![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 39 to 63 of 63. Go back in thread:
Posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 1:04:10
In reply to Re: Racing/Anxiety Thoughts, Need Opinion » morgan miller, posted by Hombre on July 31, 2010, at 6:16:36
I hear ya Hombre.
Hey I just started taking Schizandra today. I think I've noticed something already. I will probably start a thread about it over on the Alternative board.
Posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 1:05:45
In reply to Re: Racing/Anxiety Thoughts, Need Opinion » Hombre, posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 1:04:10
How are you doing? Have you taken any steps to start treating your symptoms?
Posted by cycling on August 1, 2010, at 2:02:53
In reply to Cycling, How are things?, posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 1:05:45
hey morgan,
well, I got a psychologist and an appointment with my pdoc on monday. I was always kind of against psychologists, for some dumb reason, but come to find out, it works! haha. I've been studying the tools to get rid of my ocd thoughts and hte bad thoughts that have been plaguing my mind. Within two days of studying, I would say I've seen a significant change in my mood, for the better. I still have anxious thoughts, so what I'm hoping is that I decrease or get rid of all the drugs that are treating me for "bipolar" which includes the lamictal, lithium, and seroquel. I want to ween off carefully off of those drugs while hopefully adding an SSRI to see how that works. I honestly feel that with the right drug to calm down my mind, and with these tools at hand, give me one month and i'll be good as new. the ocd thoughts still come, but thats because that thinking pattern has been habituated into by subconscious. The hardest part about changing your thought pattern is dissolving them from your subconscious. My psychdoc is helping me learn the tools to change my focus and dissolve the thoughts that have plagued my subconscious for a while now. the more you think a certain way, the stronger it gets. my advice to anyone suffering from anxiety or ocd, start by starting your day looking for things that you find your grateful for. consistantly do this throughout your day, and i guarantee at hte end of the day you'll feel better. make sure your focussed on this task. yes, thoughts will come through and that will always disturb your train of htought, but remain strong. that's the starting point...i'll add more as i learn.
thanks for checkin up morgan. what is your diagnosis btw? have you seen a psych doc?
Posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 10:28:01
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things? » morgan miller, posted by cycling on August 1, 2010, at 2:02:53
I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I realize this genetic predisposition has been exacerbated by not getting what I needed in childhood. This is the reason why I do see a great therapist.
Starting a few years ago for the first time in my life, I have been seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis. In the past I just had a psychiatrist prescribe me the medication(prozac then zoloft) and I would figure out what dose worked and just have a doctor keep prescribing the medication to me. Things are more complicated and more difficult to treat nowadays, for reasons I think I have a pretty good understanding of.
I currently take 20 mg Prozac(brand) and 300 mg Lithium carbonate(switching to Lithobid). I may be switching back to Zoloft soon and possibly adding a small dose of Nortriptyline-I will stay on Lithium. I also may throw a 2.5 mg dose of Zyprexa back into the mix. I really wish they made a 1 mg dose of Zyprexa for people like me that just need a little maintenance. I don't know why they don't or at least make scored 2.5 mg tablets. It's an oddly made pill, they are very hard to split up. I really don't know why all medications are not made in a scored tablet form. I know it is possible.
I didn't know you were on those three medications. Did you mention that in your original post? You should always list the medications you are taking so people here can make more informed suggestions. How much of each medication are you taking? You may to want to very slowly ween off those meds, one at a time. Then again you are young and you may be able to handle a faster weening a transition. You may want to consider continuing a low dose of lithium carbonate or just buy some lithium orotate or aspartate online to keep on hand and take regularly.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on August 1, 2010, at 11:51:11
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things? » cycling, posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 10:28:01
>I don't know why they don't or at least make scored 2.5 mg tablets. It's an oddly made pill, they are very hard to split up. I really don't know why all medications are not made in a scored tablet form.
Also, isn't it helpful how they tell you to reduce gradually when you need to come off a med, but the tablets are neither scored nor available in low strengths?! This applies to the majority of psych meds. The common practice of using 'alternate day dosing' as an alternative to cutting tablets really isn't appropriate for the majority of psych meds due to their short duration of action. Sure, you can do it with fluoxetine (Prozac), but not with most of the others. All manufacturers produce a suitable range of tablet strengths for getting onto the med, but not for getting off it! This part doesn't seem to receive much consideration.
