Good evening. I'm brand new to this site. Just curious..... what combination of meds are people on? After almost two years, (my psychiatrist) found a combo of three meds that are finally working for me.
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Hello Battledepression and welcome. I'm not sure if you are battling depression and/or have bipolar as you posted in the bipolar section or both. If you posted in the wrong section no problem, but my answer may not make much sense to you.
I have bipolar and my answer is a little complex. The medications that I found that I needed to get my bipolar under control were lithium, tegretol (aka carbamizepine) seroquel and lorazepam . I only found those after a lot of experimentation. As the years went by, I found that by learning about my triggers and watching out for early warning signs I first of all was able to cut out the seroquel and then the tegretol and lessen the amount of lithium and lorazepam that I take. I also had to learn about me, my diet, my life style etc.
You may already know all of the following:
Some people with bipolar, like myself, can't take antidepressants they make me manic, other people can. Seroquel is an antipsychotic, lorazepam is a benzodiazine (a minor sedative) and tegretol and lithium are mood stabilizers, although tegretol is more known as an anti seizure agent.
Triggers are something that trigger an episode, for me that would be things like too much caffeine, pseudoephedrine (a stimulant used in allergy meds), not getting enough sleep etc. My depressive episodes get triggered by anxieties and not enough exercise as an example.
Early warning signs for me : I know I'm heading manic if I start to become ultra observant of colours and I know that I'm heading for depression if I can't get out of bed most days. When I notice an early warning sign I tryto figure out what's causing it and take corrective action. That might be stop drinking as much coffee or I may need a medication adjustment.
Don't hesitate to ask questions, answer other people's questions and/or use the forums to vent out some frustrations. Take Care. paul m
"Alone we can do so little;
Together we can do so much"
Helen Keller -
Thank you for your answer. I'm actually not sure where I should post. I was diagnosed with depression at age 22 and bipolar in 2014. I'm now 46. Regardless, battling depresssion, bipolar disorder, or whatever illness is a daily struggle.Comment
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My primary medication of choice is Quetiapine. It works for both depression but works as true mood stabilizer but is classed as an antipsychotic medication. It has few and mostly mild side effects.
Buddy mack"If we new what we were doing we wouldn't call it research......" Albert EinsteinComment
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Hello Battledepression. It doesn't actually matter where you post, but it does help to have some input into what is bothering you the most . It looks like you are like a lot of us, misdiagnosed for a number of yrs. The average time of misdiagnosis with bipolar is huge, I have looked lately, but it was around 7-8 yrs. That's average, so for every person diagnosed within a yr there is another person who takes a whole lot longer.
That doesn't necessarily mean that you were ever misdiagnosed as bipolar can spring up at any time of life. Also some people with bipolar suffer far more from depression then they do from mania and vice versa. I know some people that have only had a couple of episodes of light mania, but are forever bothered by deep depression. My son is one of those people. He takes wellbutrin and lorazepam only for his bipolar. He used to have terrible episodes of mania, but once he got that under control he made the decision not to take anything for his mania as he seems to only have light episodes of mania these days, although those episodes have cost him a few jobs. Still he holds down a regular job and doesn't take much medication so it works for him.
I can't take antidepressants as they make me manic, but when I did try them, wellbutrin worked the best for me , had the fewest side effects for me and didn't make me manic for about 3 mths. Sreoquel is Quetiapine, but I can never never remember how to spell the Q word LOL. However like Buddy Mack has said it it works well for some, me included. I hate the stuff, but it did allow me to get to a place where more recover was possible and I would use it again if needed.
It has a huge range of dosages and is reasonably friendly that way. Take Care. paul m
"Alone we can do so little;
Together we can do so much"
Helen KellerComment
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Hi BattleDepression, like others have said, it has taken me years to get the right cocktail of meds to treat my bipolar symptoms. I used to be on heavy doses of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics (lithium had too many side effects) but now I am down to lamotragine, abilify, wellbutrin, zopiclone (for sleep) and lorazepam (for anxiety). The most important thing is to have a psychiatrist who will work with you and make adjustments as necessary.
Also, I'm not sure if the right combination of drugs changes over time. Have others found that what worked for years starts not working as well and a change in meds is once again in order?
NeliComment
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From 2011 till my crash on Dec 25th 2015 I was solid and stable on Quetiapine as my primary.
