[JonB]

For those who take mood stabilizers, I was wondering if you have any trouble with them blunting your emotions. I think I'm going to miss my highs. When you're taking the drugs, do you still get a range of emotions? I hoping it just takes away the extremes but will still allow me to feel good. How has it worked for those of you who have tried? Will I go crazy without my hypomania? I just love the energy and brilliant ideas, but I won't miss the irritability and crazy sleep schedule.

[Rhapsody]

For ME at first the medicine did seem to take away my emotions..... I had none, but as my body got used the medicine it began to balance its self out and them my emotions returned..... I am just a calmer person now and I do not allow every little thing to set me off.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

Mood stabilizers helped a lot, but I do feel they take away my creativity. I used to write a lot, get satisfaction from it, & accolades from other people in writing seminars, etc. Now I don't feel the urge to write & I miss it (my spelling ability has really gone downhill, too, as well as my ability to retain info.), but the depressions I had were awful so it's worth the tradeoff. When I'm "normal" on mood stabilizers I feel optimistic, hopeful, basically happy. I do, however, take Concerta & Provigil (stimulants) to counteract the excessive daytime sleepiness I had & I think they help me stay enthused & "up" without being manic. I recently had a long period of hypo mania despite being on stabilizers & I enjoyed it tremendously & didn't tell my doc, but I crashed really badly. She told me now if I even have 3 nights of not sleeping for more than 3-4 hours to call her & she will up the Trazadone she has prescribed for me to sleep or increase the Abilify or Lamictal.--Suzy

If you spend a good deal of time hypo manic (not full-blown mania) & can escape the deep depressions, I'd be reluctant to take stabilizers, as well. You have to consider the tradoffs & decide what is going to give you the best quality of life, with the fewest negatives.--Suzy

[darkeyes]

When your pdoc achieves the lowest therapeutic level for you, there should not be any bluntness.
Before Lamictal I had been tried on 2 other mood stabilizers, which were blunting, sometimes it's just a matter of which mood stabilizer is being used.
It is not just mood stabilizers that can cause the blunting, many AD's (especially the SSRI's) can cause blunting. Before I was ever prescribed any mood stabilizers, I was being treated for clinical depression (mis-diagnosed,like many are)I had been on almost every SSRI known, very little help if at all, for my depression.
I hate to sound like I'm some sort of salesperson for Lamictal (I'm not at all) but wish to share with others how good it is . . . well for me it has been.
My DX given to me 6yrs ago, was Bipolar-II(mild)and
ADD (mild) the Bipolar, having mild to very slight hypomania, Lamictal works well for staving off bipolar depression, and is not blunting.
The right med. and dosage will not take your creativity, in fact I've heard,read and experienced, if anything stabilization can be of help in the area of creativity, and organizational skills.
I guess it is all individual,I still want to urge people not to drop or deny themselves of mood stabilization/treatment, instead talk with your pdoc about options, any alternatives.
It's not a good idea to play pdoc with yourself,may even set back progress.
Just my opinion, which I have arrived at from real life experience,psychiatric journals/articles,observation of others with Bipolar and conversation with some psychologists, and several pdocs.
What has worked for me may not for another person and vice versa, it's a matter of keeping an open mind, and giving things a try.
I wish you luck and hope discussing this issue with your pdoc will be fruitfull.

[darkeyes]

It may be the Trazadone or Abilfy causing the tiredness.
Oh man, my pdoc had me try Trazdone (I think it also goes under Desyrel?) and it knocked me out and extreme morning headache, he said not to take it then, it was just a trial.
I gave the rest to almost full bottle to my one brother who uses it for sleep.
I take Concerta for my ADD, I only find it lightly stimulating, which is due to the time release formulation, Concerta is, no peaks and valleys, that is why my pdoc prefers this for Bipolar's with ADD.
I agree, one has to weigh on a scale, which means more, medication,type of,non-medication, many choices.
Plus, at the same time if being non medicated causes you to have problems,like mounting mania, or depression has returned, this can be dangerous if not fatal due to suicidal ideality.
Always best to take this up with your pdoc,being that everyone's situation(s) are individual.
It really is so nice to see we all can share and learn from our experiences.

