Juniper29

The only side effect I've had was some mild sedation when starting or increasing the dose. I take 300 mg twice a day.

I'm not bipolar but have MDD and anxiety. It definitely helps me. My pdoc says in her experience it's hit or miss, really helps some people and others not at all. I take 300 mg twice a day.

I didn't see this until now, but I take gabapentin for anxiety. It's an off-label use but it's been very effective for me. I take 600 mg daily, divided into two doses. Like you I started with 100 mg at night.

I felt similarly when I was your age, except I didn't think I'd make it to my 20s. I'm in my 30s now and obviously still dealing with depression, but I have a pretty good life and a lovely family that I am happy and grateful for much of the time. It sounds like your medication may not be doing the best it could. It's hard to advocate for yourself when you're depressed, but can you talk to your pdoc about how you feel?

Hi, I have not taken lyrica but I do take gabapentin for anxiety. pregabalin (lyrica) and gabapentin (neurontin) are related, from what I understand; they are both anticonvulsants used to treat nerve pain. I actually started taking gabapentin for shingles pain and discovered it was amazing for my anxiety, so pdoc took over the prescription. It works for me really well.

Totally understand!

Hi. I think the only rule is you can't actually promote self-injury. And we try to avoid really graphic descriptions since it can be triggering. But you don't have to self-injure in any particular way to post here. It's not the most active board ever but there are good people here.

We will gather with family via Zoom. My family is mostly out of state and traveling isn't safe.

I don't know if this is the same, but even when my mood is good I have very little energy. I use up most of it on ADLs (making food, brushing teeth, taking care of my kid's basic needs) and struggle with anything additional like cleaning or organizing fun activities. I spend a lot of the day curled on the couch even at the best of times.

I also don't like the number scale. There are too many factors. Mild/moderate/severe is better, but I still struggle with knowing which it is. Detailed descriptions of which symptoms warrant a given level could be helpful.

Thanks, that's helpful. I feel like I have to say something .. age appropriate of course ... My mom is bipolar so I've been through it from a child's perspective and that makes it harder in some ways.

Just that it's a classic symptom of depression.

How do I (should I?) talk to my son about my MI. He's 6. I am in a depressive episode and don't want him thinking that my struggles are his fault. I don't know what to tell him ...

FWIW there are family horror stories about some of the meds that have worked well for me (i.e. they were terrible for one or more of my immediate family members). I've also tried meds that worked well for family and were horrible for me. I think it's hard to predict someone's response to a med based on others', even family members', response.

Thanks, that's really interesting. I'm in my 30s and have had episodes since my teens.