I joined two bipolar support groups on the ol’ Facebook recently. I was kicked out for sharing information about my blog, in both groups. How ironic is that? But, while I was still in them, I noticed something that just got under my skin. There was not much support other than asking for information on medicine. That was the biggest question, over and over. “What meds are you on, why those, what do they do for you, should I do this,” on and on and on. It made me feel so lucky to have a personal pharmacist as well as two psychiatrists that are amazing (finally found them after much trial and error). My personal pharmacist is invaluable to me in countless ways, but with my diagnosis, she just added another reason.
So, with this being said, I’m going to be all out there and talk about my medication for those people that are curious as to what has worked for me. I’ve been through a bunch of changes, and these few finally have me relatively stable. What did look like an earthquake seismogram now looks more like the aftershocks. Calm with small blips every once in a while. MUCH better than the hell my brain has gone through for years.
I am currently on Abilify 2mg, Cymbalta 60mg, Lamictal 200mg and then Zanaflex 4mg (for sleep) for my bipolar. I have more medication as well, but those are all for my back and don’t really count for this information. I have Propranolol (it’s a beta blocker) in case I’m feeling anxious and have the heart palpitations. I haven’t used it in a long time though, I haven’t needed to (thank goodness!). Now, I’ve been on a lot of other things, but they just didn’t work for me in the long term. I remember the first few days after I got put on a mood stabilizer though. It was as if the clouds and heavy wool blanket over my days and nights were suddenly lifted. I could see the sun again. I could see hope and love and gratitude. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It didn’t last long, as that particular medicine (Seroquel) made me over sleep and eat like I was famished (I gained 20 lbs in about 2 weeks). I will always remember how it felt to have those clouds lifted though.
I’ve tried so many medications throughout the years, when my doctors all just assumed I had anxiety and depression. None of them worked of course, I needed a bit more umph. And these mood stabilizers in this combination finally provide it. I do still go up and down, but not NEAR what I was before. It’s night and day. I can smile and laugh and cry now. I couldn’t do those things before. I feel like a new child learning how to feel for the first time. One of my psychiatrists after not seeing me in a while said it looked like I was just lighter and floating. I feel that way now sometimes. It’s scary and exciting all at once.
Seroquel is a funny one I tell you. Works great with the mood, but that weight gain is annoying. I put on 10kg in less than a month.
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Yep, I put on the same in about a week or 2. And now I can’t lose any of the weight I’ve gained on all of the medication I’m on. I’m stuck. Oh well, I’d rather be stable than skinny.
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Same here, I would rather be stable than skinny 🙂
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By the way you might want to use comment moderation, a lot of people make a semi relevant comment with a link to online pharmacies or some other advertising site.
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Am I letting too many in? I have a lot that I deny for spam, and I’m notified of those that are auto approved. I’ll have to go through and double check. Thanks Mike!!
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You look at the link associated with their name and see if its to another blog or profile or something real. Several of these go to a YouTube video review or other place. A shortened link is usually a giveaway. Also a comment like “I һave reaqd some excellent stuff һere. Certаinly worth bookmarking fοr revisiting. Ӏ surprise hоw a lot attempt you put to maҝe this type of magnificent infrmative site” is an obvious spam attempt. That one is not only posted below but badly misspelled. That happens in Nigeria.
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Thank you!! I’ll go through and delete all of those!!
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Thanks again for the tip Mike! I went through and deleted the “suspicious” ones. I appreciate your thoughts so much!
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I’ve tried them all in varying doses over more years than I wish to count. To date Trintellix has worked the best at the right dose along with Clonazepam. Stay away from meds that make you feel physically ill, you will probably not get used to them. Also the best drugs like Xanax or Halcion are too good to ever get off without a complete breakdown lasting years. I speak from experience although the funny farm I went to was beautiful and it was on an actual farm. Yep.
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Oh I had bad things happen on Xanax, I won’t touch it.
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To be serious for a minute, other than addiction, blackouts, panic attacks and almost a dozen seizures Xanax was a gift from drug heaven. In drug heaven there are no pillows, just illusions…
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Hi. Thanks for your post. And I’m sorry about your Facebook experience. It’s not my favourite site, I have to say.
I was wondering what your experiences of therapy have been. The Facebook groups’ focus on medication makes me wonder how many people are getting/ being helped by psychotherapy for their Bipolar conditions?
Wishing you all the best. Stephen
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My intensive outpatient group therapy has been incredible. It’s saved mine and the group member’s lives over and over. Everyone here is set up with psychiatry and they are wonderful psychiatrists. It doesn’t look like those on groups in Facebook have this experience unfortunately. At least with my small experience with them.
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It would be really interesting to hear your views on what it is that is most helpful in your group work.
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I have one post about it, I think it’s called “group therapy”. But I can certainly write more!
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Thanks, I’ll look for it on your blog.
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