Posted by Tony P on July 10, 2009, at 22:34:20
In reply to Time to ditch all the meds and start over?, posted by Frustratedmama on July 6, 2009, at 20:35:30
> Anyone ever feel like nothing is helping and it's time to ditch all the meds they are on and start all over...... I know this may backfire but.....I am a bit desparate....Trying one med at a time is also recommended but from what I read here it sounds like combinations can be the key so I am unsure what to do next.... Right now I am so depressed and so ready to throw in the towel! I know I will be worse off in the short term if I do this but I feel like crap anyways..... Need some advice from those of you that have been there.....
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I truly empathize. I've been feeling exactly that way lately -- borderline suicidal and nothing seems to be helping, sick of taking so many expensive pills, so why not chuck the lot? My pdoc persuaded me that feeling that way can actually be a symptom of my disease in itself (I am mildly bipolar, so I do tend to go to extremes). I agree that combinations are the way to go for most of us atypical or treatment resistant or mixed BP II/III types, but it's hard after a while to know what's helping & what isn't.He did mention the old TCA's and MAOI's, but we agreed that that they might not be right for me. So, frustrating though it is, we're changing/dropping/adding one thing at a time -- otherwise you're left not knowing which were the important meds. I was on Cymbalta, Remeron & 3 or 4 other meds. We dropped the Remeron, which was making me sleep all day, then added Lamictal (mood stabilizer); that left me feeling stable but depressed, so now I'm trying 90 mg/day Cymbalta instead of 60, and after a week am getting some benefit. I'm not sure I can handle the Lamictal: after 3 months at 200 mg/day I am still getting severe tremors and anxiety attacks from it.
Other meds that have helped me:
- Clonazepam in moderate doses (2-3 mg), as I easily get over-stimulated & anxious, sometimes hypomanic, on most A-D's;
- Requip (ropinirole), which is a dopamine enhancer that mostly acts on receptors that don't affect mood, but which has a small but significant effect on the "good mood" D-receptors;
- Modafinil, which is a stimulant & dopamine enhancer but milder than Adderall (no insomnia and very little tolerance buildup);
- and good old coffee -- a quadruple latte first thing and I'm good for the day, so long as I stay active, which it's pretty hard not to after that much coffee!Tony P
poster:Tony P
thread:905343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090709/msgs/906148.html