About cutting Zyprexa.... It's OK to cut the tablets in half provided that the other half is used within the next few days (preferably the next day). The reason for this is that olanzapine begins to oxidise once the tablet coating is damaged. It's definitely best not to cut up several tablets in advance.
Posted by cycling on August 1, 2010, at 14:01:09
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things? » cycling, posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 10:28:01
Haha yah I've listed them twice already, but no worries, this is like the longest thread in the world.
900 mg lithium carb
200 mg lamictal (weaning off)
150 mg seroquelI like your treatment. 300 mg lithium and 20 mg prozac i think could hit the nail on the head for me. The prozac would taper the anxiety a bit. I'll mention this to my pdoc. btw I'm 23 today :)
Posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 14:07:48
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things? » morgan miller, posted by ed_uk2010 on August 1, 2010, at 11:51:11
>All manufacturers produce a suitable range of tablet strengths for getting onto the med, but not for getting off it! This part doesn't seem to receive much consideration.
Or just tablets that are scored and easy to split or smaller doses in the case of drugs like Zyprexa for people that do well on a very low dose and want to use it for maintenance like me-VERY FRUSTRATING!
Posted by cycling on August 2, 2010, at 22:41:33
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things?, posted by morgan miller on August 1, 2010, at 14:07:48
I've been a little busy for the past two days or so with my birthday then two doctor appointments today. Today i saw a psych doc and my pdoc. New regiment as follows:
900mg lithium carb (same)
100mg lamictal (tapering)
300mg seroquel xr
5mg lexaproDoes anyone have any thoughts with the addition of lexapro to my regiment? My pdoc insists that I fit in the bipolar spectrum because I have mania. He's going with mania as my diagnosis. There's a part of me that can't disagree with him. I start the lexapro tomorrow so we'll see how i feel. usually ADs aren't given to people with mania for its been known to increase anxiousness.
thoughts?
Posted by morgan miller on August 3, 2010, at 0:16:15
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things? » morgan miller, posted by cycling on August 2, 2010, at 22:41:33
> I've been a little busy for the past two days or so with my birthday then two doctor appointments today. Today i saw a psych doc and my pdoc. New regiment as follows:
>
> 900mg lithium carb (same)
> 100mg lamictal (tapering)
> 300mg seroquel xr
> 5mg lexapro
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts with the addition of lexapro to my regiment? My pdoc insists that I fit in the bipolar spectrum because I have mania. He's going with mania as my diagnosis. There's a part of me that can't disagree with him. I start the lexapro tomorrow so we'll see how i feel. usually ADs aren't given to people with mania for its been known to increase anxiousness.
>
> thoughts?I think your pdoc made a pretty decent move here. I prefer Zoloft just because I am biased and love it's profile, but Lexapro may be best for you right now.
Actually, ADs can take someone straight out of a mixed state agitated mania(which I believe you experience a kind of). I had my first mixed state(I didn't know it at the time) when I was 22 and a pdoc gave me 20 mg of Prozac. For 3 weeks I noticed nothing a I was still suffering thinking it may never work. I was encouraged to keep taking it by my mom and I knew that these drugs could take a while to work. At almost exactly 3 weeks, I woke up, took my strange little pill, and withing the hour I felt f*ck*ng amazing. All of my anxiety, racing thoughts, obsessive thoughts, and depression were completely obliterated. It really was a magical experience that I probably will never have again. Prozac worked! I will admit though, I was on the hypomanic side for sure, especially when I drank. But, much of the time, I was pretty chill. After 9 months I decided I didn't want to be medicated and I stopped taking Prozac. I wish I had had an inkling of an idea that I was bipolar, it may have impacted the way I went about many things in my 20s and early 30s.
I think you should stay on 5mg Lexapro for at least a month before even thinking twice about raising the dose. Lexapro is VERY powerful and doctors often prescribe way too much. My friend does great on just 10 mg. I've even considered adding 2.5 mg to the mix just for sh*ts and giggles(well really for my hurting brain and mental health!). Lexapro may be extremely effective at easing your anxiety and obsessive thinking.
