[NolaMae]

Hi. I haven't posted for awhile, but I'm in the throes of bipolar mania. It's been getting worse and worse since January after I stopped taking Abilify due to severe sugar cravings and a substantial weight gain. Shortly after I stopped, I developed a severe case of tardive dyskinesia. It was hell. I was so afraid it was going to be permanent, but it did go away after awhile.

I have all the classic symptoms of mania - needing less sleep, racing thoughts, irritability, outbursts of anger, and uncontrollable spending sprees. I racked up over $12,000 in credit card debt in the last year. Luckily, I had more than enough in my Roth IRA to pay it off. All credit accounts are closed and I will never, ever have another one because I just can't control using them. It's cash only from now on. My husband was furious when he found all this out. I have never seen him so angry.

Anyway, I am rambling. I know I need something to help with the mania, but I will never, ever take another antipsychotic because of the TD risk. I don't ever want to go through that again. I see my psychiatrist a week from today and I know she's going to suggest lithium. I'm terrified by the constant blood tests, possible kidney and thyroid damage and weight gain. I have worked very, very hard over the past year to lose 78 pounds and I don't want to regain any of it back.

So, is anyone taking lithium? What has been your experience with it? Did you gain weight? Are there any horrible side effects?

Thank you for reading this long post. I'd appreciate any advice.

Lamictal 450 mg
Wellbutrin 150 mg
Klonopin 2 mg
Trazodone 100 mg

[still_crazy]

hi. im glad your td is gone now. ever tried trileptal? its "off label" for bipolar I. chemically, its a lot like tegretol, but far less toxic, fewer drug-drug interactions, minimal blood work.

i take a low dose of lamictal w/ trileptal. i think there's a wide dosage range...some people take 1800mgs/day. once you go past 1200 or so, adverse effects become more of an issue.

so...yeah. personally, trileptal has helped me a lot. maybe some gabapentin, too? or lyrica? looking over your drugs list, the 1st thing that came to mind would be to drop the wellbutrin and drop the trazodone, in case they might be contributing to an upswing into mania. but...im --not-- trying to tell you what to do.

there's an older tca drug used for sleep now and then...surmontil. its an antidepressant, but its sedating, calms people down. not for everyone, especially since its (very) toxic in OD, but...maybe that, or hydroxyzine, gabapentin, lyrica, etc. could help you get some sleep w/o triggering mood episodes. .just a thought.

[Northchild]

I was on lithium for around 4 years. 1500mg at first, then 1800mg. It seemed to clip the highest highs, but the side effects were discouraging. I was constantly thirsty and always had to per, I experienced frequent nausea and motion sickness, and I developed hypothyroidism. These all went away after discontinuing lithium in favor of an antipsychotic, which works much better for me.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I got toxicity and thyroid damage on lithium. Never again. My lamictal keeps me from full on mania and rapid cycling but I do get hypo now and then. Someone mentioned trileptal, that’s a good one too. Not all AP’s will give you TD. I’ve been on a lot of them and actually never gotten that. Maybe your dose was too high? All I know is that I need an AP or I’ll have a ticket to IP waiting for me.

Another thing you may want to consider is your Wellbutrin as it can sometimes cause mania. Im on it myself but when I tried it Years ago, it made me mixed. It was horrible. Hope you find something that works for you!!

[Guiness187055]

I just had toxicity from 1200mg I had to go down to 900mg. It does work great except for the excessive thirst.

[pirilin]

I was on lithium for 6 months. I was hypo. Felt nice. Bur my hands shaked too much and the doctor took me off it.
I was taking 600m and my blood serum was .4. Still terapeutic. Three blood tests in six months. Taken at night reduces the side effect. Eating with salt helps too.
A lot of water is important.
I was happy with it. Best medicine I've tried. But the shakes where too much for my doctor. I couldn't sign my name. Otherwise I'll still be happily on it.

[franz kafka]

I've been on lithium now for 2.5-ish years. I haven't gained weight because of it. I recently had a toxicity scare of sorts, but my side effects went away after lowering my dose. I'd recommend it if you're struggling with mania.

