[jesusplay]

I'm on

lamictal 200mg
seroquel XR 150mg
seroquel 25mg
zyprexa 5mg
(prozac 20mg for a 6 week period)
I'm depressed as ****. I've been on this mix for about 3 months.

for 3 months before I was on paxil

and 3 weeks after than I was on wellbutrin.

Anyone have any suggestions for a med? Should I ask for an anti depressant and which one?

I'm tired of feeling like poo.

[~Christina]

Sometimes people are on too many medicaions .. Your on Seroquel xr and regular and your on Zyprexa? plus an AD ?

Yes, if it was me I would want to take a look at why all the medications?

I see no reason why you cant bring up medications that you have looked into.. I have never had a problem asking for a specific medication.

[kaliope]

certainly after three months you should be seeing some improvement by now. there is nothing wrong with talking to pdoc about a change in your medications, letting him know you are dissastified with your current mix and you would like to try something different. I am on Geodon and Topamax for my bipolar and they are working great. wellbutrin worked great when I was depressed. but speak up, advocate for yourself. take care.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Yes, you can. I told my pdoc a few months ago that I wanted off Viibryd and that I wanted a different AD. She asked if I wanted to try something that I had already been on before or something else, I told her that Zoloft was the best for me, so that's what she prescribed.

[ultramar]

Is the Seroquel (not XR) and/or Zyprexa as needed or do you take all of that every day? Two different AP's sounds like a lot, unless you're having a lot of trouble warding off psychosis. But I'm just a laywoman, so big grain of salt.

When I first starting seeing my pdoc, I was still on Lexapro along with the Lamictal, from the pdoc I saw in another city. He consulted with the head of the Bipolar Program at the hospital where I work, and his take on AD's was 'never' for those with bipolar. I was taken off of it and it improved the agitation I felt at the time and did not bring back depression. But there are conflicting views when it comes to AD's and Bipolar.

Maybe you can talk to your pdoc about switching things around. You could try an AD from a class you haven't tried before, lower AP's, who knows what would help. Hopefully your pdoc can offer some good suggestions. Unfortunately, it's so often a matter of trial and error.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I for one don't think I would survive without an AD. Not only do they help keep me out of depression, I have pretty major OCD that gets completely out of control without meds!

[Andysmom]

My Pdoc is always open to discussing my meds it was my idea to try Lamictal based on what I had read here. She was fine with that.

[A Red Panda]

If I had a doctor that was going to ignore my input... I would go and find a new doctor.

The pdoc suggested lamictal so that saved any debate, as I had known that was the mood stabilizer I was willing to try and if he had suggested any others I would have said no.

But when I was first on zoloft from the GP, when I went back and told her how it had affected me... she wanted to prescribe me seroquel! I said no because she had ignored a few things that were important to me - I'd said I was not willing to take anything that had a major chance of weight gain. And my family has a history of diabetes and I read that you shouldn't really do seroquel with that. And even more importantly - she was going to put me on that JUST because I have sleep issues which were made a lot worse by the zoloft! So I said no, and that if she was willing to prescribe lamictal that I would try that. She wasn't, so off I went to the pdoc.

[Victoria'smom]

I went in first visit and current pdoc and told him I wanted back on wellbutrin. He laughed and told me no. Since then he's given me options and I have full control. You should feel comfortable with asking for what you feel you need.

[Trippin2.0]

You are on a shytload of "downers", no wonder you're depressed.

In answer to your Q, yes of course you can ask. Your pdoc is YOUR Service Provider. You pay him to render you a service, people tend to forget this and treat pdoc appointments more like going to the Principal's office.

[jesusplay]

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

You are on a shytload of "downers", no wonder you're depressed.

In answer to your Q, yes of course you can ask. Your pdoc is YOUR Service Provider. You pay him to render you a service, people tend to forget this and treat pdoc appointments more like going to the Principal's office.

What are good "uppers"

ADs?

[Trippin2.0]

Originally Posted by jesusplay

What are good "uppers"

ADs?

Yes an upper would be an AD. Idk which ones are good I was only ever on prozac while medicated and it was increased and decreased according to my needs.

Maybe start a poll on different AD's and see which one gets the most votes, that way you have clear data to base your request on.

[venusss]

Why are you on two APs though? Unless you are shitballs psychotic, it seems it's just knocking you down needlessly.

[choocha]

Hi. Yes you can ask your doc for a particular med. It shows that you have done your research and are taking a proactive role in your own recovery. If your doc has a problem with it, then he/she has a problem and it might be time for a new doc. They should be open-minded to any feedback and suggestions. They don't know what will and won't work for you. They are just guessing. My doc is great. We work together on my treatment plan. I quite often go in there with suggestions if I need to change meds. He loves it because it makes his job easier and shows that I'm committed to doing the right thing med-wise. He sometimes gets stuck for ideas because we have tried so many different things, so any help he appreciates. I talk to mainly american people on here and some of their meds have different names, so sometimes I will go in there asking for something I have heard of on here. He will then look it up, see if we get it and decide if it's suitable. He also knows I'm open-minded about trying brand new meds and trying different combinations, so this makes our choices much wider.
The Ad you take is pretty old school. Maybe you could try a newer one. Why are you on seroquel and zyprexa? I thought they both did the same thing. Weird. Two AD's which have worked well for me are Cymbalta and Effexor. They both took effect quickly and both had minimal side effects. They both worked well for approx 2 years, then just stopped working. I'm currently newly on Pristiq, which apparently is a more refined version of Effexor.
I hope I've been of some help. Good luck, take care and keep us posted on your progress and any other developments.
Just repeating, be assertive and proactive when it comes to your mental health and treatment. You are your own best advocate. You know you and what feels right. Don't be afraid to speak up. And anyone who makes you feel bad for speaking up is not the right person to have in your life.

[Lillyleaf]

My P-doc has always explained every single medication that is an option and told me the side effects and asked me my thoughts before deciding things. He decides the dosage on my own, but lets me make the final call and explains to me where we are going if that doesn't work. Increasing dose to what, what other med we will try, and so on.

He even tells me about the cost of the medication and how to get a cheeper by ordering it a slightly different way XD

[Lillyleaf]

AD: anti-depressants
AP: antipsychotics