Maybe in a month, if you start feeling much better, you can lower your Lithium dose to 600 mg and start weaning off the seroquel. You are already getting off Lamictal, so eventually and ideally you could just be on Lexapro and lithium.
Why the Seroquel again? I'm sure your pdoc is trying to treat what he believes is a form of mania(and he may very well be right). So the Seroquel doesn't sedate you? Or does it? And you are NOT taking it for sleep, is that correct?
Posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 1:43:16
In reply to Re: Cycling, How are things?, posted by morgan miller on August 3, 2010, at 0:16:15
> Maybe in a month, if you start feeling much better, you can lower your Lithium dose to 600 mg and start weaning off the seroquel. You are already getting off Lamictal, so eventually and ideally you could just be on Lexapro and lithium.
What he wants to do is wean me off the Lithium and keep me on Seroquel and lexapro. But, we just found out my insurance doesn't accept seroquel and seroquel is reallll expensive. Right now he gave me about 1-2 months supply of seroquel at 300mg daily at night.
>
> Why the Seroquel again? I'm sure your pdoc is trying to treat what he believes is a form of mania(and he may very well be right). So the Seroquel doesn't sedate you? Or does it? And you are NOT taking it for sleep, is that correct?Correct. I'm given seroquel to hopefully calm down the racing thought. He believes I have mania, and honestly, I believe I have it too. Initially, my symptoms were: pressured speech, racing thoughts, irritability, impulsiveness, extreme intensity, and high confidence. I wanted to deny I had mania but after taking a step back, I think I agree with him on the diagnosis.
So the deal now is, there's no way he can provide me samples of seroquel for the next how long this is going to take, and currently my thoughts are still racing. If the Lexapro does not calm down the thoughts and I can't use seroquel (150mg hasn't helped thaat much), what do I use? What are some common treatment combinations for the long term treatment of mania?
I'm hoping I can get over this episode and not have to be on my meds for the rest of my life. I'd also like to have people's thoughts on this as well. Do people with diagnosed mania usually stay on a regiment of meds or can they move on with their merry lives and never look back?
Posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 3:58:30
In reply to Effective Treatments for Mania » morgan miller, posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 1:43:16
You might have bipolar II. Depakote (valproate) can be a very effective treatment for the manic component of this disorder. The other drug that comes to mind is Zyprexa (olanzapine).
- Scott
Posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 4:05:01
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » cycling, posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 3:58:30
what makes you think I have bp2 over bp1? and what is the difference? bear in mind i don't have swings
Posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 4:30:28
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » SLS, posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 4:05:01
> what makes you think I have bp2 over bp1? and what is the difference? bear in mind i don't have swings
There are some people who experience chronic hypomania. The difference between the manic episodes of bipolar I and bipolar II are largely a matter of degree of severity. Bipolar II is characterized by the less severe hypomania. I may have assumed too much about the severity of your mania. You don't seem to be delusional or psychotic, and you function well enough to have insight into your illness. I might be wrong, of course.
http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/psychology/781/dsm.htm
- Scott
Posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 4:40:39
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » cycling, posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 4:30:28
i must admit, it is very interesting you bring up bp2 though. if you do some searches on here, there's a thread about overlapping symptoms between adhd and bp2. growing up we (my family) knew i was hyperactive, but i never really had problems in class for my GPA was always near the 4.0 range. It makes me think whether my hyperness was adhd (which we all thought it was) or underlying mania. I don't believe I suffer from psychosis which would kick me out of the bp2 range correct? I am aware of whats going on in my head, and I'm coherent enough to understand this is all one big pain in the *ss. I don't think someone with psychosis could analyze this situation in such a manner. I'm just hoping one day soon I get these meds right. I understand its a process, but damn do I want to get on with my life and live the life that I want underneath this mess. so would you reccommend a mood stabalizer in my case over an antipsychotic like seroquel or abilify?
Posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 5:16:48
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » SLS, posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 4:40:39
> i must admit, it is very interesting you bring up bp2 though. if you do some searches on here, there's a thread about overlapping symptoms between adhd and bp2.
Bipolar disorder often occurs comorbidly with ADD/ADHD.
> growing up we (my family) knew i was hyperactive, but i never really had problems in class for my GPA was always near the 4.0 range.
