[stahrgeyzer]

I see people posting about them, Seroquel, Epilim, etc., but I've never taken them and would love to know. Do they really take away mania? Do they make you feel numb and good?

[Nola0250]

I’m on lamictal, Wellbutrin and Latuda. They take away mania for me and make me feel solid, calm and grounded. I have some minor side effects I’m willing to accept.

[TheSeaCat]

It really depends. Seroquel for me has been like a godsent. It has taken away both my Hypomania and horrible depression. I don't think it makes me numb, it has made me a stable. Obviously it has come with side effects and I have to be on medication to combat the side effects; but after being on ten different meds for various things its nice to have something that works.

[Wild Coyote]

Meds seem to help me to be less agitated and more grounded.


WC

[Pookyl]

Yes my meds generally speaking remove my mania although I do get breakthrough episodes. This doesn’t bother me because I don’t enjoy being ultra manic. I think the meds also remove the worst of my low moods.
I’ve been on meds since being diagnosed 4yrs ago and I’ve never felt numb.

What I experience with lithium is my thinking is much easier and clearer. The mania symptoms almost completely disappear. I don’t think I could maintain employment without lithium.

There is no relaxing or numbing effect though. My anxiety is still there. I feel like me, just I can process information normally now and don’t become delusional. I never really felt like I had a “mood” issue, the way you think of excessive highs and lows. I experienced it more as an energy issue — and the lithium prevents me from burning out my motor by getting stuck in some ultra-high activation mode.

The experience with meds has varied for me. Sometimes the experience is uncomfortable in the beginning, but when I've adjusted to it that uncomfortable feeling has disappeared. Sometimes there's no discomfort. Sometimes it's great in the early days/years and then only later side effects start. As for effectiveness, I've had to be patient trying to find the right mix. Patience is a word I hated in my youth, but respect now.

I don't feel numb on my current mix and my side effects are very minimal to the point of almost insignificance. It may take a while for some people to grieve the loss of hypomania/mania, but I can say that as great as some of that felt in the past, I've learned to appreciate stability more. Being grounded and in control? Beautiful! And having relief from the seemingly more negative aspects of the disorder? Such a relief!

Meds are not always perfect at preventing breakthrough episodes. Adjustments are often necessary. But for me, a medicated situation is far better than an unmedicated one. Far better! With medications I must also avoid excess stress, use coping skills, and healthy life practices. Most people can't expect medications to do 100% of the work. Most people who reject medications truly cannot have adequate relief from bipolar symptoms with these "extras" alone.

[Blueberrybook]

Seroquel does great for me. It stems the mania and gets me to sleep at night. It has not changed my eating habits, and I still have energy through out the day. Not a ton of energy, and especially not when depressed, but I can exercise on it.

Wellbutrin tends to make me forgetful. I see the pdoc tomorrow and am going to ask him if I can take a different anti-depressant.

Klonopin helps with anxiety thous not enough; I still get panic attacks pretty regularly.

No sex drive on these meds, except the Adderall.

Meds only help so much, but I do think I would be much worse without them. Everyone tend to have different reactions to the same medications, especially if you are on a medication mix. It is hard to know how you react until you take the med/meds.

[Gabyunbound]

It completely depends on the med and the reactions to the meds each person has. Every medication is different, every person is different.

The worst (and best) med I've been on is Seroquel. It was so sedating, I was falling asleep at work. It was horrible. I was also in a total brain fog and couldn't do much of anything right. It gave me such a hangover, that I needed an enormous amount of sleep to function. 'The best' part is that it got me out of a full-blown manic episode. It's just unfortunate that, after I got out of that, it was used as a preventative medication, to be taken daily, regardless of symptoms. I don't think Seroquel should be used to prevent episodes, I think it should be used to get people out of mania, and then tapered off, once it's safe.

I currently take Lamictal, which I've been taking for more than a decade. It's helped immensely with depression, and I've never felt any side effects.

I also take Abilify to prevent hypo/mania (Lamictal has only helped with depression for me). I initially had side effects, especially getting very dizzy when standing up, and it took nearly a year for that to go away. What never went away was the shaking of my hands (it has a name, I always forget it). For that I take 2 propranolol every day. I've been relatively stable for 2.5 years now.

More recently, a low dose of Zoloft was added. It was added for situational depression and I think I should probably get off of it, because the situation -and the depression-have passed.

I'm also on klonopin for anxiety and sleep. I take it in the morning for anxiety (with A LOT of coffee) and in the evenings to help me sleep. Most of the time it helps me sleep; when it occasionally doesn't I take Zzzquil, which my pdoc doesn't like.

