4/20/10
Medication Update – I was having major problems with concentration and obsessive negative thoughts.
100mg Lamitcal (branded)
50mg Seroquel (branded) for sleeping
25mg Seroquel (branded) twice a day to help control concentration/obsession TEMPORARY
50mg Topamax (Generic) twice a day to counter act weight gain from above meds
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3/2/2010
Medication Update – I was having an increase in depression so adjustments were made
125mg Lamictal (branded) – Mood Stabilizer
50mg Seroquel (branded) – Sleeping Medication
50 mg -twice a day Topamax (Generic) – For Weight Gain
25 mg – Ativan (Generic) As needed – For Sleeping if Seroquel doesn’t work (I never use this)
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1/23/10
I am currently only taking the following:
100mg Lamictal – mood stabilization
50mg Seroquel – for sleeping
100mg topamax – for weight gain
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7/25/09
I am weaning off of the Effexor and I can not wait to be done. Every fucking night I have such drenching bone chilling night sweats. I wake up so cold that I am shaking from head to toe. My clothes and my bed are soaked. I change pjs and sheets every day. I am doing laundry every 3 days. I fucking hate it because it wakes me up so early everyday. It is so uncomfortable.
Topomax – I LOVE IT. I eat only 3 times a day and I don’t snack anymore. And when I do eat I eat normal amounts of food. I am so excited to not have the munchies all the time.
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7/15/2009 Update
I have been doing massive amounts of research. During this time I got so scared that I actually wondered can I do this without the medications?
I am Bipolar II with Rapid Cycling. Meaning that I have more than 4 episodes of Mania and Depression in a year and they come shortly one after the other. Medications can help supress the symptons.
Currently I am taking 150mg of Seroquel and 75mg of Effexor.
Seroquel is causes significant weight gain according to almost every website I have visted. It also with prolonged use can cause Tardive Dyskinesia – an incurrable condition that mimicks the shakey movements seen in Parkinson’s patients. It is incurable but with stopped use of the drug it could reduce the severity of Tardives. There have not been studies done for long enough a time to determine how long is “too long.”
Effexor – one of the most powerful of the SSNRI’s on the market. Missing one pill could set off severe withdrawal side effects. Some patients have reported that it took them years to try and wean of of this medication. They still have something like phantom withdrawal symptons. This is said to have happened in some patients and there is nothing that can be done about it I guess except to go back on the medication.
While the medications are TRUELY helping me this kinda caught my attention. So far my side effects are:
1. Excessively high body temperature
2. Dry mouth – i drink tons of water
3. Headaches – maybe once a week
4. Terrible Night Sweats
5. Vivid weird dreams – maybe once or twice a month
6. Weight Gain – right now I am at a stand still and can’t seem to loose anything regardless of what I do.
7. Poor Memory
8. Sleepiness – coming out of it in the morning can be rough but without the medications I am an insomniac
More to come……
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7/10/09
I just stared doing some heavy reserach into the medications associated with Bipolar Disorder. So far it has scared me. It is unbelievable the things that I have discovered. The infomation that drug companies leave out of their studies. The absolute crack pot style in which the FDA goes about approving new medications. Doctors who prescribe medications in hopes of financial incentives from drug companies.
It makes me sick and it makes me fearful of my own regime. I will continue to do my research and post what I learn about the groups of medications in general as well as information on specific medications that I am taking. Keep coming back for more.
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I look forward to reading more about it. Definitely an aspect that everyone can relate to.
how do you have all the energy to research all of this? I feel like I can’t even take a shower most days:( I was on Lamictial… like way past the max dose…. it was not helping…. now I am only on Welbutrin… know idea how to spell it. …. I need to figure this out… I just want to be me… not fading into the couch watching my 3 year old play all day…. oh to be normal:(
I did the research because I felt so out of control and it was giving me a sense of control. Plus it was taking my mind of everything that was going so wrong in my life. I had been on so many medications in the past that I wanted to know what I was taking and possibly have a say in what they were prescribing me since it all seems like a crap shoot.
There’s nothing like a family crisis, especially a divorce, to force a person to re-evaluate his life.
I’m adding your blog rss feed so that i can see your new posts. Continue the good work!
Excellent Blog !!!! Thanks for your info