I don't know how to interpret this.
Depakote or antipsychotic? 10 years ago, I would have easily chosen Depakote first. However, I now feel that most atypical antipsychotics are generally safe. I guess Risperdal would be the exception when used at dosages above 3mg. If you do decide upon trying Depakote, it is advisable to test for liver enzymes during the first 6 months. I think Depakote has become an overlooked drug.
- Scott
Posted by morgan miller on August 4, 2010, at 10:22:39
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » SLS, posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 4:40:39
> i must admit, it is very interesting you bring up bp2 though. if you do some searches on here, there's a thread about overlapping symptoms between adhd and bp2. growing up we (my family) knew i was hyperactive, but i never really had problems in class for my GPA was always near the 4.0 range. It makes me think whether my hyperness was adhd (which we all thought it was) or underlying mania. I don't believe I suffer from psychosis which would kick me out of the bp2 range correct? I am aware of whats going on in my head, and I'm coherent enough to understand this is all one big pain in the *ss. I don't think someone with psychosis could analyze this situation in such a manner. I'm just hoping one day soon I get these meds right. I understand its a process, but damn do I want to get on with my life and live the life that I want underneath this mess. so would you reccommend a mood stabalizer in my case over an antipsychotic like seroquel or abilify?
I bet your symptoms of ADHD were your genetic predisposition to bipolar manifesting.
If your going to take an atypical antipsychotic, I think you should be taking Zyprexa(at night) instead of Seroquel(overprescribed drug that sucks donkey dong IMHO).
So wait, did I read this right(sheesh my short term memory is bad right now-this is one thing that could happen to you if you don't take all precautions to prevent bipolar from developing into something much worse than what it is now), your doc wants to take you off lithium? I would at least stay on a low dose, maybe 300 mg. I am finding that 300 mg of extended release lithium carbonate has been working well for me lately.
Honestly, I believe it is very possible you will not have to stay on an antipsychotic or a mood stabilizer like depakote. If lexapro ends up helping you a ton, you may be able to get away with just taking it along with a low dose of lithium. I did just fine for years on SSRIs alone, free of any crappy side effects that atypicals and mood stabilizers(which were originally developed to treat epilepsy), and I think I have a version of bipolar I. I admit that I did take fish oil and I had to exercise vigorously 5 to 6 days a week. I also needed to moderate alcohol intake(which I did NOT do much of the time. I took breaks but would always return to partying and social binge drinking out of boredom and having some underlying psychological issues-the reason why I emphasize therapy). I also think I may have benefited from a little lithium back in those days of SSRI monotherapy.
Your pdoc is way too high on seroquel like many others are. I really think you should drop the seroquel and add a low dose(maybe 2.5 to 5 mg) of zyprexa. Then wait and see if Lexapro works any magic. If and when it does, maybe you can wean off Zyprexa and just stay on just Lexapro and Lithium. You may even want to just stay on a low dose of Seroquel, and if you start feeling much better on Lexapro, wean off Seroquel and see how you feel on just Lexapro and Lithium. It's possible Lexapro monotherapy along with fish oil, exercise, therapy, and maybe a few other supplements, may be enough to keep you stable and feeling good for a long time.
I'm not sure if you should even be thinking about being medication free right now. I believe, in your case, it is possible at some point down the road. I know of some people that are bipolar and have succeeded at getting off all medications. A
few of them were taking low doses of lithium orotate or lithium aspartate, though, which may be a good idea for you if you ever do successfully get off pharmaceuticals. I also know that some of these people figured out that certain vitamins and minerals and other supplements helped manage things. Things like exercise and meditation may also be necessary to achieve medication free success.Morgan
Posted by morgan miller on August 4, 2010, at 10:35:05
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » cycling, posted by SLS on August 4, 2010, at 5:16:48
> > i must admit, it is very interesting you bring up bp2 though. if you do some searches on here, there's a thread about overlapping symptoms between adhd and bp2.
>
> Bipolar disorder often occurs comorbidly with ADD/ADHD.
>
> > growing up we (my family) knew i was hyperactive, but i never really had problems in class for my GPA was always near the 4.0 range.
>
> I don't know how to interpret this.
