HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

zyprexa?

Support Forums
>
Bipolar Disorder
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/18/2006 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
XP from (yesterday) depression board, but really belongs here: Please help me if you can!! thanks!!

I went to my general practitioner today (I know some of you think I should go to a psychiatrist but I never really felt comfortable with them and I really like this dr. she is young and a pretty amazing person), she thinks that I might have bipolar. She said that when wellbutrin doesn't seem to work (worsens condition) like what happened to me they are often bipolar... she wrote me a script for zyprexa. Know anything about it? Anyone have any experiences with it?

She wants me to wean off of the wellbutrin and start it in a week or so, I think I might just wean for 3 days and take it next week.... I've always been one to stop drugs cold turkey and never had any physical issues from it so I think I should be fine.

I really hope that this is my saving grace. I can't wait to feel better. I just hope I don't gain weight, it can be a side effect....
Posted 11/21/2006 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
Dear IsThereHope,

I am not an expert or a doctor, but I do have 26 years of medications on my trail and I would advise you to be very careful weaning off Wellbutrin and starting Zyprexa.  If you wean yourself off Wellbutrin too quickly you could have some side effects and feel much worse.  I would take the instructions of your doctor rather than trying to speed up the medication change.

I would also recommend that you find a psychiatrist that you feel comfortable with because their specialty is diagnosing and treating mental illness.  They are usually the experts for prescribing medication and they have a much better understanding of psyco-pharmaceuticals than a general practitioner would have.  Whenever psychiatric medications are prescribed, they need to be closely monitored for their effectiveness and side effects - especially in the beginning of treatment.  I wouldn't take a diagnosis of a doctor who "thinks" you might be bi-polar.  I would go to a psychiatrist for a true diagnosis.

Best of luck to you and your treatment, I hope you feel better soon!

Posted 11/22/2006 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
hope,

a lot of people say they want to become salesmen and decide "i'll try it part time."  how about someone who wanted to be a surgion and decided "i'll try it part time?"  you are doing the same thing!  "my gp is good at psychiatry but only does it part time to see if she likes it."  does this sound even remotely reasonable or (nods to mr. spok on star trek) logical?

there are always horses for courses.  personally i liked native dancer in the tripple crown (is anyone else old enough to remember that race?),  you need to have confidence in your pcp. with this illness (or the possibility of this illness) you also need a pdoc in whom you can have faith.  (churchill never ended a sentence with a preposition.  once he said "this is the sort of crap up with which i shall not put.")

enough of my history and rantings.  i hope you get the picture.  you are not a dr or a psychiatrist.  you may be smart but you're uneducated in this field.  this disease is nothing to fool around with (sorry winston).  go to an expert who knows for sure.

warren

Posted 11/22/2006 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
I just want to say that I agree with Amela and Warren.

You should seek a psychiatrist for your treatment.

People with Bipolar know that it has to be this way.

Sincerely, ~Sukay~*

Posted 11/22/2006 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi IsThereHope,

Welcome to the bp board. -- Glad you found us!

You've received excellent advice which I know I cannot better. -- Please see a psychiatrist and get assessed properly: however nice your gp is, she is not a specialist in this field (clue in the "general" bit I guess!) and you need a specialist for this diagnosis.

Do keep us posted on how you go.

Rosie x
Posted 11/23/2006 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
Having been a guinea pig to the point I was nearly poisoned to death (quite literally) I don't, I can't recommend a GP for diagnosing BPII. Chances are she read this in a journal somewhere and it makes sense to her, BUT you need a specialist, which is what a psychiatrist is.

If you like your GP, then make sure you have up-to-date blood work and check for autoimmune disorders, etc. as causes of fatigue, low energy, loss of interest in life and depression.

FYI...Bipolar IIs don't have manic episodes, they have hypomanic episodes. Whereas a Bipolar I enjoys their manic phases because it is their perception that they are on top of their game, IIs don't share this. A hypomanic phase feels like life is out of control, you don't know what to attend to first, you are overwhelmed, you talk too fast and/or too much. You long to get to a better place with yourself, you are tired of the chaos. There can be a host of other problems too, like high flying anxiety and not holding onto a thought amongst others.

Zyprexa might make you groggy sleepy. As a medical transcriptionist who does a fair amount of psych work, I only tell you that this does not appear to be the first drug of choice these days.

Get thee to a specialist, please.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply