Posted by Christ_empowered on May 27, 2011, at 16:00:46
In reply to Med Crisis - Lost faith in pdoc need input!, posted by Laurie1041 on May 27, 2011, at 14:50:48
hey. I had a not-so-great doc who also prescribed 60mgs of adderall to me...while I was obviously euphoric and mildly psychotic. I landed in detox, where they told me to take 90mgs cymbalta, 60mgs buspar, 600mgs trileptal, and 200mgs hydroxyzing. They also threw out the Bipolar diagnosis and said (not to me, but to each other--funny how you can hear the professionals talk about you in a mental hospital) that I was just narcissistic and making stuff up.
I quit the meds and was miserable and psychotic for 2.5 years. Landed in a mental hospital, unmedicated except for prn ativan, where I was diagnosed (get ready...) with Bipolar I w/ psychotic features. I'm now on 30mgs Abilify and doing OK.
Adderall withdrawal SUCKS. I lost hair, gained weight, and looked like crap. It took years, plus a high-intensity nervous breakdown ("manic episode") to get to looking normal again (for some reason, my manic episode reversed some of my premature aging. I guess there's always a silver lining).
Anyway, what I'd do personally is take the zyprexa daily and taper off one antidepressant at a time--you pick which one, though I'd personally stop the lexapro first, I think it might be easier. Then start with the adderall, while still taking the zyprexa (it'll soothe out the dysphoria from amphetamine withdrawal, and the remaining antidepressant will keep the depression from getting to bad). I don't know if you want to go down to 0, but if you could get into the 30-40mgs/day range, that'd be better, if you're anything like me. The tablets can be broken. If you're on XR, I have no idea what to tell you...your doc will need to work with you on that one.
I'd personally recommend, just from my own experience, SUPPLEMENTS. Amphetamines and other psych meds are draining on your system. If you're interested, I can post what I take.
I know some people who are on an antipsychotic+adderall, and it works for them. For some reason, seroquel is the antipsychotic they're on, but I guess zyprexa would work, too. Maybe you could drop both ADs, stick with a lower dose of the Adderall, and take the antipsychotic for a little while (hopefully drop that, too, since you're at risk for TD).
Once the antidepressants are out of the picture and your amphetamine dose is in a more normal range (ADD-ers are only supposed to take a max of 40mgs; 60mgs is more of a narcolepsy dose, unless you have TERRIBLE ADD, obesity, or depression), try to reassess the situation. Could be that you don't even have bipolar, or at least not bipolar I.
That's my advice. I'm not a doctor or anything, I've just been on lots of meds, lol. I hope this helped.
Good luck!
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:986374
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110515/msgs/986376.html