I think it is the Abilify causing the daytime sleepiness (which I have been on for about 5 yrears now) cuz I was just put on Trazadone to help me sleep at night (sounds like a contradiction of terms but I need the stimulants during the day & had a long hypo manic episode recently that kept me from sleeping much at night). I do believe medication is important for bp. I just have read that some people have only hypo mania & it doesn't cause them trouble in their lives &, in fact, helps them to perform well at work & in life. Those people I wouldn't think would need or want to be medicated. I WISH I had that!--Suzy

[darkeyes]

I never had any problems that validates my DX, but maybe the hypomania, which I only experienced 3 known times in my life before being DXed and medicated, and more I learn I feel I may have been over DXed and do not really require any meds, on the other hand, it may have been thr depressive side of things that the pdoc felt a mood stabilizer was necessary. I had a former T and pdoc, that said it is possible for a "mildly" bipolar person with mild hypomania, to get by unmedicated, even develop ways of having control, but cases like that are rear or rare (not sure what one) professional evaluations when in doubt can help confirm this possiblity.
Heck, this is a hard one, for I feel almost every living thing goes through some cycling, biologically as well as mentally, and it would be unfair and over DXing if judged only by this.
I just think if a person requires a mood stabilizer they should use them, if they are not truly bipolar or so mild, nearly detectable, then let it be.
A person needs to sit down and give lots of thought of what is best for them while also being able to function and get along in the world around them. Very grey area, but great topic, and interesting opinions on this, I find here at this forum.
I've actually been told by my pdoc, that in time I may be able to be totally weaned of my MS, it's a low dose now, but hormonal/emotional stuff of this menopausal stage and care giver to a sickly, mom with dementia may make this not the time yet to come off meds. Oh well, I'll wait, for I do not find any negative things coming out of being on my meds.
We all have to go with what we feel comfortable with, as it helps us.
Take care,
DE

Sorry for my rambling, perhaps I am getting a little hypomanic, it wouldn't be so bad about now.

[RainbowFaerie]

Awesome posts, I am learning so much. The Trileptal is making me so tired. My dose went up last week to 300mg. The P-doc asked me did the Provigil really help with my tiredness and I said yes. (I am already supposed to be taking it for extreme MS fatigue but I hadn't been taking it regularly for at least three weeks because I felt like it made me get a short fuse...does that make sense?) I almost felt like she was wanting to take me off it. I am going to start taking it again because the sleepiness factor is off the charts right now. I am going to go back on it tomorrow.

This place is great.

RF

[darkeyes]

For the women visiting this forum, I do not know half the time it's my hormones or the fading of them, that is contributing to my ups and downs with fatigue, and since my thyroid is whacked out, I've been exhausted almost to tears.
All these additional factors often lead me to believe it is not all of our bipolar, and things are not "just all in our heads", most of our stuff is due to our hormonal structure too, and no mood stabilizer,etc. can totaly address this.
Something I think men will never understand.
Please note, I'm not saying this to start any male vs female stuff, so please, anyone thinking that's what my statements were about and are looking to go into some sort of debate(s), forget about it, that is not what this is all about.
Take care,ladies, and of course, the gentlemen that come to this forum.

It's common for some reason for people with bp to have thyroid problems, too. I do & my mother did, as well. So that is an added bonus to help keep you depressed until your level is brought up to normal.--Suzy

[Eleora]

I've found that if you start at a really low dose and work your way up slowly, that you reach a point where the extremes are gone but you still feel a "normal" range of emotions and feelings (ones that don't intefere with day-to-day life)

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
JonB said:
For those who take mood stabilizers, I was wondering if you have any trouble with them blunting your emotions. I think I'm going to miss my highs. When you're taking the drugs, do you still get a range of emotions? I hoping it just takes away the extremes but will still allow me to feel good. How has it worked for those of you who have tried? Will I go crazy without my hypomania? I just love the energy and brilliant ideas, but I won't miss the irritability and crazy sleep schedule.

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<font color="blue"> LINK: </font> http://www.psycheducation.org/depres...s.htm#symptoms

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[JonB]

Thanks for the replies everyone. After spending a week on Topamax though, I'm quitting it. I remember now why I hated all these drugs before. Total zombiehood. I know doc says stick with it and it goes away but I cannot live like this. I'm going back to my old ways which at least I'm used to and can live with. Not perfect, but I can deal with those imperfections a lot better than this crap. After all, they do continue to invent new and improved sleeping pills