Posted by Christ_empowered on March 17, 2015, at 13:25:30
OK. So I'm taking : 30 abilify, 1200 trileptal, 100 lamictal, and 200 wellbutrin SR. I have 2 PRN meds that I rarely take anymore...100-300mgs neurontin and 2+/- mgs risperdal.
I take lots of supplements. I recently added 5htp but now I'm scared because it seems that lamictal does something to serotonin, so...yeah. serotonin syndrome is not something I'm real eager to experience, lol.
I was thinking about adding Cymbalta. I gain weight during low moods, at least when I'm on Abilify. There's mild psychosis w/ low moods for me, but w/ the Abilify on board its not usually incapacitating.I thought about celexa, but...ssri drugs work for me, but then I feel zombie-fied over the long haul. I thought maybe Cymbalta could cover more ground and maybe be a bit more stimulating (?) .
I can't drop anything. My shrink will not pick 1 anticonvulsant...he seems to think lamictal+trileptal is the golden ticket or something. I think the Abillify dosage is set in stone, pretty much. Wellbutrin was my idea, because I had low mood, fatigue, weight gain, and trouble concentrating (I don't think 2 anticonvulsants really helps with a lot of that, lol).
Wellbutrin works nicely. I'm not real gung ho on going up on the dosage, because 200mgs/day works well with no problems.
A former doc once recommended amoxapine. I was scared because that's like taking a TCA plus an undetermined amount of loxapine, all in one. TCAs work for me, at least Tofranil does, but...wow. They're rough.
I thought maybe go from Abilify--->Seroquel XR, but...at what dosage? My other thought was Abilify---->Symbyax, but I'd want/need metformin to make that happen, and I don't think I'll get it.
Ugh. The more I read about Abilify, the more concerned I am. Turns out...long term, AP dose people experience depression as a side effect. Also, its a good anti-manic, but not so great for depression. Ugh.
My problem with a switch-a-roo is that my (community mental health) doc will probably high dose me :-( I figured that with Symbyax, at least I'd be getting pre-set doses, so that way they won't ramp it up too much.
Mental health is so weird. A former doc wanted me on clozapine. Then PRN haldol with the Abilify (I'm thinking...why do that?). Then amoxapine w/ everything else. I've read that community health docs, more so than other pdocs, tend to rely on AP/AAPs at high(er) doses, for everyone. Ugh.
I *can* tolerate neuroleptics now. I think Orthomolecular helps a lot. But I don't want super high doses. 30mgs/Abilify is about it for me...I mean, when I take an additional risperidone, the next day, I feel a little too calm, and it doesn't seem to do much except tranquilize a bit more.
Blah blah blah...I know its harder to treat low moods than (hypo)mania, agitation, and psychosis, but...I'm just slowed down. I don't think its all drug induced, although I do think the main 3 meds make it worse.
Advice?
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:1077601
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150223/msgs/1077601.html