Posted by judy1 on May 2, 2001, at 9:59:51
In reply to Topomax, Just out of the Hospital, and Bipolar, posted by alexa on May 2, 2001, at 3:16:53
Dear Alexa,
I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time. Having grown up with a manic- depressive father and dxed bipolar myself I can really identify here. First of all, it's pretty obvious your med regime isn't working if this is your 4th hospitalization in a year. Effexor is about as destabilizing as they come (and don't let your pdoc tell you otherwise)- you should not be on any antidepressants. As far as the other 3, I'm surprised you don't spend 24 hours/day in bed, but maybe the effexor gave you the energy for the suicide attempt (been there too). I truly hope you are getting therapy, the luggage of having a parent with this disorder is tremendous. And I may be biased about agreeing with you about California- but I believe it helps too (at least until the electric bill comes) and unless your Mom is stable, that really can't help you much now. I'm pregnant and just taking klonopin, and until recently relied a great deal on therapy- I know I need to go back. But read the threads on topomax, most people don't like it. Lamictal has a fairly low side-effect profile and will work well for your depression. Are you psychotic now? If not, why are you on seroquel? Are you anxious or having panic attacks- klonopin? If you are close to a University, ask the Dept. of Psychiatry if they can recommend a bipolar expert- and make sure they understand how difficult it is for you to take 4 different drugs. I wish you all the best- judy
poster:judy1
thread:61343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010424/msgs/61369.html