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Bipolar and Assault P.S. Meds?

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Posted 7/27/2008 3:30 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know if Lithium and Respiritan are the drugs of choice these days. I'm wondering if my husbands anger is related to wrong medication. I haven't heard of a lot of people with this illness being on these drugs and I'm told by medical people in our family that these combined are incredibily powerful antipsychotic drugs.
Posted 7/28/2008 2:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi JH

It is difficult to identify which meds will work in any given case. Usually, many meds have to be tried before a good combination is found. It is a very slow and frustrating process. Everyone here can relate to that.

Lithium is the old standby. It has been in use for years. It is used primarily as a mood stabilizer. Works for me in a combination with other meds but it does not work for everyone. I am not familiar with respiritan so I'm no help there.
Posted 7/28/2008 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi JH,

  Cap is correct. What works for one , may not work for others and it's a "trial and error" when trying to find the correct drugs. I use Lithium along with other meds. As for the other drug you named, I'm not familiar with it either.

Posted 7/28/2008 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
Do you mean Risperdal?

Yes, the lithium is a mood stabilizer, used to try and calm the swinging back and forth and extreme moods. The risperdal is an antipsychotic used to calm mania. They are powerful, of course, but based on your description of your husband, they're not working. How long has he been on them? Is he seeing a psychiatrist regularly? When was the last time he went?

serafena
Posted 7/28/2008 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi JH.....

I really sympathize with you. I know what the health care systems are like in Canada, as I'm from the East Coast. You need to understand that finding the proper mix of medications take time, and I know that its really frustrating. As a bipolar patient, I'm still waiting to find the proper mix of medications. Maybe you should attend the Pdoc appointment with your husband. That way you could voice some of your concerns. Sometimes, there are certain triggers that will affect your moods. I can usually keep my angry outbursts undercontrol, but there are certain members of my family that are big triggers for me, and I find that I have angry,manic outbursts from being around them for any length of time. I get so worked up that I have to take Ativan to calm me.

You also need to remember that most medications take some time for a person to feel the full effects from them, usually weeks, sometimes longer. 

Posted 7/28/2008 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
I can't find a listing for respiritan at all, so I'm guessing you either have the spelling a little wrong or he's telling you the wrong medication name. I look on www.rxlist.com or www.drugs.com to get my information about medications. It's not the same as Ativan, as far as I can tell. Ativan's other name is Lorazepam.

No. It is not guaranteed that every medication will work. Sometimes dosages need to be adjusted until they reach a level that works, or sometimes they just don't work at all and new medications need to be tried. It can take months for the correct drug combination to be found. Also, many medications take 4-6 weeks before they work at a theraputic dose, so perhaps whatever this respiritan is has only just started to reach it's full potential.

Let him grow into manhood if that's what he wants, but you need to take yourself to safety. It sounds like he wants to stop being bothered about the bipolar, which is certainly something we've all seen before. But it's rarely pretty. If he sticks with the therapeutic routine, you might have good luck, but without it, you really can only expect further fury and violence. I'm so sorry.

serafena
Posted 7/28/2008 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
JH..

Ativan (Lorazepam) has many uses, but I use it to help me relax. It's also used for panic attacks. If I let my anger build, I go into a full blown panic attack.

As for the other drug you mentioned, *respiritan*...I can't find a listing on it either. Maybe you're mistaking the spelling.....as Serafena said,  is it possible it's respiridone (resperdal)?

If your husband doesn't want help, unfortunately, there's not a whole lot that you can do. You need to look out for yourself too.

hugs

Lorraine

Posted 7/29/2008 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
I think it's pretty clear the meds aren't doing their job, for whatever reason. He needs to let his psychiatrist know that ASAP.

serafena
Posted 7/30/2008 2:26 AM (GMT 0)
Heres a kicker for you Serafena! He just saw his psychiatrist for the FIRST time today after being released for 3 weeks and his next appt is in September!!!! What is wrong with our mental health system?
Posted 7/30/2008 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
September!!!!! That's completely unacceptable. You need a referral right? Can you get another to try another psychiatrist. That's ridiculous. There are also mental health clinics if he needs them, right?

serafena
Posted 7/30/2008 3:40 PM (GMT 0)
You can delete your posts by clicking on the "X" box in the upper right corner of the entry. You only have to delete the top post and the whole thread will disappear. But be sure he joins before you do that, because I think you need support too, and I'd hate for you to give us up if he's not going to use the forum.

serafena
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