[pacman_789]

I have kind of a follow-up related to the original question. I just started taking Lamictal last week. Was there an adjustment period for most of you when you first started taking it? I can tell it has helped with the mania I experienced when taking Zoloft alone, but I don't feel quite as excited as I used to be about things. Also, I'm having a little bit of difficulty being motivated at work, whereas when I was just taking zoloft, I was self-motivated and could easily find a new project to work on when things were slow.

Thanks,

Andrew

[Phoenix_1]

I take Lamactil, Seroquel XR plus 2x 50 mg quetiapine (generic seroquel), clonazepam (klonopin), buspar, wellbutrin, and drugs for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and asthma. Most of the time I feel nothing. My brain is mush and I'm very clumsy. I've talked to my Pdoc about going off all these pills, but the only one he'll reduce and eliminate is clonazepam. I need that med or my anxiety is awful. I'm sure my liver is in bad shape from metabolizing all these drugs. I feel I'm being drugged to death and the side effects really suck. I'd get a new Pdoc but they're in very short supply here.

[Phoenix_1]

Originally Posted by pacman_789

I have kind of a follow-up related to the original question. I just started taking Lamictal last week. Was there an adjustment period for most of you when you first started taking it? I can tell it has helped with the mania I experienced when taking Zoloft alone, but I don't feel quite as excited as I used to be about things. Also, I'm having a little bit of difficulty being motivated at work, whereas when I was just taking zoloft, I was self-motivated and could easily find a new project to work on when things were slow.

Thanks,

Andrew

I started taking lamictal in August 2013. I was manic with mixed states and a total mess. It took a while to work, but it works well. By February I was much better. It took me out of the darkness. It took a while to work for me, but everyone is different and reacts differently to each drug. Hope it helps you feel better soon.

(((Hugs)))

[Phoenix_1]

I also take over the counter meds to help me sleep. It's just once in awhile, not every day. Zzzquil contains the same active ingredient as Benadryl. Sometimes I take Benadryl or a low dose of Gravol. Perhaps they interact with my psych meds but I've been taking benadryl to sleep for several years and I'm still here. I haven't told my Pdoc and don't intend to. He'd have a fit and I'd get a big lecture, which always makes me cry.

[SorryShaped]

I'm on Prozac, Seroquel, and tegretol ER for bipolar, and levothyroxine for thyroid. They all treat imbalances in my body in different ways. I prefer how I feel on meds many times over how I felt before them. It's a much more self-controlled me. Not being in control is scary to me. I know something currently needs to be tweaked and I have an appointment next week. I'm not out of control, but seasonal changes always affect me.

[BastetsMuse]

Originally Posted by stahrgeyzer

I see people posting about them, Seroquel, Epilim, etc., but I've never taken them and would love to know. Do they really take away mania? Do they make you feel numb and good?

I take Geodon and Trintellix. They make me feel as close to NORMAL as possible. My mood swings aren't epic anymore, and I can make plans to do things with friends. I don't spend huge amounts of money anymore.

So....if your drugs make you feel numb, I think you'd be overmedicated.

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by pacman_789

I have kind of a follow-up related to the original question. I just started taking Lamictal last week. Was there an adjustment period for most of you when you first started taking it? I can tell it has helped with the mania I experienced when taking Zoloft alone, but I don't feel quite as excited as I used to be about things. Also, I'm having a little bit of difficulty being motivated at work, whereas when I was just taking zoloft, I was self-motivated and could easily find a new project to work on when things were slow.

Thanks,

Andrew

I fon’t recall an adjustment period, but I started taking it around 8 years ago, something like that. I don’t recall noticing anything when the dose was increased either.

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by BastetsMuse

I take Geodon and Trintellix. They make me feel as close to NORMAL as possible. My mood swings aren't epic anymore, and I can make plans to do things with friends. I don't spend huge amounts of money anymore.

So....if your drugs make you feel numb, I think you'd be overmedicated.

The numb feelings a a real thing on a lot of meds. I especially had them on SSRIs, but everyone is different. Not happy, not sad, just present. But better than being in the hospital or horribly depressed. I wish I had brought this to my pdoc’s attention long before I did as then the pdoc adjusted meds so I was the least numb possible; I suspect stress caused me to sometimes be numb despite a meds adjustment. Though there were times when just being numb to things got me through the everyday. It’s a terrible balancing act.

[~Christina]

I have been on so many it’s not funny , different combos .. some better than others.

The goal is to find a good medication(s) that offer help with the least amount of unwanted side effects.

Personally the meds I refuse to take are the ones notorious for weight gain and any meds that I have to take another medication just so I can tolerate the other med !

It’s all a balancing act for sure

[SorryShaped]

Every med I've ever been on required an adjustment period for me. I include waiting for it to build up in my system in this timeframe. It's just that way.

[venusss]

I find bit worrisome you consider being numb an equivalent of feeling good.