Posted by Mitch on August 4, 2001, at 23:14:42
In reply to Re: I'm so sick of living like this » Mitch, posted by Else on August 4, 2001, at 14:21:39
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> > Else, I am taking Depakote 125mg, Neurontin 200mg, and Klonopin .5mg (sleep), with 10mg nortripytline (for my ADHD). I wonder if your doses of anticonvulsants may be just a little too high. I feel more stable (and attentive!) on my current combination than anything else I have every taken. I was reading here that a lot of people diagnosed as BPD may in fact have ADHD.
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> > Mitch
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> Ouch! Really? I was *started* on Depakote 125mg THREE times a day. That was considered a small dose. My doctor upped the dosage to 2000mg daily at some point and I have never been manic in my life (only mildly hypomanic, from taking meds). Same thing with Neurontin, I take 900mg daily and started at 300. I know I wouldn't even notice a 0.5mg dose of Klonopin. It would certainly not help me sleep (when I have trouble sleeping, my doc gives me Restoril 30mg). I'm not someone who gets drowsy very easily (except with anti-histamines). I'm basically a nervous wreck (I have GAD). I have a great deal of trouble tolerating any activating AD. But maybe you do have a point after all. I have heard repeatedly that less is sometimes more with psychiatric meds and I think my doctor has a tendency towards overkill (he once put me on 300mg of Effexor a day and I litterally couldn't sleep for days and I was so irritable I thought I might kill someone). Thank you for the input. It's reassuring to know that someone who is bipolar can do well on such small doses of medication.
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> P.S. I am pretty sure I have ADHD, I have never taken the BPD diagnosis too seriously (I've never dissociated or been psychotic in any way). What is the commercial name of nortryptiline? This isn't the first time I hear about this.
The commercial name for the nortriptyline is Pamelor. It is a TCA and has been here since dirt was invented. I think that the reason I can be *stable* on such low doses is a lifetime (20+years being bipolar), the hypomania tends to "burn out" somewhat with age! I was on 1500mg/day of Lithium for years (in my 20's). I have always been hypersensitive to AD's. I CAN NOT take a standard dose of ANY antidepressant. The closest thing to that was taking 30mg of Remeron at bedtime for a few weeks.Mitch
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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010804/msgs/73619.html