I drooped it down from 200 to 100 mg. I'm attempting to get off it. I noticed tho that I am up and down quite a bit. My thoughts are fast and racing, my motivation is non exisistant, even tho I'm making big plans. I'm sort of all over the place, sex drive is through the roof. And tomorrow I made plans to go buy art supplies. I do need them buy I'm not sure I'm really thinking clearly.

Does Tegratol really help with mania? Would it be expected that this would happen? Mostly just feeling hypomanic at this point. Nothing to crazy, but I hope it wears off a bit. I guess I more expected that I would feel more down if anything. I'm not sure how long I should let this go before becoming concerned, and have to rethink this.

[moremi]

I have been hypo manic too. Also going off tegretol but a bit different than you. I am only taking every 3 or 4 days. Im down from 400 to 200 going to 100 tonight. I also have other things factoring in. I started abilify and with that and going off tegretol and the sunshine it pulled me out of that nasty depression and made me hypo. Its not out of control though, I actually slept a lot the night before last. I still feel really good not euphoric but good and energized.

I think you are really smart and in tune with your body and you will know when it starts to get out of control. You said you have some meds to take as needed if it should come to that right?

I think the tegretol really holds your mood down. It does mine, I can tell when I have and have not taken it. Im right with you on this, keep me posted on how you are doing and I will do the same.

[dragonfly2]

(((Anika)))

Yes, a relapse of manic symptoms would be a reasonable expectation when lowering the dosage of Tegretol. It is more of an antimanic than an antidepressant and has been shown to be better in maintenance therapy than in the treatment of acute mania. In one study, six out of seven patients relapsed into mania when their dosages were lowered. (I don't have the references handy but can get them if you'd like.)

Does your pdoc know you're trying to come off of it? Were you having some bad side effects? Please be careful.

[BuggsBunny]

Tegretol is a mood stabilizer, so it is natural that you would have manic/hypo episodes when the dose is lowered. Perhaps you are going too fast? Try going to 150 and see how that goes. (200 one day 100 the next), then try lowering it to 100. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a lot more art supplies than you need. (in which case, mail them here. We can use them for school.)

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by Anika

I drooped it down from 200 to 100 mg. I'm attempting to get off it. I noticed tho that I am up and down quite a bit. My thoughts are fast and racing, my motivation is non exisistant, even tho I'm making big plans. I'm sort of all over the place, sex drive is through the roof. And tomorrow I made plans to go buy art supplies. I do need them buy I'm not sure I'm really thinking clearly.

Does Tegratol really help with mania? Would it be expected that this would happen? Mostly just feeling hypomanic at this point. Nothing to crazy, but I hope it wears off a bit. I guess I more expected that I would feel more down if anything. I'm not sure how long I should let this go before becoming concerned, and have to rethink this.

Yes, tegretol can work on mania. It's not as good as lithium or most anti-psychotics, but it does work on mania, and it seems to work well for certain people.

I think maybe the drop from 200 to 100 was too big of a drop. I would got back to 150 and see if that helps.

What other meds are you on currently?

I'm still on lithium, and that's it. Lithium works "ok" for me. I have had several manic episodes per year while being on lithium. So it hasn't been extremely effective. I guess I was just expecting depression because I've been down a bit, and I have been really stressed.

Forgetting to take into account it's actually spring here, I haven't seen the sun until last week for months. I'll go back up to 150 and take it slower. I do not want to end up manic. I guess I just didn't expect to much upset in mood since every time I've come off anticonvulasants abruptly in the past I was ok.

Thanks for the replies, I don't want to get myself in over my head. I know for myself that can happen very quickly. I'll go back up a bit in dose and see what happens, hopefully it will mellow out. I have been sleeping still, so that part is ok.

Dragonfly, my pdoc knows I am coming off of it, but he did not consent to it either. Basically we discussed it and he was not in favor, I told him that I was still going to give it a try. What is happening is that I am having several health problems, related to my meds or not I'm not sure. I've been on lithium for about 6 years or so and my health has declined in that time.

What I want to do is try being med free at least for a little while and see how it goes. I know this is not so promoted, but it's something I feel I have to try for myself. I'm in a much different place than I have been mentally for a long time. I don't plan on going off the lithium for a long time, might even take another year who knows to get there. I'm ok with doing it really slow. I realized that if things go badly I will have to just go back to my meds, don't worry... I'm clear about that.

I'm trying to be cautious and very aware about how it's going so I don't wind up in trouble. I've kept up my yoga, mindfulness and meditation. My nutrition has actually been going really well. Although the last month it does seem that the more food I take in the more weight I loose. Seriously I don't know what that is about. I got myself to 95lbs and I was holding it nicely, when I started increasing my calories I dropped to just under 90. I want to at least stay at 95. Sorry that's off topic, just on my mind. My weight defiantly affects my mood, but I'm keeping an eye on it as well.

[bipolarmedstudent]

Anika, have you gone for a physical and had a full panel of bloodwork done? Lithium can mess with your thyroid and with your kidneys. And any time you have unexplained weight loss, that's a bad thing, and should get checked out by a doctor.

