SAw my Pdoc today .....

Well I saw my Pdoc today and we discussed my current medications because im flipping out over the damn weight gain..25 lbs Or maybe more.... I havent weighed myself in a few weeks because my T was on vacation and i didnt need to flip out with him on vacation and unavailable
((((

Current meds:
Seroquel 300 mg at bedtime
Halcion .5mg at bedtime
Xanax 1mg twice a day
Lamictal 150mg a day
Neurontin 300mg as needed
Flexril 10mg as needed
Loratab 7.5 as needed

SO we talked about the side effects and right now he feels that since right now even tho I rapid cycle every damn day Im no longer feeling suicidal daily .. So OK I can almost deal with the fact I really do need these meds daily.. I tried doing seroquel every other day ,, EPIC FAIL ! Shocking to me how fast I felt so horrible mentally with skipping one pill and the total lack of sleep...

So for now Im gonna have to suck it up and just take the Damn Seroquel and deal with the weight gain... And go thru the internal arguement in my head every damn nite before I take the bloody pill.

The Pdoc said hes not going to allow me to gain tooooo much( we didnt agree on a #) but he feels for right now " I really need to focus on even tho I personally dont feel stable...He said I am much more stable than when I first met him back in march. He said this is all very common for a newly diagnosed Bipolar person to have to adjust and move around medications to find a good mix .

Ill just try and NOT eat that tub of frozen chocolate fudge cake frosting i have in the freezer ... Ugh !!!!

Ps : if you havent guessed yet ...I have a Love /Hate relationship with damn Seroquel

I just started Zyprexa so I hear you. I need to plan and buy healthy snacks to take with me since I am more hungry now.

Throw away the frosting - get temptation out of your path! I can't keep anything like that around my house because if I get stressed, it's too tempting to dig in.

I'm on Seroquel and it's been increased 100mg recently, so now taking 400mg at bedtime. I hear you on the weight gain and cravings- I'm currently eating my 7th chips ahoy cookie as I type!

However, there is hope, prior to this med increase I had been stable on the same dose of seroquel for over a year and stopped becoming starving for carbs. I decided to calorie count and exercise 3 times per week, then lost the 25 lbs I had originally gained. I have now put back on 7-8 lbs do to this med increase however, I feel for me personally that this will be temporary (even if it takes months) and hopefully will be able to get back on track. I definitely will be exercising again soon and hopefully this will help curb the cravings.

It stinks, but being stable is much more important then being skinny.

Thanks everyone

Lots of good ideas really ..

Personally im not able to work out like i use to ( was a gym rat 6 days a week)
Fibromyalgia came roaring into my life a year ago in may so somedays even walking to the mailbox is impossible ..

I have a feeling im going to have to go off Seroquel just because if the weight gain continues it will cause other health problems..

I honestly do watch what i eat the tub of frosting was way back the second week i was on the damn medication ...
Even watching what i eat (insanely so) i still gain ,,,so Pdoc thinks im one of the lucky ones that got a metabolic issue from the damn stuff ,,,

THanks everyone

Wishing you all love and peace and a donut with NO calories LOL

Hi morethingswrong,
My sis has fibro it's not easy, I know she tells me everything about it. Could you do low impact exercise like yoga?... Just a thought.

I tried switching from Seroquel and the other drugs like geodon didn't do anything for my BP. So, I'm stuck with seroquel unfortunately. Hopefully, you'll be more successful.
Good Luck

Dijmart ..

Yes I do Yoga .. Sometimes it helps my fibro pain sometimes it flares it up all to hell .. Im still trying to learn how to pace myself ... Soooo hard for me to do and now dealing with finally getting treatment for bipolar and the gawd awful side effects of the medications (((

I also found out today we are losing our health insurance the end of the month .. we cant afford to pay almost 600.00 to cobra act it... my husband was hurt at work had surgerys had to get a lawyer when they refused to accommdate for his injuries so hes been out on disability since Feb .. Im flipping out because of where i go for therapy cant help me with one of there safety net programs i will have no choice to go off my meds and sleep meds everything actually and im scared to death for myself to be honest ... when i dont sleep and get no relief from pain i wind up in the psych ward for suicidal thoughts ,,

Ugh Im flipping out ,, I see my T tomorrow ... hopefully i can get some good news ..

Hubby keeps telling me to calm down and relax ,, he doesnt understand how bad things will get ...... for months he had no idea how bad i was as him and i werent talking at all.... he thought i was being lazy ... he now understands im not and i have 2 major illnesses that affect my daily life ...

well this happening will probably cause me to go off Seroquel even tho its the only thing that has actually helped .. Im so afraid of going back to that big black insane mess ...

Thanks for reading my whine/despair/rant.

Wishing you some peace <3

I'm sorry about losing your insurance. That has to be very stressful!

PC offers an 80% off of your meds program. Hopefully with that you will still be able to afford your meds.

morethingswrong! That is very stressful. I've been in similar boat and frame of mind and it is hard not to flip out over(!) (I got a Cobra letter like that once (from ex's insurance), double that amount, laughed sardonically and threw it in the garbage, as what they were asking was more than what I usually make, nevermind being unemployed at the time...) Worked out eventually though, w/o going off meds. I hope your T (and PC) can help you get some good ideas -- they can be very hard to see in such a state. But there are some. Please keep us posted in working through this, ok?

In my state, every county offers mental health services to people who don't have insurance and have low income. Payment would be rated on a sliding scale. If you also have this you may have to switch Pdoc and tdoc, but at least you could still receive services. Just a thought.

Please check out this website:

http://tennessee.healthcharities.org...ion-Assistance

This organization has access to hundreds of prescription assistance programs you may qualify for, especially with most of your meds being available in generics. Also, look into your state Medicaid/food stamp/Federal assistance programs here:

https://fabenefits.dhs.tn.gov/vip/we...ename=homepage

Don't just rely on the online screening test. There is a link in the middle of the page to a list of phone numbers for your specific county.

Tap into any resources you may have available to you. Fuel assistance, property tax abatement, anything and everything.

Thanks everyone ~

I just got home from my seeing my Therapist .. I dont qualify for there " safety net" program because with my husbands disability payments goes over the limit .. My Therapist knew I was ready to flip out so most of our session (1 full hour) he assured me we will find a way to keep me on my medications and he even said he would continue to see me pro bono!!!! I would feel so weird if he did see me for free ...But he assured me that I am no where near being close to stable ...

Of course I cried again .. Seems every visit i wind up in tears today i was crying because this man is going to do whatever he can to keep me on meds and being able to see him .. Im having a lots of problems with hearing voices and seeing things that arent there ,,, for now I KNOW they are not real ,,,but im so scared im going to wake up one day and not be able to convince myself its not real ..He said if they continue we are going to have to see about another medication to add to stop the hallucinations ....

theres my life right now in a nutshell .

Wishing you all Peace and Love ~

Hello - I was just wondering about the fibromyalgia. I'm going to go see a specialist but now am not sure if I am just having aches and pains with the depression and BP. I have most of the symptoms of fibro but the flare-ups come and go. It's sad, but I almost hope for a bad day when I see the doc so he will take me seriously. Knee pain, shoulders, neck, upper arms and never feeling rested no matter how much I sleep. Do you have flare-ups and then some days that are more tolerable? Any info you can share would be so appreciated.

Oh wow, what a lot you have on your plate right now. Thank God that you have such a good and supportive therapist.

I recently tried to reduce seroquel, and was also really terrified by how bad I got, and how quickly. Like you I have a love hate relationship. I'd be petrified if I thought I'd have to quit cold turkey... I'm even nervous about reducing by fifty!