Posted by blueboy on June 20, 2008, at 13:46:41
For those of you who have read my posts: I'm older and have tried dozens of medications, including all kinds of anti-depressants and a lot of stuff I don't even remember what it was (neurontin, antipsychotics). I've had problems for over 40 years.
A month or two ago, my current (4 year?) pdoc sent me to a university research clinician who has a specialty diagnostic practice. He told me I was definitely Bipolar II and had a list of recommendations, the first of which was Lamictal.
(The only one that ever helped me was Nardil, which I had to discontinue due to a serious side effect after two years. In retrospect, however, I can see that what it did was to get me stuck in a hypomanic state. Really, it's not good for you even though it makes you think you're doing great.)
I did 25mg/day for two weeks and have been on 50mg for about two weeks. I noticed the first results yesterday.
I am a bit hesitant to attribute change to drugs, since I cycle through phases naturally.
Anyway, yesterday I noticed a very definite buzz. I got stuck in some sort of manic stupor for a while in the morning. But by 6:30, I suddenly rememberd what it was like to enjoy things. I was walking my dog (for the first time in months) and could feel actual pleasure from the flowers and birds and other hokey stuff.
The night was quite good. I was able to sleep without drugs from midnight to 8 am. I still haven't done any work today, though, although I feel fairly good.
My primary complaint is that I will get all interested in something for months or years, then suddenly I will be completely unable to work on it at all. I'll be in panic at the thought of working. No matter how hard I try, I won't be able to even do the smallest amount of work on it.
Soooo . . . hoping I will be able to do something, if not today then tomorrow. Boy would it be nice.
BTW, I have definite OCD and anxiety problems, but no clue how they fit in with the Bipolar diagnosis. Here's a partial list of symptoms not necessarily Bipolar in nature:
Counting (can get bad)
Sex obsessions/compulsions
Skin picking
Alcohol/drug abuse (sober for 4 years due to AA)
Constantly touching self, twirling hair, etc
Bulemia (no anorexia, I think it's serotonin seeking, related to drug abuse)
GAD
panic attacks
social anxiety
insomnia (can be obsessive, i.e. must watch another tv show even when I'm sleepy)
poster:blueboy
thread:835646
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080617/msgs/835646.html