>
> Depakote or antipsychotic? 10 years ago, I would have easily chosen Depakote first. However, I now feel that most atypical antipsychotics are generally safe. I guess Risperdal would be the exception when used at dosages above 3mg. If you do decide upon trying Depakote, it is advisable to test for liver enzymes during the first 6 months. I think Depakote has become an overlooked drug.
>
>
> - ScottI agree with Scott that Depakote may help. You may only need as little as 500 mg. Do NOT buy into this b*llsh*t idea that you NEED to have Depakote blood levels at the therapeutic threshold in order for it to be a successful treatment. This is also the case with Lithium. I do think it is necessary to reach therapeutic blood serum levels when treating more sever acute mania, but for someone like you, sub clinically therapeutic levels may be enough to be effective.
I would actually try Depakote first, drop the Seroquel, and avoid Zyprexa(for now).It is possible that you may need to go higher on Depakote and reach the therapeutic serum level range in order for it to really work for you. If you try Depakote, just make sure you tell your doctor you want to try to take the lowest most effective dose possible, even if your blood levels are sub clinically therapeutic.
One cool thing about Depakote is that it promotes the production of progenitor stem cells-it's always nice to see the brighter sides of some of these meds that can sometimes get a bad name for causing side effects(another reason to try to stay on a lower dose since side effects can be dose dependent) like weight gain.
Morgan
Posted by bleauberry on August 4, 2010, at 16:09:32
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania, posted by morgan miller on August 4, 2010, at 10:22:39
I know this is weird to those who look at psychiatry through defined parameters, as if they were any, but for shutting down racing thoughts and/or mania the fastest things I have ever encountered were:
Serotonin boosting...ultra low doses of zoloft, lexapro, or cymbalta. Take a normal dose and expect symptoms to be worse. It only takes a smidgen of extra serotonin to calm things way down, too much will destabilize things. We're talkling 1mg lex, 6mg zoloft, 1mg cymbalta.
Antimicrobial herbs....antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasite, whatever....I believe a great deal of psychiatric sufferers have one of these problems involved. Perhaps not as a causative factor, but as an opportunistic factor. All I know is, any of the above have brought me from intense racing/mania to calm within 24 hours, and I'm not alone in that experience.
I personally do not like going straight to mood stabilizers or antipsychotics when mania/racing thoughts are the symptoms. Save them for later after simpler things have been tried. The simpler things can not only work real good and fast, but can give clues to help decide the next course of action if any. For example I mentioned serotonin and antimicrobials, but if someone goes straight to a potent drug without at least trying some magnesium first, that seems hasty and unjustified IMO.
Posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 21:13:29
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania, posted by bleauberry on August 4, 2010, at 16:09:32
> I know this is weird to those who look at psychiatry through defined parameters, as if they were any, but for shutting down racing thoughts and/or mania the fastest things I have ever encountered were:
>
> Serotonin boosting...ultra low doses of zoloft, lexapro, or cymbalta. Take a normal dose and expect symptoms to be worse. It only takes a smidgen of extra serotonin to calm things way down, too much will destabilize things. We're talkling 1mg lex, 6mg zoloft, 1mg cymbalta.
>
> Antimicrobial herbs....antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasite, whatever....I believe a great deal of psychiatric sufferers have one of these problems involved. Perhaps not as a causative factor, but as an opportunistic factor. All I know is, any of the above have brought me from intense racing/mania to calm within 24 hours, and I'm not alone in that experience.
>
> I personally do not like going straight to mood stabilizers or antipsychotics when mania/racing thoughts are the symptoms. Save them for later after simpler things have been tried. The simpler things can not only work real good and fast, but can give clues to help decide the next course of action if any. For example I mentioned serotonin and antimicrobials, but if someone goes straight to a potent drug without at least trying some magnesium first, that seems hasty and unjustified IMO.Can anyone back this up? No offense bleau, but those are bold statements and I would like to see if anyone had a similar experience. I appreciate the the other side's point of view, its good to take into account.
