december_brigette Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 hi all, a while back i was on 900mg of lithium and it really worked for me. it lessened my depressions and stopped the anger & rage. then i got preggers, dramatically reduced the amount of lithium i was taking, and then stopped it all together. pdoc very aware of all this. after giving birth, i was supposed to start up the lithium again (not breastfeeding....so no worries about that). however, it just seems like i cant. i get horrible headaches, i still get the odd "severe" pain in my girlie parts. and when im in that pain i take advil - which is a nsaid and not supposed to be taken while on lithium. lately pain management over-rules depression, anger & rage. but i know i need something. because my last depressive episode was horrible. see the bp board. ive attempted to do research on alternative medications to lithium. but all the info swirls in my head and confuses me even more. i have a pdoc appt this week and would love to walk in saying "here's my research i wanna try_______." instead of getting to the appt and saying "uh..brain..buzz." which is usually the case. and then there is a HUGE part of me that says no med changes. but i'd like to be less depressed, angry & rageful.... uh... db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Have you tried depakote, lamictal, etc... ? Or the other AAP's? I love my abilify/seroquel cocktail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starfish Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 before putting me on lithium, my doc prescribed valproate (sorry dont know the commercial name) and it worked except that it made my hypersomnia worse and worse, so he decided to put me on lithium so i could stay awake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I am on semi sodium valproate, otherwise known as Depakote. It works for me, despite some weight gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 there's this flow chart, and i wish i could find the link but i can't, that some pdocs use to determine what med they should try next should one not work. Li is their first trial. then Depakote, then Lamictal, etc. i'd ask about lamictal, since you've been on the depressive side and lamictal helps more with the depressive side in most people than with the upper side (though for me it is equal in both). lamictal is weight neutral. abilify is also an option, but is only FDA approved right now for use in mania. we all know it is used off label, but that's the official use. lithium and lamictal so far (as far as i know) are the only drugs FDA approved for treatment of both bipolar depression and mania. lamictal was my saving grace. some love it and some hate it, but for me, it is a wonder drug and probably kept me out of an urn. i'd ask about it and get info at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazynotstupid Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 there's this flow chart, and i wish i could find the link but i can't, that some pdocs use to determine what med they should try next should one not work. I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Texas University Bipolar Algorithm thingy, I linked it somewhere once (and should sticky it sometime)--it's got a mania and depression side. At some point I really will dig it up and sticky it to the bp board, promise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raining Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 lithium and lamictal so far (as far as i know) are the only drugs FDA approved for treatment of both bipolar depression and mania. does zyprexa count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
december_brigette Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 hi all: pdoc prescribed zoloft!?!? but as im not of clear head i will take. pdoc is a very nice elderly man....so maybe he was confused? idk. posting more about this in the anti-depressant area. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 but i'd like to be less depressed, angry & rageful.... That would be why the pdoc decided to give you an SSRI boost. What I don't understand is why he would add Zoloft instead of upping the Paxil. Both are good for anxiety/irritability. Have you ever been on a higher dosage of Paxil before? Does he plan on taking you off of Paxil if the Zoloft works better or something? If he isn't, I'd worry about it pushing you too high without a mood stabilizer. Other than an SSRI, the other option in my mind would be Lamictal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhiteQueen Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I'm with Loon on the Lamictal. It worked really great for me for a pretty long time, and I loved it. Actually lost weight while I was taking it, too. But then I started suffering from an unfortunately nasty rare side effect, (won't go into detail, it's rather disgusting really,) and had to quit cold turkey. I was so scared of the seizures that people warn about from having to go cold turkey; I was very fortunate to not have seizures or any other withdrawls, at least not that I know of. On extended-release lithium now, and I really do miss my Lamictal very much. It was by far the best mood stabilizer I've ever been on. I know it works great for a lot of other people, too. Definately worth a try. If you can put up with the extremely slow process of tapering up, it's worth it for sure if it works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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