Just so scared of taking meds.

When I took seroquel they didn't have the correct effect on me/us but according to my old shrink that was because I still smoked a lot of weed. If I will recognize a hypomanic episode in the future I'll think about adding antipsychotics. Right now I'm just trying to figure out for myself whether what I experience is hypomania at all or just a period with no or less depression. Thanks for all the help everyone

I already stopped taking them. I had nearly every side effect and developed a high fever. Is there another kind of medication I can take that isn't a mood stabilizer but works like one? Like certain antipsychotics or? Just wondering what the shrink can offer as an alternative.

TheCollective wrote:I already stopped taking them. I had nearly every side effect and developed a high fever. Is there another kind of medication I can take that isn't a mood stabilizer but works like one? Like certain antipsychotics or? Just wondering what the shrink can offer as an alternative.

Geodon. Not sure if you've tried that yet, but it does wonders for me. It's an antipsychotic that keeps my psychosis and my mood stuff at bay.

I don't actually become manic. Just possibly hypomanic and definitely depressed. According to the shrink I have BP2 features but not severe enough to warrant a label. I think it has gotten worse over the years.
I need something more geared at depression. Started the lamotrigine again 4 days ago. Decided to give it another shot because the fever could have been caused by something my kids passed onto me. I have DID and I notice I experience much more dissociation (dp/dr/spacing out), much more memory loss and a lot of confusion. Also notice that I feel sorta dumbed down. Slower. I have a tremor (which is bad because I play the violin) and nausea. Dizziness and an annoying itch in my face. Cotton in my head. Double and blurry vision. I do so hate this. I guess I'm extra defensive because I'm just so scared. Shrink is coming to my house in a bit over a week. I honestly think these meds could help me if they did what they promise. But I don't think it's normal to have this many side effects on the superlow starting dose.

In my experience,

Lithium is the gold standard for bipolar. You may also need a thyroid medication as it can lower your thyroid levels. It is a true mood stabilizer that helps with mania and a little with depression.
Bipolar also comes with a lot of anxiety and Valium or Klonopin can be helpful.
Anti-psychotics can also be helpful if your mania is severe. There are many of them and all of them seem to have side effects. If you can function okay without them, I would try to do avoid them if possible.
Also, regarding side effects, many of them go away after a while and your body adjusts.

But ask your doctor.

Hi i have taken lamictal for quite a few years and have had no trouble.i have just started anincrease 4 weeks ago but it takes i while to work .my dr says i too afraid of taking drugs and i can understand your fear.you do have to out way the pros and cons but you also have to give your new med a chance to see if it works.

After about a week on 25mg lamictal many side effects faded. My face is still a little sort of rashy and itchy and I still notice more switches as they happen in DID. (I also asked in the DID board whether anyone took lamictal but nobody seems to). I'm also still very forgetful. I'm waiting for my therapist to give the ok to go to 50 mg today. The first week of taking it I felt more depressed than ever. I'm not sure I can blame this on the meds or not because a lot of things have happened in recent past too. But then after about 10 days I felt a sort of shift in my brain and felt better the next day. I'm starting to become really convinced that I have bipolar disorder. A huge upside to these meds is that I have become so forgetful that it makes me less compulsive and perfectionistic lol. Also I seem to be less irritable now, although the first week my irritability was worse than before the meds. I've had one night of being unable to sleep but I'm not sure I can blame that on the meds either because that has happened before. I'm tired but too activated to find sleep.

How do very forgetful people like me remember and make sure they take their meds?

I read somewhere where others shared that lamictal or lamotrigine could mess up your memory, meaning you would become more forgetful-like and you would try to say the right words and just couldn't come up with them. This is me!

I have not noticed more trouble with word finding than usual yet. It's just that I want to do things and forget that within 5 seconds and I mess up the days of the week all the time. However since last night my rash and itch got worse even though I haven't upped my dose yet. My scalp has started burning and I feel more allergic than usual (3 cats that I'm allergic to so who knows what's causing it). So I'm probably going to stop taking them again. It just doesn't feel right. My shrinks are refusing to diagnose me bipolar because they don't see the use of a diagnosis. They are more new age and treat symptoms.
I felt so hopeful that these meds could work and now that it's probably wise to stop taking them I feel anxious about getting sucked back into the black hole that I just climbed out of. My depression keeps getting worse every time and I have twin toddlers that I need to be able to take care of. Also last (probably) hypo?manic episode I kicked out my husband and was about to hook up with an ex from my youth which would have been a very bad idea since my husband and I have a very good thing going on. No offense meant to anyone here but I come from a very abusive home mostly because of my mom's very severe untreated BP1 rapid cycling with psychosis and I so do not want to be like her. I actually am considering lithium in order not to turn into her. I wonder if they'd even consider giving me that without a diagnosis. Does it really work for depression? Shrink had to cancel last appointment so I'll see him in 2 weeks..

My only words here are to do as your doctor says and to inform them of anything such as you also being allergic to the cats. But be sure to explain in full detail about the rash and itching you are experiencing. This is your health we're talking about and it's super important. Let us know how it goes.