Growing Tired...

I am having no luck with antipsychotics.

I've been on Lamictal + [insert med here] since January.

Paxil before the severity of my Bipolar was realized, then Lithium until the side effects outweighed the positives...At some point with the Lithium I was on Risperdal for a second time before a week in or so I found it to cause me some serious side effects, and I was deemed allergic to it.

Off the Lithium I was returned to Seroquel, which I had been on around the same time as Risperdal the first time. It did nothing for me - if anything, my symptoms were increased. (These two meds, along with others, I had insta-quit last summer!)

So I was placed most recently on Geodon, and after a week I started thinking things were great, minus some side effects that were slowly fading, I was feeling a lot better, and not in a way that I could foresee a manic episode!

And then came last night/early this morning. An allergic reaction by which my pdoc took me off the med.

I'm not really sure what to do. The Lamictal is working amazingly, and has kept me for the most part with "tolerable" depressed states during this mixed episode and away from self-harm...

Sigh. Has anyone else dealt with anything similar in the process of finding the correct medications?

~ Wolfy

I haven't had any allergic reactions so the search for the right combination of meds wasn't quite as drastic as yours. Although I did faint a couple times in the first 3 days I was on Respiradone so that ended that pretty quickly.

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a rough ride looking for the right combination of meds.
The good news is you seem to have a good relationship with your psychiatrist and are working it out together. I get concerned when people talk about juggling their prescriptions. If we don't take the medication as prescribed, the doctor hasn't got a chance of figuring out what works, and what doesn't.

Take care,

Thanks, Skilsaw. It's crazy to me that the meds we're placed on to help our mental condition can affect us so physically. Glad you got pulled from that medication - sounds like fainting would be scary!!

Yes, I have a great psychiatrist. I am truly blessed to be in his care, as he wishes the best for me with the least amount of meds and dosages as possible! I've gone through the whole sudden-stopping of meds thing, and I wouldn't ever go back in that knowing psychiatry isn't all hellishly bad.

hugs <3

I just wanted to say dont get disheartened and give up. It took me a very long time to find meds that suited me and I could tolerate which also did the trick from a psych pov - but I did find a combination and things are much better now. You will find something or some combination that works for you.

huge hugs

Cracked

Thank you, Cracked! *hugs*

For now I am just on the Lamictal until I see my psychiatrist again (next week)...I feel like I'm okay being just on it. Maybe a little "off", but certainly not in an episode. I feel more stable than I've been in a while. I hope he lets me continue this way for a little while...

Huge hugs Wolfy

I reallly hope that things continune to feel OK for you. And that with time things can feel good for you as it is miserable to just be existing not living - I hope you are able to live well

Huge hugs

Cracked

Wolfesque wrote:Sigh. Has anyone else dealt with anything similar in the process of finding the correct medications?

~ Wolfy

Yes. So far the only drug I've tried that doesn't have all kinds of side effects on me, is Seroquel. Even the Abilify I'm currently taking is giving me joint and muscle pains (not badly, mind, just annoying).

Lamictal gave me eczema, and something else gave me a flesh eating bug. My use of that drug ended with me having huge, weeping sores everywhere.

Lithium and.. I forget the name, some other drug, both game me migraines, made my eyes hurt, made me insanely restless, gave me pains in various places (pretty badly so), and the wonder drug I forget the name of made me shake like someone with advanced Parkinsons and made me keep dropping everything.

Abilify, which I'm currently on, is giving me (very mild) muscle and joint pains...

Basically the only drug I've tried so far that doesn't have side effects for me, is Seroquel. It just makes me exhausted.

I dunno, for most of my treatment period, the cure hasn't been terribly much more fun than the disease, so to speak. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about dropping treatment every day.

There's another thread on here called "Losing Hope" by kalee... in it Caribee4me wrote: "Once I had genetic testing done, the picture became very clear and we were able to target medications that will work with my body. It made a huge difference."
This is not referring to genetic testing for diagnosis, but genetic testing that may show which medications you can take safely or should avoid, based on your unique genetics. This site has a pretty good "real person" description if this piques your interest as much as it did mine:
http://mysonhas2brains.blogspot.com/201 ... ation.html
They mention a company called Genesight but I like the Psynomics website better.
Fascinating, right? I had never heard of this... and wonder why more doctors don't know about or recommend this? Especially for those who have been struggling for years!!!

Cracked - *hugs* Thanks, Cracked!

Sung - Wow, so sorry to hear you're struggling through treatment too. You're not alone in that.....stuck.....feeling.

Crackerjack - that is interesting. Thanks for sharing.


Good news for me is that today my pdoc decided to keep me on just Lamictal because I'm doing better (in a not-manic sort of way)!~ Victory! Now I've just got to work to monitor my symptoms to know that I am headed in the right direction.

More hugs Wolfy

Wolfesque wrote:Good news for me is that today my pdoc decided to keep me on just Lamictal because I'm doing better (in a not-manic sort of way)!~ Victory! Now I've just got to work to monitor my symptoms to know that I am headed in the right direction.

Glad you are doing better and that your psych has a plan re meds. In terms of monitoring yourself you could do mood charting. Also I am a bgt fan of figuring out your early warning signs and making a plan of what to do if you or someone else spots these. If you want to know more about this feel free to ask.

Huge hugs

Cracked