From the looks of the posts, I think it can be agreed that Depakote would be a good choice of treatment for my symptoms. Is depakote taken with lithium? Can depakote be taken with loses of ssri's? Is that a common treatment?
cycling
Posted by morgan miller on August 4, 2010, at 23:45:59
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » bleauberry, posted by cycling on August 4, 2010, at 21:13:29
BB may be on to something. I think you may have felt better and had more success if you had originally tried an SSRI like Lexapro to begin with. Like I said before, I had a ton of success with SSRI monotherapy in the past and I am pretty sure I have some version of Bipolar I.
Doctors are just following protocol and are a little overly cautious in my opinion.
I think you should give Lexapro a good 6 weeks, see how you feel, and if you feel much better and your thought process has greatly improved, see what Lexapro monotherapy does for you. I still think staying on a low dose(no more than 600 mg) is a good idea.
If you do take Depakote, it is perfectly fine to combine it with Lithium. There is some recent evidence that the two may work very well together.
I still say wean off Seroquel, wean off Lamictal, stay on a low dose of Lithium, and give Lexapro a good 4 to 6 weeks before you know if it is going to give you any relief.
In the meantime, you may want to look into the supplements I suggested earlier.
Also, you may want to find another more open minded pdoc. I don't like any pdoc who is quick to prescribe Seroquel and want to stick with it, upping the dose. I just think there are better options and a really good pdoc would know this.
Posted by cycling on August 5, 2010, at 0:10:17
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania, posted by morgan miller on August 4, 2010, at 23:45:59
After this veryyy long thread (sry about that) I think we've got somewhere. Lithium and an SSRI. I haven't felt any better since being on seroquel, so I think you guys are right. The only drug that I've been prescribed so far that I felt a difference with was the Lithium...it decreased my intensity significantly. My insurance doesn't cover Lexapro but it seems like many are having improvement with Luvox. Next time I'm going to mention Luvox to my doc and by that time i'll be off lamictal and hopefully he'll be open minded enough to try the SSRI route. He's always been hesitant about the SSRI route because he thought it'd increase hte mania, but the racing thoughts may very well be ocd-derived, which I think it is. In the meantime, I'll keep up the exercise 5-6 days/week, keep on taking my omega-3's epa 2.5grams/day, and get some good magnesium while I'm at it. And Morgan, thanks a lot. I do have one question, how many of your friends know about your meds?
Posted by morgan miller on August 5, 2010, at 0:44:11
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » morgan miller, posted by cycling on August 5, 2010, at 0:10:17
> After this veryyy long thread (sry about that) I think we've got somewhere. Lithium and an SSRI. I haven't felt any better since being on seroquel, so I think you guys are right. The only drug that I've been prescribed so far that I felt a difference with was the Lithium...it decreased my intensity significantly. My insurance doesn't cover Lexapro but it seems like many are having improvement with Luvox. Next time I'm going to mention Luvox to my doc and by that time i'll be off lamictal and hopefully he'll be open minded enough to try the SSRI route. He's always been hesitant about the SSRI route because he thought it'd increase hte mania, but the racing thoughts may very well be ocd-derived, which I think it is. In the meantime, I'll keep up the exercise 5-6 days/week, keep on taking my omega-3's epa 2.5grams/day, and get some good magnesium while I'm at it. And Morgan, thanks a lot. I do have one question, how many of your friends know about your meds?
I tell just about everyone that I'm on medication, I'm kind of an open book and wear many things on my sleeve(nice, two cliche metaphors that pretty much mean the same thing in one sentence). The first time I was on medication(Prozac) I had a a tight knit open minded and non-judgmental group of friends, so that helped. But, like I said, I'm an open book and have never been self conscious about people knowing a lot of things that most people keep in the closet. I have some ideas as to why I'm like this.
I think it is good if you can tell all your friends that your taking a medication, if they are understanding and accepting, if not, maybe just keep it to yourself and tell a select few people.
I would stay away from Luvox. SSRIs are vary greatly in liver metabolism and side effects, luvox is one you don't really want to put in your body IMO. It may help you, it may not, but I would find a way to try Lexapro(again, at low dose at first) if you can. If your doctor calls your insurance company and tells them you NEED to be on Lexapro and not Celexa(which I am sure is what your insurance company wants you to take the generic of) they SHOULD cover the Lexapro. I had this problem with my insurance and just had my doctor tell them that I had to be on the brand name of the medication I was taking, and my insurance gave in and covered it. God I can't wait until our health care system gets a major overhaul. Most insurance companies flat out SUCK donkey dong.
