Posted by Spriggy on March 1, 2005, at 18:00:21
In reply to Re: SLS? yooo hooo... » Spriggy, posted by SLS on March 1, 2005, at 17:21:41
Thanks Phillipa and Scott..
for whatever it's worth, if either of you were here, I'd offer you some of this banana cream pie.Okay.. now for the answers for Scott:
*** Can you describe in a bit more detail what are the symptoms of your illness? How do you sleep? How is your appetite? Do you feel worse in the morning? Anything you describe would be helpful.***
Well, I feel a very weird "head" feeling. Kind of like my head is full of cotton ( I know this makes no sense). It's a bizarre feeling- it's uncomfortable. Kind of like what you would feel like if you had a fever (but I don't!). Almost like there's a magnet in the center of my brain or a weight there.. Trust me, I know how bizarre this sounds because even saying it our typing it to myself looks sooo strange.I am sleeping fine becuase I am on 30 mg's of Restirol a night. Before that, I had a hard time "winding" down to sleep. I am having a bit of racey thoughts-- I almost feel like I have taken a boat load of caffeine or something similar (but I haven't). I wake up with this inner jitterness in the pit of my stomach. I suppose it could be "anxiety" but I've not experienced it before. Yes, I seem to feel worse in the morning. I think it's becuase I wake with this jittery feeling in my gut!
I also notice that I get depressed easily/daily. I think about death quite often. VERY unusual for me.
****Did you try Wellbutrin without Lexapro? What were the results?***
I was on Wellbutrin alone. I only took it a few days and could not sleep, could not eat, and felt even worse as far as this jittery/anxious/restless feeling goes. But I did have that same weird "head heavy" feeling on it.***What are the symptoms of your father's illness? What was it about his symptoms that led his doctor to diagnose him as bipolar?**
My father is the "typical" bipolar, I suppose. His mother was also bp and committed suicide so there is that whole "family history" thingy going on.
My dad gets euphoric mania (which I have never had, unfortunately!), he will go days and days without sleep (without even feeling the need for it). He spends money he does not have on things he does not need. He gets super happy/hyper, etc. He tends to go off on drug binges during these stages; drug of choice has been cocaine. These days it seems to be pain killers or marijuana but he is also dying and in chronic pain so that could be some of the reason for drug abuse at this point.
He doesn't seem to have to low depressive states. he gets depressed after these episodes but it's more the "blah's" than the deep down dirty pit depression like I've been experiencing.
***How much are you taking? In what ways does Klonopin help you?***
I am taking .25 Klonopin twice a day. Actually, today I skipped the morning dose to see how I would feel.
I suppose the Klonopin is making me a bit less anxious. I still feel jittery and shakey but maybe not quite as bad?? I don't even know if I think it's helping or just making me sleepy.
> I am still feeling a bit strange, having some minor agitation/restlessness.
***How do you account for this?
Well, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that question.. It's the same feelings as described above. Weird head heavy feeling, uncomfortable, agitated, depressed, not like myself, etc..
I'm under a lot of stress; my father is dying (already mentioned), my son is severely autistic, my husband is a pastor, etc..
Could this all just be stress??? I exercise daily, take multi vitamins, eat healthy, pray, etc.. I can't imagine what else I can do in the natural to help myself.
My only conclusion is that all this stress has triggered bipolar that has already been there and never surfaced. I have no idea.
> It is apparent to me I am cycling.
****How long do you spend in each of the phases of your cycle?
I would say a few hours in each cycle daily. I feel good for a few hours, feel agitated/anxious a few hours, feel depressed/low a few hours, etc.. This goes on until I fall asleep at night when at last, I find some peace. Although, I will say I am dreaming a TON lately- like 5 dreams a night which is also weird for me.
Maybe my brain is acting like a 4 year old at Chuck E Cheeses.
> ANYWAY (am I rambling? maybe that's another symptom?), WHAT would you suggest?
***Have you tried Remeron? No, but if Remeron messes with seratonin, won't I be up a creek again?
***If you are intolerant of the SRIs, perhaps it is time to explore either a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) like nortriptyline or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) like Nardil.
I will suggest this to doctor tomorrow but don't want anything that will cause weight gain. Even if I go insane, I would like to stay thin. Priorities, ya know?
> Would Lamictal alone be beneficial for the mood instability and depression?
***Lamictal can help improve depression and reduce rapid-cycling. However, it is not a good drug to treat mania. I doubt it would prevent an antidepressant-induced switch into mania. If you were to add Depakote, you would need to reduce the dosage of Lamictal by half.
Well, I don't think I'm "manic". At least not in the terms of mania that my father has in his bipolar. I am not spending money, talking too fast, calling people on the phone, having affairs, doing cocaine, or feeling euphoric.
is that what I would feel like manic? Because if so... I am really not at that place.
I don't feel euphoria at all. I feel moments of "normal" but nothing grand.
I REALLY, truly appreciate all your input.
I don't know if you are a pdoc but you should be. You know more than the ones around here do and I didn't have to wait on your list for 3 months or run around the freeway naked.
LOL
poster:Spriggy
thread:465034
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050227/msgs/465126.html