[Krova]

Hello all, I'm new to the site however not new to psych central. I viewed it in the past but never made an account. I am bipolar 2, severe- moderate generalized anxiety disorder, & clinical depression. I own a landscape & snow removal business.

I'm in Michigan and it's currently winter here and my bipolar depression is always much much worse during winter months. However, last year over the winter I didn't have this bad of lows.

To give a little rundown of the mental health side I've had bipolar since I was younger I think like 15 years old. Back in my adolescent years I was medicated hated feeling like a zombie from seroquel took it for 2 years and stopped abruptly (don't recommend).

I am 27 now and getting back on medicine is extremely difficult as I am very medicine sensitive. I went from 17 years old until now not medicated other than being prescribed anti anxiety medicine on and off for a few years. I self medicated with medical marijuana up until 2 months ago as that just made my panic attacks much worse out of the blue and helped all the way up until recent. Anxiety medicine doesn't provide much help anymore as it's only taken at night 0.5mg clonazapam.

I am in therapy once to twice a week with a psychologist who I've seen on and off since 2015. I finally have had enough of the rapid cycling to get into psychiatry again. Friday I'm doing that genesight test in hopes of finding a better regimen of medicine. Because I'm severely depressed not suicidal though.

I've already had one consult with psychiatry and they want me to try 20mg latuda however I've been really wishy washy with it because I hated how antipsychotics made felt in the past and with my anxiety made me Google the reviews so I'm now more skeptical of it.

It was stressful enough to just take the anxiety medicine since I worry about everything. I do have a rare diagnosed auto immune disorder that contributed to a lot of my health anxiety on top of the GAD. Hospitalization isn't an option right now for me as I have contracts with my snow removal that I have to fulfill or else I will get sued.

I apologize in advance for bouncing between everything and making a long first post. With the stress of the business, financial issues, the depression I definitely needed to seek help. It's just finding what is gonna work, the side effects I'm willing to handle, and not feel like a zombie.
I've read a lot on here and I'm a little more optimistic hearing success stories.

I'm tired of feeling demotivated, don't want to get out of bed, things with my business I need to work on and have no motivation to do. Having constant panic attacks regardless of taking my night time medication or not. I just want to be happy and smile again and get rid of feeling constantly pessimistic.

Thank you to those who read and reply!

[*Beth*]

Welcome, Krova! If you're looking for a medication specifically for anxiety, what about suggesting gabapentin to your prescriber? I have severe, vicious anxiety and gabapentin is helping me remarkably. Just a thought.

[Krova]

I will make a mention Friday. I'm wanting to get back on track for the anxiety, depression, and the mood shifts. Thank you for your response!

[Nammu]

If your looking for advice on latuda I strongly recommend it. I’m bipolar 1 and so is my daughter. We both take it pretty much as the only psych med. I also am on ambian for sleep. Because we are related latuda works for both of us and my anxiety is a thing of the past. I can’t say if it will work for you but it works for both of us. My daughter occasionally uses a benzo for short term but her lifestyle is much more stressful than mine. It seems to be a med that either works miracles or fails. It does take some time to get used to though.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I know how Michigan winters are and I'm sorry that you're stuck in one. I went to grad school at WMU and it was an adjustment from anywhere I'd lived before.

Have you ever tried a SAD lamp? They can trigger mania so I suggest one that lets you adjust the intensity and time but it does help me a lot when I have SAD winters (it varies for me). And at least it's not a med. (I have heard lots of good things about Latuda though although I didn't have a great experience with it.)

[Soupe du jour]

Welcome back, Krova! It's good that you are being proactive at trying to calm your depression and anxiety. I'm also glad you have a therapist for support.

I took 20 mg of Latuda in the past, but only that small dose and it was not my sole antipsychotic at the time. I don't recall any side effects from it, or at least nothing memorable. As others have written, it's known as a "friendly" antipsychotic, compared to others. I think it was originally an add-on to my medication cocktail because it eased some breakthrough depression. I then think it was eventually removed simply because it was no longer needed for me. But again, I was still on other medications...including Seroquel XR. Though I am a fan of Seroquel XR for myself, I could see it being very difficult for someone with unpredictable work hours. I doubt that issue will apply much with Latuda. It sounds like a potential good fit for you. I hope it is. It is possible you may need an increase in the future. I believe 20 mg is the lowest dose.

[MuddyBoots]

Latuda felt different for me from most antipsychotics. Most antipsychotics made me hungry and slow, not latuda at all. Wayyy different flavor. Try it out, if you don't like it you can always stop.

[Brentus]

Latuda was a wild ride for me. Like Nammu, if you tolerate it well it can be a great drug. Unfortunately for me, I felt GREAT on Latuda but there was a period about 3-4hrs after taking it that was pure hell. I just couldn't continue with it despite trying to offset it. It's a good antipsychotic drug for bipolar depression -- minimal to no weight gain and a generally favorable side effect profile.


Anxiety is a tough one to tackle but there are lots of options. Benzodiazepines are common, but there are other drugs that can really help with physical symptoms of anxiety as well. Propranolol(Inderal) is one I use that I find particularly helpful. Hydroxyzine(Vistaril) is one some have luck with. Buspirone(BuSpar) is specifically for GAD and I had some good come from taking it. The issue with that one is though it takes some time to take effect ( a few weeks) and works on serotonin so it can be a little tricky depending on some of your medicines. Gabapentin(Neurotin) was mentioned. It didn't do much for me, but I've heard good things about it as well. I know you're bipolar, so a SSRI or an antidepressant in general may not be something that they want to try -- but I've heard good things about escitalopram(Lexapro) and anxiety relief. Definitely let your doctor decide what route to take, but just know you have options and any good doctor won't rest until they find something to help you. I've given up hope so many times and I've been so lucky my doctor just refuses to let me suffer.

Hope this helps!

[Krova]

I was prescribed propranolol for a little bit. But since I'm a heavy smoker I can't really take the full 10mg dose without feeling breathless so to say. I think lately what's been beating me down the most is the depression and anxiety. I have an extreme fear of going back on antipsychotics, I haven't been on them since I was an adolescent.

My job doesn't help that sometimes in the middle of night I have to leave to do my job duties. I'm just extremely terrified of going on medicine. But I'm losing my mind staying in bed most days. Poor appetite, I'm usually a real social person but I haven't talked to my friends in a few days.

Doesn't feel like psychosis I have some symptoms but no hallucinations or delusions.

[FluffyDinosaur]

I've used Seroquel also, and I agree it's very inconvenient how it knocks you out and turns you into a zombie for a large part of the day. I used to take it around 8 PM and basically couldn't do anything until 10 AM the next day. Very inconvenient when you have a job and kids.

Seroquel is the most effective med for me when I have acute depression, but for the above reasons I only take it in emergency situations, when the depression is really severe. You can start and stop it relatively quickly, at least if you haven't been on it for too long. I've taken it up to a few weeks or months at a time.

For regular maintenance drugs, antipsychotics are not the only option. You can also try lithium, lamotrigine, and so on. There's also bupropion, which is an anti-depressant but can be used in combination with a mood stabilizer. It's also used to help quit smoking so that might be an added benefit if that's something you want. Just saying, using meds is definitely not ideal, but there are options that aren't as sedating as Seroquel.