Even if you do well on an SSRI, you still may be bipolar, just keep that in mind. Like I said before, it is important to always be aware of the possibility that you have some type of bipolar so you can take the right steps and precautions to try to avoid future episodes and the further progression of the disorder.
You may have to find a new pdoc(do some research and you will find a good smart progressive one), this one seems a bit too set in his conventional, conservative and "follow the herd blindness" ways.
I look forward to hearing that you feel better soon! Good Luck!
Posted by Hombre on August 5, 2010, at 8:43:55
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania, posted by morgan miller on August 5, 2010, at 0:44:11
I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I get my Seroquel/quetiapine from Canada and it's much more reasonable than the brand name. The full retail price is a killer. Everything is above-board and I send in my Rx. 300mg is more expensive than 100mg, whereas 100mg is cheaper than 50mg for some reason.
Generic Lexapro at 5mg is less than $1/day. And it appears that 10mg is 1/3 cheaper...perhaps you could use a pill splitter and pay $0.10/day.
$$$ is unfortunately a big factor in choosing drugs (for some people) and it would suck to limit your options because of that. I have always made my current financial limits clear to my doctor and she has supported my efforts to cut costs. I don't have insurance, BTW.
I hope you are able to set a reasonable cap on your moods so you can think clearly and sleep. Conversely, you may need something to help with anxiety and depression. Push and pull. Maybe get the main features you need and then you can evaluate how to fill in the gaps with other methods.
Best of luck.
Posted by violette on August 5, 2010, at 9:15:45
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » morgan miller, posted by cycling on August 5, 2010, at 0:10:17
>My insurance doesn't cover Lexapro but it seems like many are having improvement with Luvox.
Hi,
Celaxa (Citalopram) is the old version of Lexapro-so if you are interested in trying Lexapro, Celexa might be an option to consider? It's on Walmart's rx discount list:
CITALOPRAM 20MG TAB 30 QTY $4 90 $10
CITALOPRAM 40MG TAB 30 QTY $4 90 $10You can ask your doctor to presribe it according to the discount matrix and it could be cheaper than insurance co-pays.
http://www.walmart.com/cp/4-dollar-prescriptions/546834
Other drug stores and also grocery stores offer discounted drugs as well.
Citalopram (pronounced /saɪˈtælɵpræm/)[1] was originally created in 1989[2] by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck. The patent expired in 2003, allowing other companies to legally produce generic versions. Lundbeck has recently released an updated formulation called escitalopram (also known as Cipralex or Lexapro),[citation needed] which is the S-enantiomer of the racemic citalopram (see b), and acquired a new patent for it. In the United States, Forest Labs manufactures and markets the drug.
Posted by morgan miller on August 5, 2010, at 18:37:45
In reply to Re: Effective Treatments for Mania » cycling, posted by violette on August 5, 2010, at 9:15:45
> >My insurance doesn't cover Lexapro but it seems like many are having improvement with Luvox.
>
> Hi,
>
> Celaxa (Citalopram) is the old version of Lexapro-so if you are interested in trying Lexapro, Celexa might be an option to consider? It's on Walmart's rx discount list:
>
> CITALOPRAM 20MG TAB 30 QTY $4 90 $10
> CITALOPRAM 40MG TAB 30 QTY $4 90 $10
>
> You can ask your doctor to presribe it according to the discount matrix and it could be cheaper than insurance co-pays.
>
> http://www.walmart.com/cp/4-dollar-prescriptions/546834
>
> Other drug stores and also grocery stores offer discounted drugs as well.
>
> Citalopram (pronounced /saɪˈtælɵpræm/)[1] was originally created in 1989[2] by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck. The patent expired in 2003, allowing other companies to legally produce generic versions. Lundbeck has recently released an updated formulation called escitalopram (also known as Cipralex or Lexapro),[citation needed] which is the S-enantiomer of the racemic citalopram (see b), and acquired a new patent for it. In the United States, Forest Labs manufactures and markets the drug.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citalopram
>This is all true. Still, I would prefer to be on Lexapro as I believe it to be a far superior drug.
This is the end of the thread.
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