is the slightest opportunity ;)
I take Zyprexa (7.5mg / day) also and find that it helps with my anxiety, though it hasn't been a cure. I'm unipolar so I can't comment on BP symptoms.
Feel better all,
Britt
Posted by Jumpy on January 8, 2003, at 16:11:54
In reply to Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety , posted by HawaiiStud on January 3, 2003, at 17:19:33
> I have bipolar II and my most debilitating symptoms are racing thoughts, irritability, and associated anxiety. My internal monologue just comes out of my mouth and makes no sense.
>
> Is Zyprexa good for this? Or something better? I already take Lamictal, Keppra, and Neurontin...I have heard Depakote is excellent for these symptoms. Also a long acting benzo may help like klonopin. Some pdoc report neurontin may worsen bipolar cycling ... so tapering down on the neurontin may help as well. Also, for some, Lamictal can be quite simulating and anxiogenic (spelling?). So lowering the dose of lamictal may help in addition.
One question ... why are so many people taking antipsychotics for anxiety? Why risk tardive d. and extrapyramidal symptoms when a benzo will resolve anxiety as well or better? Thanks.
Jumpy
Posted by JahL on January 8, 2003, at 18:07:02
In reply to Why Antipsychotic Medications?, posted by Jumpy on January 8, 2003, at 16:11:54
> > I have bipolar II and my most debilitating symptoms are racing thoughts, irritability, and associated anxiety. My internal monologue just comes out of my mouth and makes no sense.
> Also, for some, Lamictal can be quite simulating and anxiogenic (spelling?). So lowering the dose of lamictal may help in addition.
>
> One question ... why are so many people taking antipsychotics for anxiety? Why risk tardive d. and extrapyramidal symptoms when a benzo will resolve anxiety as well or better?Hi Jumpy. Not necessarily. I have tried all benzos known to man and none of them have any meaningful effect on me. Recently, when I had barely slept for a week, my pdoc gave me some Temezepam, 20mg, to knock me out. I ended up taking 50mg and was still awake 24 hrs later. 50mg will put most people to sleep for a week...
My point is, like most psych meds, benzos are great, essential, for some and do nowt for others. I am not at all comfortable taking an AP (Sulpiride) but the alternative (crippling sp + chronic anxiety + incessant internal monologue) is *far* worse.
I agree that Lamictal can be rather 'energising'. I take 400mg and have terrible RLS as a (partial) result. (Should only be taking 200mg but idiot pdoc shoved dose up to 400mg and now I lose the plot if dose drops below this).
Cheers,
J
Posted by JahL on January 8, 2003, at 19:00:39
In reply to Re: Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety(methadone) » JahL, posted by BrittPark on January 7, 2003, at 16:29:14
> > I won't win any popularity contests for this but I use low - dose (5mg/d) Methadone for irritability. Helps a bit, as well as giving me a little more energy.
> >
> > J.
>
> <rant>
> You're popular in my bookWhy thank you. Always nice to meet a non-opiophobe.
> (so's your doctor).
Er...let's just say it's not my doc who prescribes it (tho' he knows about it & doesn't have a major problem with it). I'm UK & have been told that the ONLY way I'll get any Meth, which legitimately helps my condition and which has not caused me to increase the dose (5 poxy mg) in the 15 months I've been taking it, is to become a fully fledged heroin addict. Kinda perverse, huh? (as is the fact that it's easier to score the latter than the former). BTW I'm not an ex-user (not that it would be a problem if I was).
> If there were an opioid that didn't cause tolerance and an amphetamine that didn't cause tolerance, I think that we would be able to successfully treat 99% of depressions.
I don't doubt it. Have you read about the co. which is developing, I think, an Oxycodone/Naltrexone combination drug, designed to resist tolerance in the patient?
> BTW I have been taking 1 5/500 vicodin every evening for more than a year now and it has helped significantly in treating my depression and anxiety. If I could take more without developing tolerance I would.
From my yrs of perusing this board, Vic seems to be the ope least likely to induce tolerance, provided considerable restraint is exercised. I was recently prescribed Codeine tabs by my pdoc, whose interest was piqued by some 'positive' Babble posts (thanx Shelli & co.!) I showed him (& fair play to him).
Unfortunately they didn't help at all and there's no way of (legally) getting the chance to try anything more potent (NOTE to anyone: I'm only messing with opes b/c I've already got thru about 50 convential psych meds, with only limited success. K?K.)
If ever I feel adventurous (I once flew to the States to try pstims - which did nowt) I guess it would be Vic I search out.
Apparently, the "hill-billy heroin" phenomenon (black mkt Oxy) has hit Britain, Bristol (UK west coast) specifically. Better get myself over to Bristol then... ;-)
> Apologies for the rant but I make it a policy to bring this subject up whenever there is the slightest opportunity ;)
Rant away. You're talking to the RantMaster. No emotions + angry youngish man syndrome + foul mouth = Rantsville UK. It's one of the reasons I don't post much anymore. Too prone to ranting/argument. And the subject of opioids always seems to attract a lot of argument...just not with me this time...
Best,
J.
Posted by BrittPark on January 9, 2003, at 19:42:39
In reply to Re: racing thoughts/anxiety(methadone) » BrittPark, posted by JahL on January 8, 2003, at 19:00:39
Posted by wendy b. on January 9, 2003, at 23:03:07
In reply to Re: Zyprexa for racing thoughts/anxiety » HawaiiStud, posted by JahL on January 3, 2003, at 19:25:48
This is the end of the thread.
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