Mood Stabilizers & other meds.

[sami]

I'm starting some new medication tomorrow and was just hoping/wondering if anyone had any experience with them?

I wasn't sure whether to put this with Mood Stabilizers or Antidepressants, since I'm starting one of each, but I assumed there'd be more people here thinking about it than in Antidepressants.

I'm starting Epilim and Zoloft tomorrow, starting on 400mg and 50mg, increasing every three days until I get to 1000mg and 150mg (I do know the Epilim needs a blood test, that has been scheduled for a week after I get up to the 1000mg).

I've been on both of these meds separately in the past. Epilim ended up helping a bit but I just got so depressed about gaining weight (8kgs in 6 weeks with a good diet and fair amount of exercise), and Zoloft I don't recall but my mum says I took myself off it after 5 weeks because I couldn't cry. I've been on a lot of other medications in the past including I think all but one SSRI, Effexor, Lithium, Mirtazapine and a few antipsychotics, benzos and tranquilizers as PRNS.

I'm willing to stick out the 9 weeks my doctor is guessing it will take until we see any effect (she thinks it might take awhile to get up to the right dose just because I've ended up hypomanic on most antidepressants, especially ones with serotonin) but I am really worried about the weight gain. I am bulimic and I'm not sure if it got passed on to this psychiatrist but I have in the past talked to pdocs about it and attempted treatment for it, didn't work so well, etc. but obviously I don't do so well with weight gain, and I've gained enough being in hospital on/off for seven months. I really just want to lose but told that will be basically impossible.

Has anyone been on this or a similar combination and can share their experiences?

[lottacrazy]

I have tried Zoloft before but it was unsuccessful, kind of useless for me. I know that one side effect is restlessness, cant stop moving...happy feet! If you look it up online it will tell you the side effects. I cant tell you anything about the other drug, I never heard of it.

I know that when I took Paxil (which is like zoloft) I lossed alot of weight, I went from 230lbs to 160 lbs in 4 months. Have you ever thought of going in to COPE or something for your eating disorder??? I had bulemia when I was a teen (hence being 230 lbs) I looke like a squirrel, that is why my doc noticed...the puffy face. COPE was helful to a degree and after I lost the weight I stopped binging and purging, I looked great, maybe diet, when in cope I was on a NO SODIUM, LOW SUGAR, LOW FAT, 1300 calories diet also a lot of fiber...that helped in the weight loss. purging is really bad I have acid reflux now and yellowed teeth from that. Exercise, just walking 3 miles a day by your self and just sorting things out may work and it is good for your mental well being. I would also food journal and take it to the pdocs everytime.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publication...a-nervosa.shtml

the link above is about bulimia, maybe you can find a link to areatment center specializing in eating disorders and bulemia...also CBT may help

[sami]

Thanks hon. I've tried treatment for my eating disorder, but they always want to try and level out my moods first to see if it has anything to do with the extremes, and the theory they're working on is that I'm too low to be able to work through it now and when my mood is better then they can try and help, they just want to stop the self-harming and everything else that comes along with everything.