[~Christina]

I liked my kidneys ant thyroid to much to stay on it , once borderline toxicity, and all the hand tremors , enough was enough

There are many option to lithium

Invega
Geodon
Triliptal
Seroquil
Zyprexa

To name a few

[AspiringAuthor]

I really feel for you, because just one episode of ACUTE dyskinesia scared me greatly. Initially I thought it was tardive.

I also felt that I would not take another antipsychotic, but eventually it turned out to be an impossible task. So I am on Seroquel and it allows me to sleep well, which for me is a priceless beneficial effect. My med combo is in flux, but I know that Seroquel for sleep is probably a lifelong med for me, unless they invent something better.

Your signature with meds leaves me speechless. Any bipolar person who is taking a very, very high dose of activating Lamictal, of Wellbutrin - an AD likely to cause mania, and Trazodone, which is still an AD even though you are taking a soporific dose, would have manic symptoms.

Why are you taking so many activating medicines?

Lamictal 450 mg
Wellbutrin 150 mg
Klonopin 2 mg
Trazodone 100 mg

[AspiringAuthor]

Lithium: in the end, it did not do too much and I had severe breakthrough symptoms, so given the permanent damage to thyroid, the acne on my heretofore flawless skin, and eventual warning signs from my kidneys that resulted in my stopping Lithium, it was not worthwhile to take it over many years.

Also, damage to teeth enamel.

[NolaMae]

AspiringAuthor, I didn't realize all the drugs I'm on could be causing my mania. I tend to have depressive episodes more than mania, which is why she has me on this combo. I use Trazodone to help me sleep. I know that both Trazodone and Wellbutrin are antidepressants, but I've been on them so long, I didn't dream they might be causing the problem. I've been on Lamictal since I was diagnosed in 2004. It seems to help with depression, but does nothing for mania. I've heard that higher doses of Lamictal (I'm on 450 mg every day) can actually trigger a manic episode? I'm going to be asking my doctor a lot of questions when I go on Tuesday. I may be manic, but I never want to suffer through those horrible episodes of depression which are so debilitating. Sometimes I think I'm never going to find the right combo for me (I have been on so many, and still have breakthrough episodes). Am I doomed to live like this the rest of my life? I feel so hopeless sometimes.

[99fairies]

Zyprexa takes care of my mania within about 3 days.

[still_crazy]

hi. me again. lamictal usually becomes more calming/tranquilizing at higher doses. low doses are used to boost antidepressants, higher doses are more common in people with bipolar i, lots of agitation, etc.

wellbutrin is a more stimulating drug for depression. it has its pros and cons, one 'pro' being it seems to cause fewer 'switches' into (hypo)mania than, say, prozac or the tca drugs. but that's looking at large groups of people. individual results vary, of course.

TD can be a major problem. people w/ bipolar I are more prone to both acute eps and td, over the long haul. maybe a sedating, low(er) potency tranquilizer? seroquel/seroquel xr comes to mind. zyprexa has a low td rate. there's symbyax, which is just zyprexa and prozac (together at last...), in a number of different dosages.

since you're on klonopin already, maybe ask about a switch to a more sedating benzodiazepine? 2mgs/klonopin=(roughly...) 40mgs/valium. Valium acts faster than Klonopin, has a long half-life, is more sedating, and I think also has more pronounced muscle relaxant (spelling?) properties. ativan is also commonly used in psychosis, agitation, (hypo)mania, etc. one problem w/ klonopin over the long haul is the potential for drug-induced depression.

im stuck on an 'atypical' tranquilizer, myself. im prone to eps and scared of td. i take tons of high dose antioxidants, b-vitamins, etc. w/ the tranquilzier. i now tolerate the abilify w/o eps, my anxiety is much better, and i do not have td, akathisia, stiff gait, any of that stuff. if you're interested in that sort of thing, here's a link to a website w/ free information : DoctorYourself.com: Andrew Saul's Natural Health Website

hope this helps.