[bizi]

I have been thinking I needed a med change that my meds no longer are working for me.
I wonder if I could swap out geodon and lamictal for just plan old lithium?
maybe I could lose some weight????
or perhaps the side effects are too great...like the shakes(is that a side effect of lithium?) or killing my thyroid.
any opinions?
thanks
bizi

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Lithium can cause hand tremors but they can be controlled with propanolol.

The thryoid thing isn't a big deal. If it happens it just means one more pill per day and occasional blood draws. Nothing big. I haven't even had to change my dose since 2009.

[Coffeee]

I gained weight on lithium, losing it on Lamictal. Lithium made me sleepy and gave cognitive dulling.

[bizi]

geodon and lamictal are both weight neutral. I was able to keep my weight down with some dieting, I have been steadyly gaining weight this past year from drinking and eating poorly. This is why I think my meds are not working. I have been sneaking off to drink in the middle of the day...so not like me.
bizi

[BastetsMuse]

Originally Posted by bizi

I have been thinking I needed a med change that my meds no longer are working for me.
I wonder if I could swap out geodon and lamictal for just plan old lithium?
maybe I could lose some weight????
or perhaps the side effects are too great...like the shakes(is that a side effect of lithium?) or killing my thyroid.
any opinions?

I use Geodon and it didn't cause any weight gain. I do have a friend who has been on lithium for 20 years and he is thin as a rail without any shakes. Good luck.

[bizi]

In 1994 when I was first diagnosed, I was put on lithium. I did not like it. Don't remember why.
Maybe I did not want to effect my thyroid, or get the tremors..
These are still concerns of mine. Some one in my family has shakes so bad that she doesn't want to eat in public. Now I don't know that was from lithium or not, maybe an antipsychotic that she is taking???
I sent her a question regarding that very issue.
Right now I take geodon and lamictal both weight neutral meds....and I have gained weight this past year.
sigh
I think I am talking myself right out of trying lithium....
bizi
Maybe if I could stop drinking it will help me the most????

[Fuzzybear]

I'm med intolerant - I do think stopping drinking would help drop some weight (I've put on some weight both during the short time I could take seroquel, and probably since then by drinking more wine with my salmon

[bizi]

Getting amped up!
Well Jeff and I just got out a meeting with a financial advisor.
We have to change the way we are living.
We are in no way shape or form to be able to retire at the rate we are going.
Our goal retirement date is set at 2033.
We will both be eligible to retire at the age of 67.(though we will probably be working longer than that.)
That is 17 years away.
So we have time to make some corrections.
We are going to look at a budget which we have never done before.
It will be very interesting to see....
We both have retirement accounts but are not enough.
So we are getting a late start but at least we are talking about it!
bizi
I am all worked up over this....we make too much money to not have more in savings. It is a shame.

[bioChE]

Lithium gave me a feeling like I had gravel in my stomach. It hurt pretty badly. Supposedly it's a relatively rare side effect, and if you do make the change I hope it'll treat you well.

[chailatte16]

I have been on Lithium for 17 years. I haven't gained weight on it, though I have definitely gained weight from Zyprexa and Seroquel. My hand tremor is very mild. I do have thyroid problems, but one pill takes care of that.

[bizi]

I have heard that most people gain weight with zyprexa. I would consider going on seroquel at night.
bizi

[bizi]

What about abilify?
any one suggest this instead of geodon?
or maybe seroquel?
maybe these are two weight gainers, the web site seemed to say that.
bizi

[Gabyunbound]

I actually asked my pdoc once if I could do that --I figured it would be so much easier to get rid of everything else and just take the one med. But he said I'd always have to take an AP regardless of whether I were taking Lithium or not. And then if there's anxiety in the mix, as there is with me, there's something for that in addition as well.

As far as swapping out AP's I really like Abilify in that 1) It's helped a lot to stabilize me in combination with Seroquel and 2) I haven't noticed any side effects. I recommend Seroquel for its effectiveness for both depression and hypo/mania, but it's a big weight gainer and, and at least for me, it gives me a hangover in the mornings -the next day, really. But I've weighed the pros and cons (I relapse whenever I try to lower the dose) and have decided it's better that I take it.

Best of luck on this med journey!

[bizi]

Since abilify is both an antipsychotic and mood stabilizer that it could replace both my geodon and lamictal.
What do you think?
bizi

[Gabyunbound]

Is Abilify a mood stabilizer as well? I'm honestly not sure, never asked my pdoc about that, but I always assumed it was just an AP. If it's only an AP, though, then you would need a mood stabilizer as well, I would think. I take Lamictal as well as the Seroquel and Abilify (and Klonopin and Propanolol as needed for anxiety).

[Coffeee]

Yes, I also thought that abilify was only a AP. Consequently I also take it in conjunction with Lamictal as that is a mood stabilizer.

[bizi]

Is Abilify a mood STABILISER?

It can be used alone or with other medications (such as lithium or valproate) to treat episodes of mania as well as mixed episodes (in which mania and depression occur together). Abilify is an antipsychotic mood stabilizer which for most people, is not very sedating.

Abilify is sometimes used to treat people with MDD (albeit at smaller doses, such as 2mg or 5mg, according to my pdoc). It also happens to be an AP, which is why it's very useful for treating BP. So I would definitely say it's a mood stabilizer.

It's activating when you first take it, but I think you get used to it over time.

First night I took it, I couldn't sleep AT ALL and it gave me all sorts of eye problems. I felt wired and dizzy at the same time. Then after about 1 month on it, my body got used to it and I tried taking it at night. I felt fine and the eye issues went away after I started drinking more water and following the basic instructions.

I don't know about using it to *replace* Lamictal. I'm on both and I still got depressed. I had to up my Abilify dosage to get rid of the depression. *But* everyone is different. I'd say stay on Lamictal for maybe 3-6 months before titrating down if you're gonna do the Abilify.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Abilify gave me restless leg and bad anxiety at night. Lithium was just hell too. I'm finally stable on geodon and I love it. I'm on seroquel at night too and with dieting, I didn't gain until I was in IP. Grrr nothing to do in there but eat lol. What concerns me with you is the drinking. That alone can cause meds not to work properly so maybe try and cut it down a bit or altogether. PM me anytime if you need to talk. I know about drinking all to well.

[bizi]

Originally Posted by RxQueen875

Abilify gave me restless leg and bad anxiety at night. Lithium was just hell too. I'm finally stable on geodon and I love it. I'm on seroquel at night too and with dieting, I didn't gain until I was in IP. Grrr nothing to do in there but eat lol. What concerns me with you is the drinking. That alone can cause meds not to work properly so maybe try and cut it down a bit or altogether. PM me anytime if you need to talk. I know about drinking all to well.

thanks rx.
I know that drinking messes with my moods. today is day 3 AF and my weight is down, I have more self control.
taking it slowly day to day.
bizi