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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jedi on July 4, 2011, at 13:39:12
Hi,
I'm starting this thread since I have experienced the hypomania/euphoria first hand. I had it when Nardil first kicked in for me and it is a very intoxicating feeling, especially for those of us that have been depressed long term and all of a sudden you get this rush of good feeling. Kind of gives a glimpse on how the crank and crack addicts get hooked.It seems to happen mostly on the medications that affect dopamine and is probably why the stimulants can feel so good, at least short term.
The main thing I want to warn people about on medication induced hypomania is not to make major life and financial decisions while in this state. You are in a very vulnerable time if this happens and some PDOCS will immediately lower dosage or discontinue. I'm so glad mine didn't do this when I first started Nardil. I might not of made it. A medication induced hypomania does not mean you are bipolar. I do believe that atypical depression does lie somewhere on the bipolar spectrum, but since that initial hypomania, I have not had it again.
Looking back, I remember making some pretty radical decisions while in this state. I just want other people, on this site, not to do this. Work closely with your doctor. With Nardil, I think it was a good thing. It was surely a sign that something profound was happening. The hypomania did pass and the true antidepressant and pro social effects of Nardil arose. Just be careful guys.
Nardil is surely not the only medication that can induce hypomania. And it leaves a depressed person in a very vulnerable position.
A very good friend of mine just went through this on a combination of Zoloft, which she had taken long term, augmented with 300mg of bupropion. The hypomania that followed left her very vulnerable. I wrote her an E-Mail about the financial considerations and life changes, because I had seen the signs of hypomania when her psychologist upped the bupropion from 150mg to 300mg. Of course, the psychologist(ARNP) that prescribed the medication told her nothing of this possible reaction.
Here is my E-Mail to her:
"Watch out for signs of hypomania on Wellbutrin. When I started feeling better on Nardil I got this really buzzed feeling, almost a euphoria. The afternoon tiredness, and the insomnia at night were really bad. There were nights that I didn't sleep at all. From an outside perspective, you are showing some signs of hypomania. It really feels good after being depressed for so long. But be really careful with any unusual spending or life changes while in this state. If it gets really bad, please talk to the psychologist. It can turn into a full fledged mania and it does not mean you are bipolar. It is a medication induced state. While on Nardil it lasted a long while for me. I did make some pretty dumb decisions while in this state. Just be careful."This woman was very unhappy with her job. The next time I saw her(she hadn't read my E-Mail) she enthusiastically reported that she had a new Internet job to replace her disliked job. With a little prying on my part, I discovered that she had put $12,500 on her credit cards for a coaching instruction scheme to sell items on E-Bay. She didn't even know the name of the company and had no documentation of any kind, not even an E-Mail.
After a little research I was able to dig up the name of the company. No guarantee, other than if you don't make loads of money, our coaches will work with you for free until you do! Yeah, right! They had a lot of slick salesmen finding out how much credit this poor vulnerable girl had on her credit cards, and pried it out of her hands. Luckily, I found out about it the next day. She got me on the phone with her banks and I immediately started charge-back proceedings on her credit cards. If I would not have found out about it, she would currently be bankrupt. There is a three day right of rescission on these Internet/telemarketing schemes, at least in Utah. I wish all of you could have heard the threatening voice mails, (we will sue you for fraud, etc.) that this company used on this poor vulnerable woman. And this company had a B+ BBB rating, They sure won't when the BBB and consumer complaint division hear what their hired gun said to try to humiliate this woman out of standing up for her rights.
There are wolves in sheep's clothing. Be careful. Be very, very careful.
Jedi
Posted by Phillipa on July 4, 2011, at 18:27:23
In reply to Antidepressants and Hypomania/Euphoria, posted by jedi on July 4, 2011, at 13:39:12
Jedi would like to follow if okay as once 200mg of luvox as I reported to my pdoc at the time seemed hypomanic to me as never ever got up at 6am and did things. Thankfully it went away after I think two weeks along with the antidepressant effect. Think she then switched me to another ad which did nothing. Oh and when I asked if could be hypomanic she said I just didn't know what it felt like to feel good. This wasn't true as for years had felt great. I was on the benzos so not true hypomanic but I sure spent a lot of money and time making baskets with Beenie type Baby things nested in the baskets which only sold a few. Lucky didn't get worse for sure. Great post Jedi. Phillipa
Posted by floatingbridge on July 4, 2011, at 19:16:59
In reply to Antidepressants and Hypomania/Euphoria, posted by jedi on July 4, 2011, at 13:39:12
Jedi,
Thank you for writing this out for us. It couldn't be more timely for me. I have no idea what medication will be offered me tomorrow (!) if any. But I am working very, very closely with my husband and a few friends this time around. I'm might show him your post--or at least tell him.
Since I am not single nor the breadwinner, I have not been as vulnerable to the kinds of decisions your friend made. She is lucky you had her safety in mind. Thank you very much for being here.fb
Posted by zonked on July 5, 2011, at 13:27:39
In reply to Antidepressants and Hypomania/Euphoria, posted by jedi on July 4, 2011, at 13:39:12
Jedi, thanks so much for this contribution. Have you thought about asking Dr. Bob to put this (and some other useful Nardil tips from yourself and others) into a document on Psycho-Babble tips? Perhaps it is a project we can work on. For whatever reason, lots of folks who end up on or considering Nardil end up here, and some of our collective wisdom could prove helpful, putting it in tips would give it some permanence. A lot of what we know from taking Nardil our doctors don't even know, I know for at least some of us, we are our doctors' only Nardil patients. Just an idea, -z
Posted by Lamdage on July 8, 2011, at 4:42:36
In reply to Re: Antidepressants and Hypomania/Euphoria » jedi, posted by zonked on July 5, 2011, at 13:27:39
I agree judgement can be impaired. Luckily i dont tend to go on spending sprees etc when im hypomanic.
I made some good decisions in this nardil euphoria state, really. I told my family to f*ck the hell off, which i should have done a long time ago
This is the end of the thread.
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