[SingDanceRunLife]

My mood has been pretty unstable for the past few months, and I've gone through multiple med changes.

My most recent cocktail was: Lithium, Seroquel (XR and IR) and Zoloft, but because I hate lithium, it hasn't worked too well and it made me super drugged and stupid, and I was taking A LOT of Seroquel (800mg/day), my pdoc decided to go in a different direction.

I've tried almost everything out there, and some were great, some were terrible, but most were in the middle.

What my pdoc is having me do now is switch back to Zyprexa which is to this day by far the most effective med I've ever been on...the problem with it though is that I gained a lot of weight, and fast. My pdoc is hoping to avoid that by having me take the Zydis version from the get go rather than switching from the regular since Zydis is supposed to cause less weight gain, and it did for me. And we're dropping the lithium (HALLELUJAH!!!!!), and adding a small dose of Depakote, which worked for me before, but gave me a really bad tremor. Again, pdoc is hoping to avoid that by having me on a smaller dose.

Tbh, I'm terrified of gaining weight and of developing a tremor like I had before...but I did tell my pdoc that I'd rather gain weight than have a tremor like I did before which is why she isn't just going for a higher dose of Depakote.

She also said something about Latuda, but I shot that down instantly, even though, and I told her, I would most likely have a different experience with it because when I was on it before I was in full on ED mode and literally only ate protein bars and fruit so I never had enough food in my stomach and the Latuda would make me vomit. But I'm highly emetophobic, so the thought of that possibility scares me so I said no, and she respected that, thank God.

I guess this post is kind of a vent/rant...Idk...I'm just hoping this combo works!

[Hottiedepressed]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

My mood has been pretty unstable for the past few months, and I've gone through multiple med changes.

My most recent cocktail was: Lithium, Seroquel (XR and IR) and Zoloft, but because I hate lithium, it hasn't worked too well and it made me super drugged and stupid, and I was taking A LOT of Seroquel (800mg/day), my pdoc decided to go in a different direction.

I've tried almost everything out there, and some were great, some were terrible, but most were in the middle.

What my pdoc is having me do now is switch back to Zyprexa which is to this day by far the most effective med I've ever been on...the problem with it though is that I gained a lot of weight, and fast. My pdoc is hoping to avoid that by having me take the Zydis version from the get go rather than switching from the regular since Zydis is supposed to cause less weight gain, and it did for me. And we're dropping the lithium (HALLELUJAH!!!!!), and adding a small dose of Depakote, which worked for me before, but gave me a really bad tremor. Again, pdoc is hoping to avoid that by having me on a smaller dose.

Tbh, I'm terrified of gaining weight and of developing a tremor like I had before...but I did tell my pdoc that I'd rather gain weight than have a tremor like I did before which is why she isn't just going for a higher dose of Depakote.

She also said something about Latuda, but I shot that down instantly, even though, and I told her, I would most likely have a different experience with it because when I was on it before I was in full on ED mode and literally only ate protein bars and fruit so I never had enough food in my stomach and the Latuda would make me vomit. But I'm highly emetophobic, so the thought of that possibility scares me so I said no, and she respected that, thank God.

I guess this post is kind of a vent/rant...Idk...I'm just hoping this combo works!

Have you ever tried Lamictal it's a great one I think and at high doses works as an anti-depressant. Also, Geodon works good and is weight neutral. Abilify is another option that doesn't really cause weight gain, and at a low dose it augments anti-depressants and at other doses stabilzes your mood. You might even consider an anti-depressant. The SNRIs work the best and rarely poop out. Cymbalta is by far my favorite one!

[SingDanceRunLife]

Originally Posted by Hottiedepressed

Have you ever tried Lamictal it's a great one I think and at high doses works as an anti-depressant. Also, Geodon works good and is weight neutral. Abilify is another option that doesn't really cause weight gain, and at a low dose it augments anti-depressants and at other doses stabilzes your mood. You might even consider an anti-depressant. The SNRIs work the best and rarely poop out. Cymbalta is by far my favorite one!

Lamictal was the first med for BP I was put on, and it gave me a rash.

Abilify made me almost suicidally depressed within 3 weeks.

Zoloft is my AD, and I am very happy with it. I was on Lexapro for about 2 years very happily before it pooped out on me, and I need a SSRI because I take that primarily for my OCD and not the bipolar.

Thanks for your response though!!

[Nightside of Eden]

I hope the new combo works for you. Sometimes there's an adjustment period to Zyprexa where people gain weight, and then it tapers off, so even if you're gaining weight in the beginning it might be worth waiting a few months to see if it starts to stabilize. There's also the possibility of adding Metformin to help stabilize blood sugar and reduce weight gain.

If you still have problems with the new combo, you might want to consider a first-generation anti-psychotic (Haldol, Stelazine, Thorazine) if you haven't tried them already. They're effective at knocking off the heightened mood states (mixed and manic episodes), so can be used in the place of Depakote if you can't tolerate that med even at the lower dose.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

I hope the new combo works for you. Sometimes there's an adjustment period to Zyprexa where people gain weight, and then it tapers off, so even if you're gaining weight in the beginning it might be worth waiting a few months to see if it starts to stabilize. There's also the possibility of adding Metformin to help stabilize blood sugar and reduce weight gain.

If you still have problems with the new combo, you might want to consider a first-generation anti-psychotic (Haldol, Stelazine, Thorazine) if you haven't tried them already. They're effective at knocking off the heightened mood states (mixed and manic episodes), so can be used in the place of Depakote if you can't tolerate that med even at the lower dose.

Thanks! I hope so too!

Because of my ED history, I can't wait to see if the weight gain (if it happens) on Zyprexa stops. The second I've gained more than 5lbs I'll be off it so my ED behaviors don't start getting really bad again!

I'm also hoping it works out because I am beyond tired of trying new meds. I've been on so many and changing and trying new ones always sucks.