Posted by 4mygrls on May 30, 2004, at 15:32:18
In reply to Re: effexor for bipolar?, posted by Sad Panda on May 30, 2004, at 7:41:52
> > can effexor be used for bipolar? i started on it and then switched pdoc's and he took me off it and put me on lamictal. i was only on the effexor for a month and only on 75mg. the side affects for me wasn't bad. the lamictal made me have worse mood swings. now i'm on lithium. first i was just worried about weight gain but after reading about the side affects i'm scared to death. why couldn't he just try the effexor. i could've stayed on it and gone higher and gave it a chance. the only thing i hated about the effexor was going off of it. he told me to just quit taking it so i did. omg, did i ever get sick.
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> If you where taking Effexor solely for a month & did not become hypomanic I would suggest that you may not be bipolar.
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> Cheers,
> Panda.
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i asked him specifically what my dx was. he said bipolar nos. not otherwise specified. i have bipolar symptoms but not all textbook bipolar. he says i don't have mania. i do recall though when taking ad's i would at times talk fast or have more energy. i also suspect that i have adhd and or pmdd. this is all frustrating. for a long time i was only on wellbutrin and what would happen is really just like pms. a couple times a month i would get bad pms. right now i am just so frustrated with pdoc's and such. how can someone see you one time, have no history except what you can manage to get in one hour and then prescribe you a medication that you tell him you have a bad history with those type of meds.i'm talking about anti-convulsents. i seem to have severe mood swings when on lamictal, trileptal, and topomax. i am totally unstable on them. so now he tries lithium. i've been on just about every ssri known to man. they worked except i would still get very moody and unstable a couple times a month. i'm confused and tired of all of this. yesterday i had a bad experience with the lithium. for some reason yesterday afternoon i just crashed. my stomach was cramping bad. my vision was blurry. i couldn't walk without assistance. i got so weak and tired. when i got home, i took a nap and it passed. i was too scared to take the lithium last night. i ended up taking my dose late this morning. i do seem to feel more upbeat on it. i just started it thursday but my husband pointed out something that happened that i normally would've gone through the roof with but didn't. since i've been taking it, i've been in a pretty good mood. but is this a placebo affect or can it hit the depression so fast. right now i'm frustrated with dx and docs and meds but i'm not depressed. my vision is a bit blurry and i have a headached but that's it. oh, and does everyone who takes lithium end up with thyroid problems? do you just take another med to fix the thyroid problem? sorry with all the questions. i guess the whole being afraid of lithium and it possibly actually making a difference already is really scaring me causing me to be anxious.
poster:4mygrls
thread:351908
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040527/msgs/352175.html