Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Experiences regarding anti-psychotic medications

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Experiences regarding anti-psychotic medications

    Hello everyone,

    I will try to keep this as short as possible. My spouse has been dx'ed with so many things it has been confusing. Recently, new psychiatrist believes she is bi-polar. Her mother was bi-polar, and had manic episodes. Looking back, I could say during our entire marriage, my spouse was most likely in a mixed-state or hypomanic. This post is not about that type of history though.

    Previously, my spouse was on 150mg effexor w/75mg seroquel. This helped for two months, but the "consulting psychiatrist" was only willing to see my spouse for 3 months, then it was back to the MD. MD was too scared to do anything, and I think my spouse exacerbated the issue by only ever mentioning the depressive episodes.

    1.5 years waiting for a new psychiatrist. FYI, she never did well long term on effexor or pristiq, it was scary at times, Pysch decided to half the effexor because they thought it was all just GAD, and possibly the effexor was contributing to the GAD. This reducing of the effexor triggered discontinuation syndrome, and later a manic episode. My spouse, on her own volition starting tapering her effexor at a rapid pace, because of the episodes.

    Finally got back to the psych, and was dx'ed bipolar. Put on tritation of Lamictal, eventually up to 75mg. Was also given 5mg of Olanzapine at night for three months. That was a week ago, and the anger episodes have been extreme. She is seeing the psych today.

    Given the med story above, when she was off/reducing effexor, she started getting this extreme fibromyalgia about two hours after taking the seroquel, and it lasted for over two hours. It was bad. Now when she takes the Olanzapine at 5mg, she is experiencing the same fibromyalgia type pain. At 2.5mg, she doesn't, but it is not really effective.

    As anyone else experienced this with these classes of medications? It doesn't seem severe enough to classify as neuroleptic malignant syndrome, but could it be? The psych doesn't seem to buy into this, but I have witnessed it in person, and she is not one to fake these types of things.

    #2
    Hello dee1001 and welcome. Effexor can be a tough drug to wean off of. It can cause muscle tensions, brain zaps(electric feeling in brain) I have shown a couple of links for you to read. Take Care. paul m https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/0...ill-they-last/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurol...gnant_syndrome
    "Alone we can do so little;
    Together we can do so much"
    Helen Keller

    Comment


      #3
      Hi dee1001. I have seen neuroleptic malignant syndrome once and it was a very dramatic and severe. Getting an accurate diagnosis and sorting out psych medications can be a challenge.

      how did the psych appt. go today?

      AJ

      Humans punish themselves endlessly
      for not being what they believe they should be.
      -Don Miguel Ruiz-

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks for the links Paul! I have read the wikipedia one, she certainly has experienced the majority of the symptoms list in the Effexor article. Maybe the pain came from the Effexor leaving her system, 15 +- 6 hours half-life, and the timing taking the seroquel was a coincidence. Then again, when she didn't take the seroquel while coming off the effexor, she did not get the pain.

        The psych didn't seem to buy into the "pain" ... keep in my, I was not at the appt, they "don't do spouses". They gave my spouse Clonazepam 5mg, and Zopiclone 5mg to sleep. The Clonazepam to prescribed to "use when needed", but the sad fact is, it is usually taken way after an episode beings to occur. Certainly, my spouse is in a mixed-state at the moment. It always seems to get worse during the evening, and anything good or bad can trigger an episode.

        On top of this, she wishes to move to move back to her home country. Nobody in the extended truly takes the situation seriously, and it is my feeling the mental health services there are rather flippant. I am entertaining the idea, though I am under no illusion that things will be better there. I'm in my mid-forties, and we take care of a disabled dependent . The idea of starting over with all these stressors scares me a lot.

        Does anyone think family counselling of any type would let us unpack a lot of the issue involved in an international move, that she doesn't tend to have insight into, or dismisses out of hand? Or perhaps, that might cause increased stressors at this point? I am so tired.
        Last edited by dee1001; August 22, 2019, 08:03 AM.

        Comment


          #5
          It has been my experience with couples counselling, that my spouse will listen to the therapist and have it 'sink in' much better than when I try to communicate the same thing. I have also found with my spouse being supported by a therapist, some of the weight is lifted off me. (I'm actually the one with the mood disorder.)

          I think a huge factor in how well the counselling is received, depends on your spouse's mental health at the time. It's pretty tough to have a helpful conversation when someone is manic or in a mixed state.
          AJ

          Humans punish themselves endlessly
          for not being what they believe they should be.
          -Don Miguel Ruiz-

          Comment


            #6
            Thanks for the reply AJ, I think I concur, that counselling at some point would be helpful, but not currently. Thank you so much for the replies, it means a lot.

            Comment


              #7
              Hello dee1001. In regards to effexor coming out of the system, the longer you take it the more likely that you will experience problems on quitting. Having said that, I know people who have taken it only for a short time and experienced problems. In this case (brain zaps etc) they can last a lot longer than just having the drug out your system.

              In regards to couples counselling. Couples counselling can lead to great results, but that is dependent on the experience of the counselor. I had better luck when my spouse attended my psychiatrist appointment with me. She was able to tell the shrink about items that I had either forgot or sometimes items that I was embarrassed about and that I wouldn't tell my shrink about. Take Care. paul m
              "Alone we can do so little;
              Together we can do so much"
              Helen Keller

              Comment


                #8
                I also like to ask my spouse to attend my appointments with me. He's got a different perspective and sees things (behaviour, changes, triggers, a lot) that I don't see, notice or remember. I can't trust my memory and perspective since it's clouded and changed by my mental state. Not to mention, having him drive there and back helps manage my anxiety.

                Comment

                Working...
                X