[Road_to_recovery]

I'm at the brink of what I can take, I have no one to talk to. I recently started birth control to help with horrible pms, I wonder if this is causing my terrible mental state. My husband wants me to wait until February to see if my mood stabilizes, but I made an appointment with my doctor for Thursday because my moods are at the point that I'm scaring myself. I spend so much of my day yelling at my children who don't deserve such a pathetic mom. I'm angry and wired and depressed. I can barely function to make sure they're eating.

I'm afraid and I have no one to talk to that truly understands. I need to be in therapy but I can't even get myself together enough for that. I don't know what to tell my doctor. He doesn't want to prescribe antidepressants because of the likelihood to induce a manic state but I so desperate to get out of this darkness. It feels like I'm being suffocated by the darkness.

I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish with this rant! Waiting for my xanax to kick in to hopefully get a couple hours of sleep.

Diagnosed Bipolar 1
Lamotrigine 200mg
Gabapentin 1500mg
Xanax. 1-2 mg as needed

[Theresa1991]

I am sorry you're struggling. I think it is always a good idea to get an earlier appointment with the doctor. I know what it means to have noone who really understands. Hang in there, it will pass. And here surely most of us will understand.

[Lost_in_the_woods]

Get off the birth control! If your concerned about getting pregnant..and your in a committed monogamous marriage..
Look into and IUD or if you are sure you do not want anymore kids..tubal ligation or tell your husband you would like for him to get a vasectomy bc it's far less invasive than getting your tubes tied. As far as the pms goes...there are other meds that can help...ask your dr for other options

[Ripose]

I had irritability and anger issues until my Lamotrigine was raised to 300. Upping the dose from 200 helped me dramatically. Perhaps ask your pdoc about this.

[Road_to_recovery]

My husband had a vasectomy. The birth control is for out of control pms to the point that I can't function between mood swings and nausea. Baby number 2 came despite an iud. I thought birth control would help because my pms and periods are so bad.

Will talk to doctor about upping lamotrogine. I'm afraid of myself at this point. My mom took the kids for a few hours so I need to just try to decompress.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Birth control was completely awful for me too. Just the tiny amount of hormones in the Mirena IUD made me horribly suicidal and the pill was bad too. I go to a big hospital and they'd never had someone react to the Mirena like I did. But once it was out and I immediately improved my pdoc and gyn talked and found 2 more cases within a few weeks.

It's worth a try. There are other meds that can help with PMS; I'm thinking Paxil although I think it has another name for PMDD. I'm sure there are others; I'm menopausal so don't keep up with that stuff. But hormones, natural and added, were truly some of the worst destabilizers I have encountered.