[neri]

Sorry for the crappy subject line.

I saw this psychiarist recently, the one I had to see cuz of the social insurance institute was giving me grief about my incapacity for work. They wanted a second opinion from their own doctor. Or something, I'm rambling. Anywho, this doctor was pretty sure I'm bipolar or that.. other.. thing.. eh . My doctor apparently hasn't diagnosed me as anything else but depressed. As far as I know.

I'm forgetting what I was going to ask.. Oh yes, since I'm not intitled to any s.i.i. benefits if I refuse to get medication, I was gonna ask about that. How does medication for bipo work? What kind of drugs and how much do you have to take? What kind of side effects? How LONG do you have to take them? What if you don't? Is there someone, who used to feel like they didn't want anything out of life, didn't care if you ended up living on the street... and now with medication would actually want something out of life?

[DaveyJones]

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if I refuse to get medication, I was gonna ask about that. How does medication for bipo work? What kind of drugs and how much do you have to take? What kind of side effects? How LONG do you have to take them? What if you don't? Is there someone, who used to feel like they didn't want anything out of life, didn't care if you ended up living on the street... and now with medication would actually want something out of life?

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Bipolar is today by a number of different medications. First, however is a drug to control the mood swings. Traditionally, this has been lithium carbonate, a naturally occurring salt. Lithium works well as a mood stablilizer, but can have a number of different bothersome side effects like shakiness, feeling "slow" and so on. Personally, I take 1800 mg of Lithium a day, that is, 2x300 mg capsules 3 times a day. It made me feel a bit strange at first, but I don't notice it now. There are newer medicines, notably Lamictal and Depakote that work very well for many people that have fewer side effects. They are a different class of drug entirely, so they are often used in conjunction with Lithium, at the doctor's discretion.

OK, now the hard part...since bipolar manifests in so many different ways in different people, lots of differing drugs may be added to the mix; any of the antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, you name it...it just depends on the other symptoms that are present. There is a significant body of opinion that says antidepressants may worsen the cycling of BP...my personal feeling is that is true for most folks. I have been BPII (Depressed) for years. I now take less AD medication than I have for years, and I have been more mood stable than I have been for years, but the jury is still out.

If you decide to try medication, do some homework and find a pdoc who is keeping up with what's going on in the field of bipolar treatment. You will have a much better chance of receiving proper care.

If you don't take meds, research shows you will probably get worse as you age. You may or may not have trouble with jobs and relationships due to your condition. A person close to me managed to hang on to a good job for nearly 20 years, getting average reviews and raises...she was then DX'd BP, started lithium therapy, and within 6 months was getting rave job reviews and promotions. So, yeah, I think it's worth it. Also, you'll probably take the meds all your life.

The good part is, bipolar folks are generally incredibly bright (myself excepted) and capable people, and function at a very high level, so there's no reason to think of this as something to be ashamed of...it's just a chronic disease that has to be managed, and the tools to do this are getting better and better all the time.

Good luck, Neri...I hope you will get the right kind of help. You have a good heart AND a good mind, you just have to take a little extra care of them. I'm here and so are lots of others who want to help you do that.

DJ

[nothemama8]

Neri , you have to play the game in this world of ours, remember to recieve the money you must play the governments game, here in the USA having Bi-polar dx is easier to get SSI or SSD, Sweetie let the meds help you help yourself

[neri]

Thank you davey me ->

and nothemama too.. that is my problem, or one of them, i'm so darn stubborn...

[Azalysa]

EVERYTHING DJ SAID!!

DJ gave a wonderful summary of the various meds for bipolar. I am also bipolar and initially started with Prozac which worked for awhile but then just lost its efficacy so I was switched to Zoloft (anti-depressant) and Depakote (anti-convulsent med being used for the bipolar mood swings)

I was on just those two for a long time (15 years) and would have maybe a week or two of a minor depressive episode and would basically just stay in bed most of the time and it would just go away anywhere from several days to a week.

However, this time I got hit by a doozy of an episode. My current meds lineup is now: 2 Zoloft; 2 Depakote; 2 Wellbutrin (anti-depressant); Lamictal (similar to Depakote for the mood swings) PLUS Ativan (Anxiety med) and have tried the following sleeping pills - Restoril, Ambien, Seroquel, and just today was given a sample of Lunesta because it is not in the benzo group of meds, which can create addictive dependency on it. When I get in really low places, I just want to sleep. I either use Restoril or Ambien and it puts me to sleep quickly then about 7 hours later my eyes just pop open and I'm not sleepy and feel refreshed. BUT...I don't want to face....anything...so I pop another sleeping pill and just return to bed....then take another at bedtime. Can we say "Abusing the medications?" When that happens, I start feeling like I "need" them

I just had an appt. with my psych today. I have felt over-medicated for the last 2 months. I told him that again today and asked if he could bring me down on at least one of the meds. He said that if I were this way 10 years ago, I would be spending a minimum of 1 month in a psych hospital, but now he said most psychs try medication route first.

Hmmm...have I drifted offcourse? Anyway my main point was to answer your questions about meds. DJ introduced you to different types of meds, and I thought it might be helpful to see what someone is currently taking to get an idea. However, my psych says his goal is to get me to a stable place, then start weaning me off the Zoloft and Depakote and keep me on Wellbutrin and Lamictal! Can't wait for that day!!

Come back and talk to us anytime - this is a GREAT support site and everyone here understands the types of issues you are dealing!

Hope to see you again

[blackdragon]

drugs for bipolar work by balancing the chemicals in ur head. The sideffects are like most other drugs, headache, nausea, drowsyness. just when u go on these meds DONT i repeat Dont go off them suddenly. Dont pull a me cause the withdrawls are brutal. Most psychs will slowly increase ur dose till they get to the desired dose so u dont have much problems with sideeffects. for howlong i dont know