Posted by socialdeviantjeff on December 28, 2003, at 2:31:44
I'm probably beating a dead horse here, but some opinions would be helpful.
My cocktail and durations on meds:
150 mg Effexor, 75 mg at night, 75 mg in the morning. 2 months.
300 mg Tegretol, at night. 4 months.
2 mg Perphenezine, at night. 3 weeks.
Nicotine, smoked as required depending on stress level. :/My Dx:
Atypical refractory depression with psychotic symptoms, Generalized Anxiety Disorder.I've been reading into the bipolar and borderline spectrums and I'm beginning to wonder if my dx is off.
I've tried a long grocery list of ADs and mood stabilizers. All have had to stop because of allergic reactions or side effects. SSRI's and neuroleptics mess me up or do nothing. TCA's trigger a psychotic state. Any meds that have any benefit have even worse side effects than ones with no effect.
Right now I have constant fatigue, sleep disturbances, short term memory and cognitive trouble, muscle pain (spasms, shooting pain and cramps), bad coordination, lack of emotion (except the bad ones), sexual dysfunction, "brain shocks", lightheadedness, dizziness, transient twitches, nausea and more I don't remember right now. I'm pretty numbed up emotionally, unfortuantely I've felt like I've had the flu for three months. I've endured this in hopes that the benefits may outweigh the drawbacks on these meds. They are literally the last of less than a handfull left to try. I have had a good drop in my anxiety,
I'm beginning to wonder if I have a problem along the bipolar axis. The better I am emotionally, the worse physically. The more energy, the worse the irritability, restlessness, anxiety. The depression can come in anytime, lasting from 1 day to 3 weeks. When I'm not in a depressive episode, I'm dysthemic. This creates a complex web of states, depressed, dysphoric, and mixed. This would seem to be consistent with Bipolar II except that the states are unpredictable, inconsistent and change without warning.
Sorry, I know this is complicated and it's difficult for me to explain. I will try to clarify anything in this post. Any insight is appreciated.
poster:socialdeviantjeff
thread:293938
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/293938.html