Buddy Mack."If we new what we were doing we wouldn't call it research......" Albert EinsteinComment
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Hi Neli. This is exactly what happened to me. Long story short.... I was on Zoloft for over 20 years. I was going on a downward spiral, knowing my meds just weren't working any more. It took almost two years of Psychotherapy and trial and error with meds. Finally on a combo of meds that are working!Comment
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Hello Nelli. I hate it when one of my meds stop working. Sometimes depending how much you take of any of your medications, a simple medication adjustment may be all that you need. Of course for those of us taking multiple meds, there is no such word as simple. What follows is just what I have learned out of reputable places on line. I cannot say if one of the following is what is causing your problem or not. But they are areas that you might want to discus with him/her.
Antidepressant are the most known for suddenly stopping working, in fact it's so common that if you google SSRI poop out, but it can be in any class of anti depressants, you will get a list of medications that can suddenly stop working. Even the Mayo Clinic refers to it as that. The May clinic also gives some possible causes. The first suggested remedy is to increase dosages where possible. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...s/faq-20057938
Drugs.com and other sources show that lamictal ( lamotragine) is not known for stopping mania , but rather delaying them. Some sources say 2 yrs, many don't say how long, I know many people that have been on it for yrs. https://www.drugs.com/lamictal.html Most sources suggest that if it quits working to try upping the dosage where possible.
zopiclone is well known for stopping working if not used correctly. That's usually not the fault of the person, more often the doctor prescribes it too often and too much. When zopiclone first came out it was thought to be the saviour of many and much less addictive than lorazepam . Now even the drug mfgs state that the use of it should be of short duration and limited in use.
The following warning comes when you read it drug product monograph:
Treatment with zopiclone should usually not exceed 7-10 consecutive days. Use for more than 2-3 consecutive weeks requires complete re-evaluation of the patient. Prescriptions for zopiclone should be written for short-term use (7-10 days) and it should not be prescribed in quantities exceeding a 1-month supply. After nightly use, sleeping pills may lose some of their effectiveness and you may also develop a degree of dependence. Anyone taking zopiclone should go to the drug mfg own drug Monograph and see what it has to say. Particularly pages 35-38. Zoplicone can be a great medication when use properly, but some docs aren't aware of it's downside. https://pdf.hres.ca/dpd_pm/00026515.PDF
Lorazepam can also wear off in effectiveness, depending how you take it. Some doc's prescribe it to be taken 3 times a day, say 8am, 3pm and 11pm. When taken that way, lorazepam can lose it's effectiveness and even become addictive. However to use it as an anxiety aid, there is little problem, once again depending on usage amount.
One final hint, if you and your doctor do decide that you need a change or increase in meds, do it one medication at a time. It's easier to figure out if that is the med or if another one needs tweeking. Take Care. paul m"Alone we can do so little;
Together we can do so much"
Helen KellerComment
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Welcome to the forum Battledepression.AJ
Humans punish themselves endlessly
for not being what they believe they should be.
-Don Miguel Ruiz-Comment
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Hi Paul m, I appreciate the thorough response to my question. I read the product monograph and feel quite determined to wean myself off the zopiclone. I've been on 7.5mg nightly for 3+ years and am unable to sleep without it. I have, however, recently been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and now have a CPAP machine. Perhaps that was part of the reason for my insomnia. So, I think now is the time to try without it. But I will go gradually and expect some rebound insomnia and anxiety. It would be great to be off it!Comment
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Hello Neli. Thx for your comments. I too use a CPAP machine and the difference it made in how rested I felt the next day was amazing. Good Luck with phasing out Zoplicone I hear that it can be hard, but not impossible. Did you talk to your doctor at all about slowly replacing the zoplicone with something else and then quitting the something else. An example of this is low dose seroquel (an antipsyhcotic) , but instead of a theraputic dose (200-400mg) you only take 25-50 mg . There are several other meds out their that can act as a sleep helper in low doses . Antitrypline (an anti-depressant) is another one. You take about a 1/4 of the dose that would normally be used as a therapeutic dose.
I'm only up on these facts because I have Parkinson's as well and I can rarely sleep more that 4 hrs so my neurologist and psychiatrist have been coming up with things for me to try. Good Luck and Take Care. paul m"Alone we can do so little;
Together we can do so much"
Helen KellerComment
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