hey bobby --- yes, this is the study which only examined older people. unfortunately - this is a population with decreased calcium absorption already....
hi kitty --- it sounds like your son needs some serious psychiatric intervention. i'm sorry that you're going through all of this. a few things -- - the aspect of your story which disturbs me the...
hey --- unfortunatley, the pharmacist is correct. dilaudid (hydromorphone) is a schedule-II control substance and cannot be refilled. also, at least in the state where i practice, schedule-II drugs...
oakley -- i am an internal medicine physician who has a particular interest in how physical medicine translates into/from psychiatry. It is an area of medicine which, i feel, is completely...
have you had your serum gastrin measured? an easy blood test which any PCP can do. this will easily tell you if you suffer from hypergastrinemia...
If you find the article -- would you mine posting it? I've never seen this as a problem in patients treated with PPI's. The most recent trials that I read with Nexium were confounded by the fact that...
i'm glad that it's working --- meds really do work when people take them consistently....
Hey Zomese -- Quetiapine tends to be dose dependant in terms of sedation and somnolence. Usually patients have some sedation for the first 4 days (that's why I like to start it on a Thursday, by...
Topamax does have a varied plethora of side effects that are experienced with it. I've often found that the old anti-depressants (known as tri-cyclics, such as -- Elavil, espeically) have been really...
Hi Angel --- Welcome! This is a fantastic place where we covet the anonymity of the internet and try to offer help where we can. Can I ask you ---- you mentioned that you are always kind of like a...
Hi Cranky --- One thing that you might consider if that because your anxiety/depression meds aren't working effectively - they may be triggering a higher frequency/duration of headaches. I have seen...
Hey there --- Have you ever tried taking Flexeril?...
hey zomese --- i'm sorry that you're going through such a hard time. i should let you know, however, that Lamictal has demonstrated it's efficacy only in delaying episodes in bipolar disorder (it's...
hey roy --- are you taking Nexium or Zegerid on an empty stomach? This is a critical part of the dosing which many patients overlook. Taking either drug with food decreases the action by almost...
While this was an early concern with the introduction of PPI's. There was a large-scale study examining the effects of vitamin absorption with Prilosec (the parent drug of Nexium) - which...
hey turbulance -- often the reason that people with Bipolar I/II have substance abuse problems are -- feel like they are able to take back control (in some manner of speaking) with their lives...
dear Chronic --- there a lot of studies in the medical literature demonstrating the NEXIUM is superior to Prevacid in the healing of Erosive Esophagitis as well as control of pH > 4 over 24 hours....
hey turbulance --- unfortunately substance abuse is the most common co-morbidity that occurs with patients who are bipolar. is your wife taking any medication? in my practice, i've found that once...
Katelynn -- have you ever been treated for Bipolar?...
Hey Alli -- Unfortunately this is a known side effect with aripiprazole. This type of adverse event falls within the realm of an extrapyramidal side effect. If severe -- you might discuss changing...
There is currently no generic for Lamictal. However, there have been some severe medication errors with pharmacists dispensing Lamisil (a drug for a fungal infection) instead of Lamictal. You can...
Hi Gaz, What medications are you taking?...
Many physicians advise patients to dose Seroquel 12 hours before they want to wake up. Additionally -- according to the Kapur study -- you should see less sedation at effective doses (those 300mg and...
hey there, a point of note --- if she's not sleeping through the night when she's taking SQL. it might be that she could be entering a hypomanic/mixed episode. recent data suggest that quetiapine has...
Interesting study ... certainly the Scandanavian countries are far more adept than the United States at studying these types of occurences. Especially -- in trials of Pregnant women. However -- the...
Have you ever seen a cognitive behavioural therapist?...
Hey there, As I'm sure everyone here feels, we empathize with everything that you're going through and are here to support you in any way that we can. That said --- Does his physician have any idea...
Here's a great resource for you: http://www.manicdepressive.org/...
A published article from the Journal of Family Practice .... http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=1775&UID=...
Of course ... (1.) Laine L, Ahnen D, McClain C, Solcia E, Walsh JH. Review article: potential gastrointestinal effects of long-term acid suppression with proton pump inhibitors. Aliment Pharmacol...
It's important to note that studies involving the first PPI, omeprazole, are continuing after 21 years. None of which have definitively shown any long-term side effects....
Hey Coppermom, The symptoms that you are describing are not of the medication - but of the condition. A great resource is the following: http://www.barrettsinfo.com/index.htm hope this helps!...
Hey there, In terms of the post about manipulating your doctor -- I'd completely agree with Ellie1 on this one! Your physician has been through a lot of training to manage psychotropic medications....
Hey Wotan, Have you discussed with your psychiatrist why you're on Quetiapine at all? At that low of a dose, Quetiapine has not been shown to have any effects other than on the histimine receptors...
It's important to note that Topiramate is not indicated for any phase of bipolar disorder. In fact, there have been 4 failed trials in bipolar mania. At this point, the FDA has ruled that Topiramate...
Hey Ellie -- What current treatment regimen are you on? Have you ever used a mood stabilizer? I think you've mentioned Abilify -- this certaintly is the newest in the class of atypicals, but has not...
One thing to mention here is that there is a very large comorbidity between Bipolar I & II D/O & ADD/ADHD. According to the DSM-IV, even 4 of the criteria overlap. However -- your statements about...
Hey Gaz, Yes -- the medications do really work. Most successes depend on a slew of factors - not least of which being the fact of the family & variable support mechanisms that the patient has....
I seem to be at least initiating treatment more and more for BP. I screen all patients (as I mentioned to you before) who present with depression (or whose chief complaint is depression). I also have...
Hey Jamie, One thing that you need to know is that Lamictal is a maintenance medication. It is not indicated for acute mania associated with Bipolar I Disorder (in fact, there have been a few failed...
Hey Shannon! It's good to be back! No, I haven't written for Abilify yet -- I was considering it the other day for a patient who had somnolence throughout the day with her current treatment regimen....
Hey Hearty, Have you been tested for H. Pylori? Do you have a family history of heart disease? How did your last LFT, CBC, FLP look? The muscle cramping is a little weird -- and -- in my opinion, is...
Hey Shannon! Yes, Mirtazapine upregulates D2 production in much the same way as Bupropion does. Which, as you know, is very little. I believe that the one big advantage of using Remeron is it's tight...
Hey Rianna, One thing of note is that many disorders in the psychiatric realm (or any realm for that matter) have an overlap with others. One of the largest offenders of misdiagnosis in bipolar-I...
Hey Mary, Wow, you have a lot to deal with ... I'm sorry that this is just one more thing to add to your life. Exactly how much weight have you lost? What stregnth of Prednisone are you currently...
Hey Hearty -- I noticed that you said that you had an endoscopy ... what did the results reveal? Certainly - if there is any sort of EE involved, PPI therapy is essential to your treatment and you...
Hey Shannon, Just wondering how your combination therapy of Abilify + Seroquel was working out for you. I'm very interesting in the combination of the 2 atypicals. Have you titrated up on Seroquel in...
Hey Flopsie ... I completely agree with Shannon .... cymbalta is a recimic mixture of Prozac. Although SSRI's may be effective in treating depression, they do carry the greater risk of inducing a...
Hey Shannon, Just wanted to quickly write and tell you that the CATIE trial was fully-funded by NIH/NIMH. Sad ... isn't it? Thank you so much for everyone that has posted --- I really look forward to...
Hey Nickie, I've been hearing that quite a few people are using Topamax. I've used it a few times for Migraines -- but -- I must confess that I've never used it for bipolar. One thing that a PCP...