ChemistryExperiment Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Current Psych meds: Adderall XR 10mg bid Adderall IR 10mg bid Paxil 40mg hs ortho-cyclen Klonopin 1mg hs, .5-2 mg up to 3 mg prn / day current health meds: daily: Levothyroxin 224mcg am Ranitidine 300mg flonase pulmicort prn: vistaril 25-50mg 3x/day oxycodone 5-10mg 4x/day tramadol 50mg pro-air 1-2 puffs albuterol nebulizer 1 vial triamcinolone cream bactroban benadryl 50mg flexaril 5mg zofran 8mg Compozine 10mg peppermint oil (applied to skin) supplements; vit b complex ferrous gluconate vit c co q 10 acidophillus biotin (starting up again soon) psych Med history: Allergic: Seroquel, abilify Risperdal & Geodon = heart problems zyprexa too much weight gain (40lbs in one month not slowing down, increased blood pressure and blood sugar, had to go on bp meds, and almost had ot start diabetes meds) so its a no go Effexor, Pristiq, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta = psychotic mixed states Celexa: apathetic slept all day, more depressed, suicidal Lithium: couldn't stay on it because of not having thyroid Depakote: slept all the time, could hardly think, weight gain, bloodpressure issues Topamax: lots of falls neurontin: syncope (fainting) haldol, navane = td trazadone: couldn't wake up ambien: sleepwalking/eating/computer usage concerta: didn't work enough ativan: too sedating amitriptyline and nortriptyline: stopped working zonegran: racing thoguhts Lamictal: didn't get very high on it, docs kept taking me off because they thought i was on too many medications Lyrica: loved it, insurance wouldn't cover it at the time and couldn't get patietn assistance Luvox: loved it, pdoc at tiem thought i was manic, it was just me without ocd ( i talk fast when i don't have tons of obsessions running through my head) i can't take blood pressure medications because they drop my blood pressure too low. last one i was on, lisinopril, i was hospitalized for passing out due to low blood pressure. (I have also taken verapamil, inderal, and something else) ---Problem--- Anxiety is killing me. I am going really insane because of it. I cannot stop the obsessions, i am having panic attacks all the time, and i go from not sleeping for days to sleeping for days becasue my body just can't take all the anxiety and it is out of wack. I am having nightmares, night terrors, i am hyperventilating most of the day, even when n ot in a panic attack. I am so anxious i am dizzy. I can't stop doing compulsive things either. Overall i am just a big giant anxious mess. psychiatrist wanted me to think over some med options, things i had been on in the past and things I haven't ... I have come up with a few ideas, but could use more. Options: 1. Increase paxil to 50mg 2. Add Lyrica 75mg BID 3. Add Luvox, and eventually try going back down the 30mg of paxil. 4. Add Clomipramine 5. Add BuSpar 6. Add small dose trileptal What are some thoughts/suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpam Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Have you ever thought about going on a MAO-I like Nardil? It may have some restrictions but when you have tried almost everything it can be a saviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Have you ever seen a psychopharmacologist? Lyrica sounds like the safest option. Mixing SSRIs makes me nervous. I read a review article that concluded all SSRIs are equally effective for OCD if you just get the dose high enough. It's taken the combination of high dose celexa and moderate dose risperdal to get my OCD under control. My pdoc recomended 120 mgs celexa but that upset my stomach too badly so I'm getting by at 80 mgs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 good lord. TBH, my advice would be to lower your cocktail and go to a lot of therapy. If you must add something...... hell, I have no idea. Lyrica, probably. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snugglepuss Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 You are on a ridiculous number of meds. I thought I was on alot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ensure Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 wow, a lot of meds , you are going to be sick more from yours medication thank your real problem... have you ever think asking about Hypochondriasis?, i have an uncle, and he read all day about medication and illness , and the doctors give a lot of meds and he never feel normal, always sick try more sport life, and no more than 3 medication after like 6 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 wow, a lot of meds , you are going to be sick more from yours medication thank your real problem... have you ever think asking about Hypochondriasis?, i have an uncle, and he read all day about medication and illness , and the doctors give a lot of meds and he never feel normal, always sick try more sport life, and no more than 3 medication after like 6 months See, this kind of thing is just not helpful. There is no magic number of medications that is "okay" to be on. What matters is that the person's illness is controlled. Sometimes people need to be on a lot of medication because they have a complex or difficult to treat condition or because they have multiple medical and/or psychiatric conditions at once. It's not okay to assume that if things aren't working, it must be the patient's fault. It's possible that the OP does need to pare down, but it's not because she has passed some magic number of medications that it's "okay" to be on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowen Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I'm all about therapy for anxiety and obsessiveness. It's cheaper in the long run, and it's one of those gifts that keep on giving deals. If you've been on a ton of meds and none have touched it, therapy is pretty much your best option. Do you have a CBT clinic in town that does sliding scale or takes Medicaid? (We do where I live, and it's a significantly smaller area than where you're from). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Is it possible the Klonopin isn't working or making your anxiety worse? I think benzo's can play havoc with balancing your body chemistry. When I am a 'big giant anxious mess' or having panic attacks I take my little yellow pill and it totally works. But if I am depressed AND anxious, valium just makes me more depressed. I don't know your daily routine but does yoga, meditation, long walks or exercise help? Buspar was the very first AD I ever tried. I had no idea how much it was helping my anxiety until I stopped the med cold turkey because of dizziness. But my mdoc did prescribe it for anxiety. I know many people say it is a placebo but it certainly had a huge effect on me. I probably would still be on it if not for the spins. But then again, if I hadn't left buspar behind I never would have found my magic wellex combo. I'm sorry. I hope you find something that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ensure Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 wow, a lot of meds , you are going to be sick more from yours medication thank your real problem... have you ever think asking about Hypochondriasis?, i have an uncle, and he read all day about medication and illness , and the doctors give a lot of meds and he never feel normal, always sick try more sport life, and no more than 3 medication after like 6 months See, this kind of thing is just not helpful. There is no magic number of medications that is "okay" to be on. What matters is that the person's illness is controlled. Sometimes people need to be on a lot of medication because they have a complex or difficult to treat condition or because they have multiple medical and/or psychiatric conditions at once. It's not okay to assume that if things aren't working, it must be the patient's fault. It's possible that the OP does need to pare down, but it's not because she has passed some magic number of medications that it's "okay" to be on. you are right, i dont know her medical status and im not a doctor , sorry if I sound rude, i dont want to insult she, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemistryExperiment Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 this year i've gone off nortriptyline, strattera, levsin, singulair, claritin, and omeprazole. i was on all the daily meds i'm on now plus the others. I am doing therapy, but I am close to ending up in the psych ward because of this... so I need something to help until I get through more therapy. My therapist does a mixture of things and it is helping, but I am close to crisis point ... Seeing a psychopharm would take months... And I probably will eventually see one. However, I was on lyrica for pain before, and it helped my anxiety a lot. I am not on a mood stabilizer because I can't do AAPs/APs, and hvae had bad times with depakote, topamax, and neurontin. Plus, my pdoc is trying to keep me on less meds, and I am much more depression prone than mania prone, so we medicate the mania until it is baseline again. The adderall actually helps the OCD because i can actually calm down and stop obsessions easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I understand what you mean about stimulants helping OCD. Have you tried trileptal or tegrotol? Studies show them to be almost as effective as Lithium, but they have a unique mechanism of action so they are worth trying if you've failed other ACs. I found that tegretol did help with my anxiety more than any other AC I've tried. It just made me as dumb as a stump. Trileptal might be better in that area, but I was unable to afford it at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemistryExperiment Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 i haven't tried tegretol or trileptal. the dizziness issue makes me leary, otherwise i'd be more willing. since i know i didn't have an issue with lyrica and dizziness in the past and it did help mood issues along with anxieyt (i actually don't think i was ever calmer than when i was on lyrica last)... that it seems like the smaerter choice. I was leaning towards it, but its not one of those meds that people are like 'yes go on that for ocd/anxiety'. I will bring up the trileptal as well as the lyrica, he wanted me to have several 'options' i know he'll be more open to the lyrica/trileptal than the other meds with AD effect because of the mania issue. but i've actually been more depressed than nything reminiscent of mania which is weird for summer. makes me nervous because i can feel myself slipping. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm really unclear as to what symptoms you're hoping to address at this point? Just looking through your history, if depression is more of a consistent issue for you than mania, I think it would mak sense for you to try lamictal again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemistryExperiment Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm really unclear as to what symptoms you're hoping to address at this point? Just looking through your history, if depression is more of a consistent issue for you than mania, I think it would mak sense for you to try lamictal again. mood isn't the issue, its anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, panic attacks, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 If you're bipolar, why aren't you on a mood stabilizer? Some of the meds you're on can cause anxiety to worsen in a bipolar person. I am not on a mood stabilizer because I can't do AAPs/APs, and hvae had bad times with depakote, topamax, and neurontin. since i know i didn't have an issue with lyrica and dizziness in the past and it did help mood issues along with anxieyt (i actually don't think i was ever calmer than when i was on lyrica last)... that it seems like the smaerter choice. Di makes a very good point. It could really be a big source of it. When you say the Lyrica helped with mood issues, was it in this way? That could be a definite reason why you found it so effective for your anxiety - working on two fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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