Shown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by toenails on November 17, 2006, at 9:34:02
January of 2006 i went in to be treated for extreme irritability. I was diagnosed with BPI- I have never had a history of extreme manic episode nor a history of extreme depression. However, my mother was BPI and killed herself.
I have taken Depakote and Lexapro- I had bad physical side effect and 2 bouts of suicidal depression.(again this is the first time that i ever felt this depressed) I was then switched to topomax/Lexapro. I again had severe physical side effects and 2 more bouts of suicidal depression. The Pdoc then wanted to put me on effexor/lemectal. I said no and have quit everything.
Can bipolar meds cause severe depression in someon who is misdiagnosed?
I feel immensly better w/o the meds, but am back to being highly irritable. Any suggestions for what i should take?
Posted by B2chica on November 17, 2006, at 10:30:14
In reply to Still looking for answers..., posted by toenails on November 17, 2006, at 9:34:02
klonipin i think might help...depending on your amount of irritablility. i know zyprexa really helped with mine (but i had other things going on as well) and it's kinda strong med if you don't think you need it.
when i was first diagnosed i was given prozac and a month later found myself at my first hospitalization for depression. to this day i still don't know but either that drug never even touched my depression or it made it worse. however, since then there was about 6-7 months i was off it all except ritalin and the Dep came back.
but i do think that especially if you have family hx of bipolar that doctors want to get you on meds (even if you don't show strong signs) to 'prevent' such episodes. the problem becomes, do you really have it? is it as severe as your mothers? do you really need all those medications?
but these are all excellent questions to ask a good pdoc. i was lucky enough to find one that i liked his methods. as little medication as needed. treating the symptoms not the label. he also used other methods, such as diet, excersize, etc.
you do need to be careful when you stop meds just because sometimes those withdrawl effects can be worse than anything, but apparently you lucked out.
the decision is ultimately yours, but i suggest talking to your pdoc too, let them know the questions you have and doubts about meds. maybe if you do no meds they can just do close monitoring for year or so (once a month-kinda thing).others on this site i think are a little better at the meds portion. i just know that when one time when my anger was uncontrollable i called my pdoc and he immediately Rx Klonipin (not sure of spelling). it took about 45min-1hour to really kick in...but it certainly helped.
b2c.
Posted by Phillipa on November 17, 2006, at 11:38:20
In reply to Re: Still looking for answers... » toenails, posted by B2chica on November 17, 2006, at 10:30:14
Mood stabalizer like lamictal? Love Phillia. Your pdoc needs to know you quit your meds
Posted by madeline on November 17, 2006, at 12:53:04
In reply to Still looking for answers..., posted by toenails on November 17, 2006, at 9:34:02
you sound like my mom.
She was EXTREMELY irritable for years before she was diagnosed with bipolar.
She went the rounds of depakote, lexapro - oh you name it. The depakote made her drool. I told her to stop taking it.
Nothing really helped.
Until she started taking lamictal. It has made a WORLD of difference for her. She is lucid, rational, calm.
I've never seen anything like it. I have my mom for the first time in my life.
In short, suffice it to say that I think you should try the lamictal. Just the lamictal.
Talk to your doctor.
Maddie
Posted by Amandafran on November 18, 2006, at 20:31:39
In reply to Still looking for answers..., posted by toenails on November 17, 2006, at 9:34:02
I was misdiagnosed wiht BP disorder and they had me on Lamictal for moods and seroquel ...then Lamictal and Triliptal..then Lamictal and Cymbalta, Now I am taking Lamictal, and prozac and Abilify...prozac works great and lamictal does too...just stay away from Risperadal...I know for me it made me a zombie...I could barely function. I have been on every medication under the sun...so if you want opinions on anything specific let me know. I was diagnosed recently with BPD (borderline personality) and so I am on mood stabilizers and an antipsychotic ..so even thought I am not BP I might be helpful to you...maybe ..maybe not.
Goodluck ...and I hope you find the right meds...it is hard to do...I have been trying for several years and it is really frustrating.
Take Care.
AF
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.