Bipolar Check-in #79

Spent 4 hours in a car round trip to pee in a cup that took no more than 3 minutes. Least it's done. I got on a roll today and got an appointment with my PCP in order to get some general meds filled (migraine meds, prilosec, etc). I'm gonna get all this stuff taken care of and get this year going well. Also, prior authorization issues were resolved.

I called my pdoc just now and pretty much demanded to go back on my lamictal. I am going out of my mind with these mood swings and anger outbursts. Plus I'm pretty sure my nausea and heartburn and other stomach stuff are related since they started when I went off it. His nurse called and was like "yeah no sorry he wont do anything until your appointment in April and he doesnt have anything sooner" And I was like eff it and I went and got out my entire bottle of 25mils I thankfully didn't throw away and took 50mil. I'm putting myself back on it before I end up IP. I know its not right, but I don't think what he did was right either. I was on that for almost 10 years. I know its just a placebo effect but I feel better now.

Theres this other pdoc in the area I might look into. I've been told by my last therapist that he's pretty good and will listen to you.

I think zofran makes things worse. I remember going off it for some reason and then feeling a lot better. Like it did the opposite. I'm a bit low on valium too so I've had to adjust my dose a bit on that.

Definitely look into the other pdoc. You really got screwed over by being told to stop two medications cold turkey at the same time. No good psychiatrist would do that unless it was an emergency in an inpatient setting.

A week off meds bc jail

to resume tomorrow! first pdoc appointment! hope she's not an asshat.

Idk what meds to ask for. First gens out. Lithium depakote and tegretol out. Benzos out. She’s gonna be like “what WILL you take?” and I won’t have an answer.

How do you tell hypomania from regular emotional dysregulation? Definitely always have difficulty with impulsivity and being crazy as a baseline.

@Mountaindewed

Good! Your pdoc sounds like a jerk. Definitely look into the other pdoc in your area and make an appointment ASAP.

It could be a bug but I will say that this is exactly how Wellbutrin was for me. I could only eat mashed potatoes and chicken noodle soup and I was sick all the time. I had to go off it. It was only the 2nd AD I tried (before I was diagnosed with BP) and it was not a good experience.


I don't know how you sort out Wellbtutrin from Lamictal though. If you are putting yourself on lamictal be sure to follow the titration schedule so you don't get the rash.

And I agree a new pdoc may be a good idea.

I started at 50mil instead of 25mil. I hope I don't have an issue.

Can you break them in half? I don't remember if they are time release or tiny or anything about them other than I would do anything to avoid that rash.

Yeah I have 25s I just didn't know you had to go up so slowly.

Yeah. It's annoying. I was in a clinical trial for it and it was blind so I had to go up that slowly once without knowing if I was getting the real med (I am pretty sure I wasn't since I had no response), then taper down, then taper back up again on a known med (that time I had a response). It was really tough. Then I went off it after a year or two and back on it out of desperation 5 years later. That time I got up to the full dose, had a great week and got the rash. So I know how frustrating it is but I promise you don't want the rash. Do you have enough to last until you see your pdoc or another (which may take a bit to get in if pdocs are scace)?

I think I have enough.

this is the schedule I found: (scroll way down)




















Weeks 1-2: 25 mg/d; Weeks 3-4: 50 mg/d; Week 5: 100 mg/d. Target dose: 150-250 mg/d. Slower titration is recommended for children under age 16: Weeks 1-2: 0.3 mg/kg/d; Weeks 3-4: 0.6 mg/kg/d; Weeks 5 and onward: increase the daily dose by 0.6 mg/kg every 1 to 2 weeks.

I've been obsessed about finding the best, cost effective food for my sdit. She has developed skin issues. She eats about 60 lbs of food a month and I don't have hundreds to feed her a month for a limited diet. She still has lots of training to do that needs to be paid for. I'm not going to feed two dogs different food. So I need one for both. I had a plan until I learned cod is expensive. Now I'm trying to find something else. I'm so stressed to get everything together in time. I know it'll be okay but the expectations of my parents are getting to me. This has to go right. My other dog is almost 14. We're talking about another dog after my 14 yr old dog passes for Victoria. My 14 yr old dog is in good health though besides arthritis and hip dysplasia. so hopefully she'll live another 100 years.

@Mountaindewed

This is just my personal experience with Lamictal... I'm admittedly not very responsible and was so desperate to feel better after my daughter was born (can't be on Lamictal when you're pregnant) that my titration up period lasted about three days and I was back to 200mg. No rash. This time I was off it for two weeks and just went back on my regular dose of 200mg. No rash.

Not recommending you do this of course because, again, I'm not very responsible, but it was just my experience with Lamictal and rashes (or lack of rashes rather).

md,

I am glad you saved your medicine. Unless you are a suicide risk, it is better to keep old medicines for situations like that. Medications are good for years past their official expiry date.

By the way, I hope you did not mean "throw away" literally. You know not to throw away meds, don't you? They should be taken to a pharmacy for safe disposal. Not every pharmacy will accept unneeded meds. You need to ask around. I take mine to thr pharmacy in the basement of a large medical clinic. They have this special metal box, similar to a USPS mailbox, to receive unneeded meds bottles.

Injectables are a different story. There are more rules about disposing of injectables and used needles.

Well, that leaves you with the full array of second gens, doesn't? I also am "out" for all of thr ones you listed, but we still have options.

My turn to not sleep. I took some PRN gabapentin and fell asleep for 30 minutes but a storm woke me up and even a 2nd gabapentin didn't help me back to sleep. It's 5 AM now. I'm so hungry for some reason and I've already eaten something like half my calories for the day. This is not a good start to the day. I don't know if I should take another gabapentin. My pdoc is generally ok with my doing so occasionally but we didn't talk about it after I started the Seroquel.


I hate this. I just had a bad night Saturday night. I know I'm getting over depression and that ups and downs are expected but if they didn't keep me awake all night I'd really appreciate it. If I have to feel bad I'd rather not think about it all night long. I also keep thinking about all sorts of bad things and they won't stop. Yet I was doing so much better when I saw my therapist today. I don't get it.

Maybe eventually.

Yeah, I guess. I just don’t want to double my weight though.

No sleep. Just kinda hung out in a parking garage all night. Going to walk to my pdocs appt now because the weather is BEAUTIFUL. And by that I mean 48dF and pouring horses and cows.

Try Geodon, Ability, Latuda, Vraylar.

back when Is on Geodon alone in terms of APs and dis bot combine it with Seroquel, I was able to lose weight.

It is hard to sleep because of cold symptoms. This cold has been going on for close to two weeks. If it doesn't resolve soon, I will go to urgent care to have it checked out. Maybe there is a secondary bacterial infection requiring treatment there.

I would definitely go to urgent care. I ended up having atypical pneumonia and needing antibiotics and a steroid in order to get better.

(((Hugs)))

I totally understand how hard it is to sleep while sick.

Cool. All the meds that give me akathisia and have to come with Valium and the ever increasing doses…

New pdoc alright. Nothing special, no major flags. Says based on my history and intake eval very clear cut case of sza (mayyyybe bipolar) and BPD.