confused needing help

OK .. this is a Med question but i feel it belongs here because my medications revolve around my BiPolar Dx so first off heres my current medications

Xanax 1mg bid (Twice a day)
Halcion .5 QHS (AT bedtime
Lamictal 100 mg QHS (at bedtime )
Seraoquel 300mg QHS( at bedtime)
Neurontin 300mg PRN ( as needed)
Loratab 7.5mg Prn ( as needed)
Soma 350 mg prn ( as needed

OK all that said .,. Heres my problems Im a rapid cycling fool biPolar .. I can go thru 15+ mood swings a day .

One of my biggest issues is when i dont sleep i get very stupid and usally wind up in a psych ward ..I have in the past dealth with my self loathning and just beating the hell out of myself by doing self harm ,, Its been over a month since i have do it ,,,and i only stopped becasue it flips my husband out so much ,, but the feeling to sh is a daily thing i battle ..
I have gained almost 30 lbs from the damn seraquel .. I was 125-130 and have dealth with Anorexia in the past and of course this weight gaine is absolutly flipping me ,, Yes i hear the "well if your stable the weight gain is just a side effect get over it " Getting over it isnt that easy for someone with a eating disorder .

I have try Abilfy in the past and was sick as a dog for a week so we discontinued that .. We tried Lithium 6-8 months ago with no sucess ..

I am on such a fixed income as i am not able to work i cant be going out spending hundreds of dollars on more medications to "try" .

Has/is anyone on any of the older medications to treat mental illnesss and are they finding help with them ? maybe any of the " old school meds"?

I guess im looking for options to discuss with my Pdoc appt on the 17th .. I cant just keep gaining weight from seraquel and the constant hunger that never goes away cant for me just be dealth with by increase exercise as i have severe fibromyalgia .. If i could just go exercise like i use to prior to " fibro " trust me id go back to being a " gym rat"

ANY feedback on this topic would be soooooo appreciated .. I know i cant possible be the only person in this situation ..

Thanks everyone
Wishing you all peace and love

Hi! Sweetie! Sorry you are having such a rough time!
You aren't alone with weight, have gained a little over 35 lbs. Probably my neuron tin & have fibro too so not very active.
I do not take seraquel & if you need an antipsychoitic, don't know any others that wouldn't make you gain weight, like ziprexia or respiridal.
Have you tweaked what you're on now, like more lamictal (I know it's a mood stabilizer) & less seraquel. Unless you have to take that much at hs for sleep & keep "the demons" away. Maybe you'd be less hungry & feel better about yourself & the urge to SI wouldn't be so strong.
That's about all I got, don't know or remember... any of the older drugs, well haldol but has the tar dive dyskenesia risk, I don't know how high of a dose of it you'd have to be on for it to be that risky.
Just suggestions here, wish I could be more help. Surely you'll get more post with more meds to look up to help you.
You are in my thoughts, big time!

>>>>>any of the older drugs, well haldol but has the tardive dyskenesia risk<<<<<

Yes, I was going to mention that. None of the so called "older" antipsychotics are worth risking getting tardive dyskenesia.... So, I wouldn't even go there, I know I sure wouldn't! Sorry.

I'm on Seroquel. Worked my *** off this summer (diet and exercise 3 times a week) and lost 25 lbs, even on seroquel, however since my seroquel was recently increased I'm back to feeling starving also and have gained back 8 lbs in a short amount of time, plus I was drinking caffeine and now I'm not.

I use to be bulimic so I get the whole eating disorder thing. I tried other meds after I was gaining weight initially, but they didn't work and I was forced to go back on Seroquel. Sorry I don't have the answer to the weight issue. I can only say that the battle of the bulge is better then me going into madness.

I have to agree with kindachaotic - you're on a fairly low dose of Lamictal and that has been shown to help reduce the cycling and mood instability. And that seems like a high dose of Seroquel to take just for sleep, especially with the Halcion. Do you also take it for mania or psychosis? Don't mean to intrude, just trying to understand what your needs are.

So, I would try to exhaust the possibilities of what you're already on before adding anything else or taking any of them away. Also, all of your meds are available in generics, which helps keep the cost down. Many of the older drugs, though certainly effective for many people, have been phased out for various reasons. Too many side effects, for example, and the newer meds just seem to work better. But the problem with the really new meds can be the cost. So, yeah, I'd try to work with what you're already on.

I'm not familiar with tardive dyskenesia....I take prozac, xanax and lamictal - are these considered the 'older drugs'? What do I look for?

Tardive dyskinesia is a side effect of some older antipsychotics and typically presents as uncontrolled movements of the face, tongue, arms, legs, etc. It is sometimes irreversible. None of the meds you are on are in the class that typically causes it. Medications like Stelazine, Haldol, Thorazine...these are the older antipsychotics and are not widely used today.

WOW thanks everyone for the responses ... to answer a few questions ..

I have been bipolar all my life i have come to realize ,someone FINALLY caught it at age 44 . My main problem with Seroquel is of course the weight gain ... Since i have severe FIbromyalgia I cant just go work it off walking running or hitting the gym ... i also understand now that i certainly dont want to go on the old school drugs due to the risk of Tardive dyskinesia..

Im just so utterly frustrative with the side effects ie: weight gain ... I do need to go see my my primary doctor as i feel there is a good chance i could be diabetic and this would be from the seroquel as its a risk ..I was diabetic when pregnant with my daughter and i have the same feelings .

