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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 9:53:48
I have been experiencing irritabilty and impatience and many times I lose my temper. I have on 1 mg of K and 150 mgs of Effexor XR for about 3 years. DX is depression with GAD/Agrophobia. Sometimes I feel I have ADHD, hard time relaxing, the attention span of nat when I'm in meetings etc. When I test I don't meet the criteria of ADHD, and also only experience a few sypmtoms of BP (Not the main ones, I never get hypomanic).
Docter has prescribed lamictal to help. Please provide your thoughts?
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on December 10, 2005, at 10:13:53
In reply to Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 9:53:48
Do you feel like the Effexor and K have stopped working for you, or do you feel that they never helped?
I know that many people here have had success w/ Lamictal for various problems. I hope they will post.
Welcome!
EE
Posted by gardenergirl on December 10, 2005, at 15:33:47
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by Emily Elizabeth on December 10, 2005, at 10:13:53
I've been taking Lamictal 75 mg to augment Nardil. It's been good for me, although initially I had some insomnia. I titrated up slowly and that seems to be important for avoiding side effects.
Good luck!
gg
Posted by gardenergirl on December 10, 2005, at 15:34:15
In reply to Re: Irritability » Emily Elizabeth, posted by gardenergirl on December 10, 2005, at 15:33:47
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 15:50:52
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by Emily Elizabeth on December 10, 2005, at 10:13:53
I feel like Effexor and Klonopin have helped some, mostly with general anxiety, but like most of combinations I have taken if I'm lucky if it's about 50% effective.
Regarding side effects I have taken lamictal the last two days and feel sleepy and mentally foggy. Does this dissipate over time.?
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 15:56:47
In reply to Re: Irritability » Emily Elizabeth, posted by gardenergirl on December 10, 2005, at 15:33:47
> I've been taking Lamictal 75 mg to augment Nardil. It's been good for me, although initially I had some insomnia. I titrated up slowly and that seems to be important for avoiding side effects.
>
> Good luck!
>
> ggThanks "GG" and "EE"
gg why you are prescribed lamictal?
Posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 17:45:05
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 15:56:47
it might help...mood stabilizers tend to smooth things out a bit, at least for some people. You do run the risk of some drug-induced stupidity, though (lamictal comes up pretty "clean" on cognitive tests, but those tend to miss a lot of things). Effexor and other ADs sometimes make people irritable...adding something like BuSpar might help; it can make people on ADs considerably less pissy and/or anxious. If you're doc is willing, you could probably also try upping the Klonopin a bit, since it has some mood-stabilizing properties; that way you could avoid having to deal with adding another med.
Posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2005, at 21:55:50
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 17:45:05
Just titrate the lamictal slowly. I personally have never taken it. But there is a rash that if you go up too fast you could develop. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by gardenergirl on December 11, 2005, at 0:12:23
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 15:56:47
>
> gg why you are prescribed lamictal?I take it to help with the residual depression that Nardil doesn't quite seem to kick. If I could tolerate a higher dose of Nardil, I might not need Lamictal. It's a good combo for me, though. At the moment, I seem to be depression-free for the first time in awhile. It's a nice feeling, although it also feels a bit foreign, it's been so long now....:(
Hope it helps you..
gg
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 11, 2005, at 12:34:41
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by med_empowered on December 10, 2005, at 17:45:05
> it might help...mood stabilizers tend to smooth things out a bit, at least for some people. You do run the risk of some drug-induced stupidity, though (lamictal comes up pretty "clean" on cognitive tests, but those tend to miss a lot of things). Effexor and other ADs sometimes make people irritable...adding something like BuSpar might help; it can make people on ADs considerably less pissy and/or anxious. If you're doc is willing, you could probably also try upping the Klonopin a bit, since it has some mood-stabilizing properties; that way you could avoid having to deal with adding another med.
Thank you all for posting. As med_empowered suggest's I may just try to up the klonopin. Even though covered by insurance(Lamictal) it's expensive when added to Effexor and klonopin. Klonopin and buspar are dirt cheap compared to lamictal.I also hate the idea of going thru a touchy/slow titration process for nothing. Is the "juice worth the squeeze"?