Go to your GP and ask for a full physical. You may need a referral to an internist to figure out what is wrong with you. But don't just attribute this to meds. You could have a serious underlying illness. Last time I was losing weight for no reason, turned out I had gallstones and pancreatitis. I ended up in the ICU, because it was so advanced when I found out. Don't delay in getting properly checked out by your doctor. When we are mentally ill, we tend to attribute everything either to our mental illness or to the meds we are on. But sometimes it's neither of those things, and it's a physical illness instead.

Anyway, at the least, you should have your kidneys and thyroid checked out since you say your health has declined since going on the lithium. Lithium can cause both kidney and thyroid failure. It's absolutely vital that you rule those two conditions out.

Thanks BipolarMedSrudent,
I get my kidney and liver function tested every three months with my lithium levels. I had my thyroid checked about 6 months ago. All was ok. I saw an internist ( gastrointestinal specialist) after a colonoscopy with abnormal cells he suspect I had chrones. I did the chrones diet but no luck, the internist then said he didn't think it was chrones. I don't have the symptoms of chrones either. I have been tested for celiac a number of times and have been tested for so many things I can even remember. There is definitely something going on physically. I don't think that's the meds. I also get what's looks similar to a butterfly rash on my nose and across the cheeks, joint pain ect ect.

The headaches tho that's what I think might be the lithium. The weight loss, well I have no idea. I have had anorexic behavior since I was five. They tell you it should make you gain weight even faster as your body is storing up because it's starving. I wonder if I've done damage over the years and just really messed up my metabolism, or my whole body. Honestly my dr's have went from osteoarthritis, to bursitis, to celiac, to ibs, to chrones and I've been left with no definitive answers. Honestly I am soo confused about it all.

[dragonfly2]

Originally Posted by Anika

I also get what's looks similar to a butterfly rash on my nose and across the cheeks, joint pain ect ect.

This is probably a silly question, but I have to ask...have you been tested for lupus?

No, not a silly question. I pretty much have most of the symptoms and I have sun " allergies". I get a rash that looks like small blisters, almost like chicken pox looking, when I am in the sun for a while. I was just told it's photosensitity. I have had ANA blood tests, normal results. I'm not sure if that would detect lupus or not. I think my dr thinks I'm a hypochondriac by this point. :/

[~Christina]

ANA testing showing the amount of imflammation in the body . Mine always comes back slightly above normal but no one seems to do anything about it.. ** sigh** Now that I have NO health insurance Im sure even if it was sky high nothing would be done.

[BuggsBunny]

Originally Posted by Anika

No, not a silly question. I pretty much have most of the symptoms and I have sun " allergies". I get a rash that looks like small blisters, almost like chicken pox looking, when I am in the sun for a while. I was just told it's photosensitity. I have had ANA blood tests, normal results. I'm not sure if that would detect lupus or not. I think my dr thinks I'm a hypochondriac by this point. :/

Yeah, but that butterfly rash... That's exactly what came to my mind. Isn't Lupus a diagnosis of exclusion, anyway?

I have no idea how it works. It worries me because my bf has an autoimmune disease and he always tells me he thinks I have lupus. His cousin had lupus, and there is a string of autoimmune diseases on his family.

Guess it's time to go back and bug my dr again. What frustrates me is that he knows I have mental Heath problems and he usually tries to casually subtley put it off to in my head. It's not in my head tho, I know that. I've been seeing dr's for the same problems since I was a child. I think I got to the point of just giving up last year after a string of tests showed nothing, and my dr just seemed to drop the ball.

You know what's worse, if it was lupus, lupus also causes mental health problems Including psychosis, which I have plenty of. I've never responded well to bipolar meds and it kinda freaks me out thinking I could have something else altogether all this time.

If I make another appointment with him I don't even know what to say. I've already tried the " could you please look at all mu symptoms together instead of separately" approach. I asked fir a referral twice to a rheumatoid specialist an he agreed, but nothing ever came of it. I swear I feel like the crazy patient, just calm her down in the office and hit ignore when she leaves.

I would just get a new dr, but I'm in a small place and no one is taking on new patients, a lot o people I know are using the walk in clinics instead.

[dragonfly2]

Most patients with lupus have a positive ANA test, but most patients with a positive ANA test do not have lupus. The ANA is a starting point - if it's positive, the doctor will then be interested in knowing how high the level is (titer) and what the staining pattern is of the cells on the slide. From there, there is a myriad of other tests that they run, but they typically begin with the ANA. But, like I said, there is a small percentage of people with lupus who may not test ANA positive for some reason. If it's been a while since you last had one done, it might be a good idea to be retested, especially if you're still getting that butterfly rash. I wouldn't waste any more time with your gp - if you can, I'd try again for that rheumatology referral. I'm sorry you've had to go through all this.

And I'm not sure whether or not lupus is a diagnosis of exclusion per se, but it is very difficult to diagnose and there aren't many tests that are very specific for it. It's like, "if test A is positive, then there's a 30% chance...if test B is positive, there's a 25% chance", etc, etc. But if you've got tests A, B, D and Q positive...well then you may be on to something.

Okay I looked up the testing. And thanks for all the info dragonfly. I have anemia also, and a few years ago my White blood cell count was very low. I'm not even sure when the last time mine blood count was checked, but I see that's something they test for with lupus.

I will go back and push for an appointment with the rheumatoid specialist, and ask for a complete blood work up too. I haven't had my iron checked in a long time either, but I'm feeling pretty fatigued lately. It would be really nice to have this all sorted out one way or another.