My Pdoc took me off seroquel after i gained 20 lbs in 4 weeeks due to risk of diabetes .. then within 2 weeks i had to go back on it since i hadnt slept in 5 days and was on the verge of a huge breakdown and another trip to the pysch ward .

Im just so insanely confused and pissed off about the side effects of medications .Yes like Most Bipolar people i want to just stop taking my medications ...BUT i know ill wind up suicial and back in the psych ward .. which isnt really a good idea since i have been there 3 times this year ... Dont want to be a frequent flyer LOL ....

I am proud of myself ,,despite all this stress and weight gain i havent cut in 5 weeks ,, i think of it all the time but so far i have been able to control it I use to cut if i felt i gained a lb and I honestly think it would help me ( sounds weird) but its a promise i made to my husband and so far i havent broke it .

Yes most of my medications are not very expensive ,, my pdoc keeps me in samples of seroquel as that would cost me almost 500 a month .. no way i can do that ,, even tho the rest are generic im not sure how much longer i can have access to them because my husband will be losing our health insurance within the next few months ,, so i worry about having to get off the xanax and halcion ... Benzois are not a good thing to just stop on your own .... the reason i take 2 halcion a xanax and seroquel at nite is becaue im unable to slow my brain down its always racing so the insomnia is Horrible .

thanks fro reading my rant ,,I know im not the only person in the same situation ... I just wish they could come up with a good medication that doesnt make you want to eat everything that doesnt move ...LOL

Wishing you all love and peace <3

Morethingswrong: I'm sorry you are having such bad side effects. I was diagnosed over 20 years ago with chronic depression and anxiety disorder and during that time I went through 53 different drug trials. Then they finally decided I was treatment resistant. One thing I learned is that just because we are given a certain drug doesn't mean we can't speak up and say just how horrible the side effects are - they usually outweigh the good effects. Not everyone tolerates seroquel well, and there are a lot of options out there. I ended up staying with the best cocktail that helped me and I'll be damned if I let any other Pdoc change my meds around without a very good reason. I'm just on maintenance and it's better than being a guinea pig for all the new drugs on the market. Sometimes Pdocs get all these samples and tend to give them out too easily. Sorry to vent, but it drives me crazy too.

Thanks Porcupine !

I think once I find a combo of medications that actually get me in a more stable condition I could sit and say " ok im gaining ridiculous weight BUT im feeling stable and coping with life and not up and down a hundred times a day" but im not even close so im ranting and raving about weight gain ... may not seem like a big deal to somepeople ( my husband thinks its fine if i gain weight) I have tried to explain to him how so many people have gained large amounts of weight only to add MORE health problems ontop of what they already have

I see threads about the hell of large weightgains on this site practically daily .. I personally think the doctors need to hand us a script for a mood stabilizer and then hand over one for a diet pill that will reverse the weight gain that seems impossible to avoid ...

Sorry i had to rant also

Wishing you peace and love

My doctor only gives Zyprexa (major weight gain culprit) as a last resort, but she said she also writes a script for metformin/Glucophage at the same time. It's awful what these meds do to us sometimes.

You know what, I think I am the only person on this planet who hasn't gained weight from Seroquel. I am on 800 mg at bedtime. I, too, have an eating disorder and Seroquel hasn't made me gain a lb. However, I really don't know if it has and I was just way too skinny and it has put weight on me.

I eat at night now right before bed so I am able to gain weight. I have gained much needed 5 lbs. and I am still thin.

I know a long time ago I was over 200 lbs. from being on Depakote, Zyprexa and other meds. like the tricyclic antidepressants. I felt awful about myself and wouldn't go near anyone because I had been always thin and I was embarrassed and disgusted with the weight gain. You are so right when you say that drs. put us on meds. that have this awful side effect and don't give a crap about how it makes us feel.

I used to be 123 lbs. and now I am 128 lbs., still thin, but at least I gained some weight.

Not being able to gain weight is as bad as gaining weight. I look at pics of myself that my husband takes and I erase them because my neck looks way too boney. My husband is finally saying that I am looking good because of the weight gain. I still want to gain 5 more lbs.

My pdoc even put me on Remeron to help me gain weight, but it sent me into such a dysphoric mania that I had to stop it. My pdoc comments on my weight every time I see her, but I just cannot gain the weight.

Talk to your pdoc about how the weight gain makes you feel. Maybe he/she will listen to you and do something about it. Every antipychotic has weight gain issues except for Abilify, but you cannot even take that. I also agree that you are on a way too low dose of Lamictal. Ask your pdoc to increase it and decrease the Seroquel. I am also a chronic pain patient so I know how difficult it is to exercise when in pain. It just cannot be done.

My heart goes out to you. It really does.

I am going to suggest something that maybe I shouldn't, but I was diagnosed with ADD about 6 months ago and I am on the highest dose of Concerta. Concerta has also been studied and it is now given out for BP depression. It makes you lose your appetite just like a diet pill. They even consider it a narcotic or a amphetamine so they keep your pills in the back of the pharmacy so nobody will get into it.

Look up Concerta and Depression, print it out, and give it to your pdoc. This will definitely help you with your appetite. You will not feel like eating.

Another med I am going to suggest is Topamax. I had to go off of it because it made me lose so much weight that my GP took me off of it and sent a note to my pdoc at the time.

Those 2 meds. would definitely help with the weight gain, especially the Concerta.

I want to wish you all the luck in the world.