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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by rentalmuse on February 24, 2008, at 9:57:18
hi
i recently had mild "hypomania" with the main problem being insomnia. My pdoc prescribed seroquel 25mg-50mg which i took for about 12 days. Here i was after a long, long spell of depression feeling great, confident and motivated - but soon after taking seroquel I started experiencing low energy, sluggishness, slow thinking and low mood. After nearly a month of being on a highroll i feel crushed to be on a downswing again-all due to a drug reaction.
I stopped taking seroquel after 12 days as it was making me feel like a zombie again. Its now been a one week gap off seroquel but my energy and zest are not returning.
My questions are:Is it normal to experience this kind of crash after taking an antipsychotic?
( my pdoc said it will stabilize me and prevent a crash! i dont know why it was prescribed in the first place -is it technically so dangerious to be unable to sleep ?)Will the seroquel effect wear off soon or do i need to modify my meds ?
Has the seroquel intervention cut off my high mood swing abruptly and clamped down my mood longterm or will i be able to revert back to my mild and pleasant "hypomanic" wave soon?
what kind of neurotransmitters does seroquel work on...Are there any supplements i can take to boost me back on the mood upswing .
btw-i am supposed to be bipolar 2 with mostly depression and mild occassional hypomania which is mostly 'soft" ie-antidepressant reactive.
When they say that mood stabilizers will stabilize you at your "baseline" could it mean a return to a low, dull, mundane, lethargic self? my pdoc has now prescribed me lamotrogine(with zoloft) but i am wary to start it since i am afraid that it could stave off my energy and flamboyance.
Do mood stabilizers like lamotrigine clamp down on imagination, creativity and high energy and lateral thinking? Does it slow down thinking and affect memory and word/idea flow?
i work in the advertising field where you need to be a little hypomanic to be a good brainstormer.help ! anything i can do now to hitch back quickly on the interrupted hypomanic wave???
any suggestions and experiences appreciated-esp from creative folks.
thx
Posted by elanor roosevelt on February 24, 2008, at 13:56:35
In reply to sob sob seroquel rained on my parade!, posted by rentalmuse on February 24, 2008, at 9:57:18
is the only negative effect of the hypomania lack of sleep?
if so i would suggest next time you go to a doctor who will give you ambien. that won't change the hypomania but will get you a chunk of sleep. and yes, you do have to sleep. in a state of hypomania 5 hours might do but you need it.
i have found that whenever i am given a stabilizer it puts me in a bad place and keeps me there. Some of us are meant to move full speed ahead.
good luck.
Posted by bleauberry on February 27, 2008, at 18:34:09
In reply to sob sob seroquel rained on my parade!, posted by rentalmuse on February 24, 2008, at 9:57:18
The antipsychotics scare me for reasons you have described. Even though I was on one for years. Their effects are not well known. Probably won't be for decades. I have heard that with some of them their effects can last long after the drug is gone. Not sure why. Maybe parts of the molecules cling to the receptors, or the responsiveness of the receptors have changed, or some particular genes were turned off, or whatever.
In any case I do not think an antipsychotic of any kind at any dose is a responsible prescription for insomnia until all other things have been tried, such as Lunesta, Ambien, and sedating antidepressants. If someone experiences hypomania and it is not outright mania, hey, just my opinion, but I do not see that as a bad thing. Some people are just like that all the time. If someone predicts that if there is hypomania there will follow a crash, well, says who? Is there a repeatable pattern in your own life to show that as a real risk? Maybe hypomania for some of us is not hypomania, but just the actual thrill of feeling good after so long of feeling bad.
Your best odds of success in getting back to where your were, in my opinion, is to....wait, do nothing, don't change a thing, no new meds.
Seroquel had enough opporunity in 12 days to tinker with things in a manner that might literally take 6 to 12 weeks to undo. Just wait it out. But, coax it into action as well. Remind the subconscious where it was recently. Whatever you were doing during the soft hypomanic stage, go back to doing it, even if it is an effort, to spark your subconcious and the stuff we can't see or explain to resume where it was. In all ways you possible can, get back to where you were and let the brain catch up. In other words, wait, but don't just sit back and wait.Not sure why the doc wants you on Lamictal now. Maybe he sees something or knows something we don't. All I know is you were fine before, you just had insomnia, and now things are messed up. Don't go mess it up more. The game has no end.
Anyway, I do hope you rebound. Fingers crossed for that.
Posted by Quintal on February 29, 2008, at 1:59:16
In reply to sob sob seroquel rained on my parade!, posted by rentalmuse on February 24, 2008, at 9:57:18
>I stopped taking seroquel after 12 days as it was making me feel like a zombie again. Its now been a one week gap off seroquel but my energy and zest are not returning.
Same here. I've been taking small doses of Zyprexa for sleep after a manic episode and it seems to have crushed my mood completely. I feel drained and sluggish all the time. For me it's only been three days without Zyprexa, but I can tell I'm just not going to get my va va voom back any time soon. I feel half-dead.
>My questions are:Is it normal to experience this kind of crash after taking an antipsychotic?
I think it would be expected. At least I would expect it anyway. Depends on which one of course - amisulpride had completely the opposite effect.
>what kind of neurotransmitters does seroquel work on...Are there any supplements i can take to boost me back on the mood upswing.
Seroquel works mainly by blocking dopamine, serotonin and histamine receptors.
>help ! anything i can do now to hitch back quickly on the interrupted hypomanic wave???
Try something that boosts noradrenaline and dopamine. L-tyrosine might help. Wellbutrin would be even better. Good luck!
Q
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