bi-polar / schizophrenia(?) questions on meds

I have been recently diagnosed as bi-polar / ?? after suffering from it for 10 or so years and wondering what was wrong. Now my pdoc has me taking 900mg Lithium, 100mg of Seroquel, 50mg of Lamictal and .5 mg of Clonazepam as needed. I am new to this - and have only been taking these for 14days. I do know that I am finally able to return to work after having a 4 week leave of absence as I was having episodes at work and was un-able to concentrate. Three weeks into the 4 weeks I checked myself into a mental hospital after being wide awake for 2 days. On day two I started a very rapid mood/mania cycle. During a brief clear point in my cycle I begged my wife to take me in. Is there anyone else taking this combination of things, and does it work in the long run?

IMO you are on a very good first cocktail.  Lithium cant be beat for stabilizing mania/depression, Lamictal is excellent for BP depression and stabilization of that, Seroquel is an antipsychotic and helps to calm and sleep (desperately needed in us!) and Klonopin is the drug of choice for as needed anxiety.  The Lamictal you have to go up on very slowly to avoid a possible, but rare, serious rash called Steven-Johnsons syndrome, 200 mg is the target; anythng over that and really makes no difference.  While you go up, is a waiting game.  Lamictal is a wonderful drug, I also take it and Seroquel, couldn't live without them!  Also take Abilify, Trileptal and Wellbutrin.   Meds take time to work, you should probably be working toward 200 mg Lamictal for optimal effect, ask you doc about that.

FYI whatever you do; GET REGULAR SLEEP!   If we dont sleep, we go into hypo/manic or mixed episodes and/or psychosis.   Very dangerous.   How's you're sleep hygeine?   (YOur nightly routine before sleeping).

What happened at work?   How did your coworkers react?  I lost many jobs due to mania, verbally abusing bosses, lol.

I'm glad you're feeling better, I have also been suffering BP my entire life; horrible symptoms as a kid, worse in teens, diagnosed at 25, decided to finally medicate at 39.   Typical, huh.  But like you , I always knew there was soemthign wrong with me, I just didn't like taking the meds.  Now I wouldn't trade anything for them, you just have to keep working at getting the right ones, and adjusting those dosages until you get it right; it takes tons of contact with your pdoc to get it; it takes time, be patient.

I'm glad you found this place, and I hope you're feeling much better.

Shannon

Hi, ckgMD!

How nice of you to ask - since starting the Abilify and titrating up to 15mg, my mood is great!   Really good without being hypomanic, just a calm contentment, except that my pdoc really DOESN'T want me on both atypicals; she actually told me to reduce the Seroquel to 50mg from 250 when I started the Abilify.   She is worried about the increased risk of tardive dyskinesia with the combination of the two.  Unfortunately, I cannot sleep with 50mg.   I am also on 1200mg Trileptal, 200mg Lamictal and 200mg wellbutrin.  The Trileptal as you know is a mood stabilizer that is very sedating and should be taken at night, well, it's still not enough to sleep even with 50mg Seroquel.  Have I lost you yet??

As a result the lack of sleep is causing me to cycle a bit so we are adding Klonopin as of today and increasing the Seroquel to 100mg.   I've taken Klonopin before, it works, but since it's a benzo,  there is the tolerance factor........

I dont want to stop the Abilify, it has leveled out my rapid cycling like nothing ever has, and I've been on everything except Dopamax, lol.  But it's a catch-22 with no sleep!   I'm hoping she'll leave me on the Seroquel anyway, I love it; it's the only med I have ever taken that lets me sleep most of the night without waking up.

Do you use it as monotherapy?   The pdocs I've been around most often use it in combination with a mood stabilizer for maintenence at a lower dose if possible.  Once stable, patients don't usually require a maitenence of a high dose, but if they start an episode, they can always take the higher dose immediately to break it (as long as they talk to their doctor), that's another part of the beauty of it.  Plus a lower risk of tardive and Abilify is also very low risk. 

Well, I rambled as usual!

Thanks for asking, I look forward to talking again.

Shannon

I am new to this fourm. I have been taking meds for bipolor since I was 3 1/2 years old. You name it and I have probably tried it. I am now 33 years old and I am suffering teribly. I take Lith, buspar, & trazadone. I was recently taken off abilify, by myself, because I gained 30 pounds in 2 months to an already slight overweight man. I was first hospitalized at age 4 and was even in hospital for 3 years when I was a teen at probably one of the best hospitals in the country sheppard pratt. Nothing has ever worked. No amount of drugs therapy or inpatient stays has made me feel any better. SSRI's make me manic. My favorite drug, Zyprexa, they took me off of because of the side effects. I have only seen a doctor for the last three years once a month for 15 mins because going in for therapy didn't work. I have to much education and abilities to really adhere to a regular therapy schedule. I always tell them what they want to hear. No one has yet to be smart enough to figure out that I don't wash the dishes at 7-11 for a living. I have had over 40 jobs in the last ten years and some I made money but I always just walk away.

Who ever wrote the top post you are in luck. In todays medication and therapy for BP you have quite an opportunity to help yourself. Stick with it. Do not stop meds or therapy. You will probably have to take them the rest of your life and I hope you have an understanding husband or wife and children if you have any, because they are your support group you need to be with. Chats and forums help even talk with some close friends because there are many people who love you and want and need you to get better.

As for me, I am reaching out today because I am at the end of this train ride. I go to see a new pdoc on the 19th of this month and I am choosing to try this therapy for the last time and I will give him or her 6 months to come up with a plan before I go to the er and check in and this time I don't think I want to check out. Untreated bp can cause you to lose everything. I lost my wife two kids my car my house (twice) most of my friends are gone and I can't talk to anyone and that is most important. Talking with someone. I will leave you with this.

If you can't trust anyone to say what you really think and feel you have to somehow love yourself enough to say it anyway. If you feel like ending it, tell someone, they might put you in hospital or more therapy but the only way you can get better with therapy is to believe in yourself to talk. They have to know everything to be able to help you. Isn't that why you started getting help?

Good Luck