May we ALL have a great day :)
Posted by tarabara on December 15, 2005, at 20:51:13
In reply to Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 9:53:48
actually, the irritability you are describing is one of the main diagnostic factors of bipolar II. you should look into that.
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 17, 2005, at 11:50:28
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by tarabara on December 15, 2005, at 20:51:13
Thanks. I just have hard time accepting it. To me Bipolar is racing thoughts, staying up all night, high mood fluctuations. It seems I flucuate between overly energetic/irritable and just plain tired and down.
Posted by tarabara on December 17, 2005, at 21:19:14
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 17, 2005, at 11:50:28
that's what is different about bipolar II. well, anything on the bipolar spectrum really. these encompass bipolar tendencies of the ups and downs but without the break from reality or the psychosis. what people are saying is instead of the racing thoughts that most people attribute to the mania/hypomania of bipolar can play out in anxiousness and irritability. google bipolar II or the bipolar spectrum. there is more to it than the stigma of bipolar I. the reason i say this is there is a lot of different treatments out there AND many SSRI's used to treat common depression can aggravate this irritability and anxiousness which is exactly what happened to me. i'd been on and off SSRI's for 15 years and finally have control of my symptoms. it's something to think about. do you have a history of burning out on SSRI's and others to tread regular depression?
Posted by Sonny Liston on December 18, 2005, at 18:53:35
In reply to Re: Irritability, posted by tarabara on December 17, 2005, at 21:19:14
> that's what is different about bipolar II. well, anything on the bipolar spectrum really. these encompass bipolar tendencies of the ups and downs but without the break from reality or the psychosis. what people are saying is instead of the racing thoughts that most people attribute to the mania/hypomania of bipolar can play out in anxiousness and irritability. google bipolar II or the bipolar spectrum. there is more to it than the stigma of bipolar I. the reason i say this is there is a lot of different treatments out there AND many SSRI's used to treat common depression can aggravate this irritability and anxiousness which is exactly what happened to me. i'd been on and off SSRI's for 15 years and finally have control of my symptoms. it's something to think about. do you have a history of burning out on SSRI's and others to tread regular depression?
I can honestly say I never felt great or really good on any AD although some of the SSRIs helped with sleep (especially Celexa)and anxiety.
I have tried the following all with klonopin:Celexa
Lexapro
Wellbutrin
Paxil
Remeron
Prozac
Effexor
St John wort
5 HTP
SAMe
And various combos of the above.What are you currently taking if I may ask?
Posted by ttime on January 11, 2006, at 16:16:20
In reply to Irritability, posted by Sonny Liston on December 10, 2005, at 9:53:48
> I have been experiencing irritabilty and impatience and many times I lose my temper. I have on 1 mg of K and 150 mgs of Effexor XR for about 3 years. DX is depression with GAD/Agrophobia. Sometimes I feel I have ADHD, hard time relaxing, the attention span of nat when I'm in meetings etc. When I test I don't meet the criteria of ADHD, and also only experience a few sypmtoms of BP (Not the main ones, I never get hypomanic).
>
> Docter has prescribed lamictal to help. Please provide your thoughts?Hi Sonny:
I have alot of your very same symptoms and just got back from the Dr's yesterday. Believe it or not, irritability and impatience could be a sign of hypomania. I have been having a difficult time sleeping lately and racing thoughts that I cannot shut down - this seems to be my hypomania.
When my body is in this state my irritability and lack of patience escalates. I did not want to here it, but my Dr. said I was in the Cylclothymic/BPII group. I will take his word for it at this time and see if his prescriptions work out. I have just started Lamictal and he has me taking Seroquel to sleep. I am only taking 12.5 mg each, to start, to see how my body adjusts.
I did not sleep so well last night after taking the miniscule amount of Seroquel and I woke up this morning with big time lower back pain, however I will save additional judements for the future.
I would love to be able to have someone tell me the difference between BPII and GAD with mild depression. I think the only way to tell is by tinkering with meds. If a mood stabilizer helps, then you probably have some form of BP, etc...
Anyway, I wish you nothing but the best.
ttime
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