Are BP Meds Addictive?

[BeeKeeper]

So I tried to take myself off Seroquel XR by tapering down...but got to a point where the symptoms I started taking it for came roaring back.  Same happened when i tried to come off lithium.  I thought I heard these types of medications were not addictive...but if your mind is dependent on them to balance biological factors...doesn't that make them an addiction?

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Well there is a saying that says there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

[BeeKeeper]

adel_zz - i have never heard that the disorder gets 'old' and heals.  If anything, I've heard/read that it continues to progress.

paranoid - I understand your definition of addiction - essentially being a slave to something that is "bad" for you.  I don't think something has to be bad to be addicted to it.

yarrow - that makes sense.  It wasn't long after I stopped takeing Seroquel and lithium that I had a bad manic episode followed by depression - I slept until almost 2p yesterday and still wanted nothing to do with the world.  Needless to say, I start the lithium again but only half the does of seroquel i was on before.  I also take cymbalta and lamictal and am hoping those help.

I guess in short I'm stuck aren't I?  It really bothers me...but the alternatives aren't great.  to get the manic state of creation back, i have to deal with the voices, racing thoughts, severe anxiety, etc....plus I have to deal with the severe depression, thoughts of harm, etc.  I truly feel damned if I do and damned if I don't...regardless of what I do to deal with this...I'm damned.  Such is life I suppose.  thanks for the thoughts all.

[ILADVOCATE]

It depends on whether Seroquel is being used as an adjunct antipsychotic or mood stabilizer or a primary mood stabilizer because generally 25-50 mg. by itself is a subclinical dose and from what I was informed and from my experience I did not see any substantial response until 300 mg. though of course the effective dosage vary from person to person. You could look at the medication website for more information. I have been through many mood stabilizers in my life time and the reason some lose efficacy over time is not addiction but they one reason they are researching is that the brain of a person with bipolar attempts to return to what genetically is its "natural" state which is to experience full mood swings. As they understand more how mood stabilizers work they will understand more about this but it is also known the later a person starts treatment and as well the less a person remains on treatment the less responsive bipolar is to medication.

[adel_ezz]

OK i read you say "at an effective dose" but my effective dose was 25-50 now it became 150. what is the possible explanation, except like beekeeper says

[adel_ezz]

the new thing also i don't need an AD anymore. I have changed to the worse i am sure. I think a person getting depressed is more healthy than a manic one since a new comer to BP starts as being depressed 1st. As years unfold he gets manic because his brain loses its robustness

they say i don't know just heard it, that like one gets old, the illness itself also gets old so eventually one is cured. whether this is wrong !!! or true

[paranoid_cataclysm]

They said somewhere I can't remember for example that an alcoholic isn't defined by how much they drink or how often they drink but if they keep drinking even though it's harming them.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Addiction is where you're enslaved to perform a practice such as drinking alcohol despite the consequences no matter how negative they may be.

[adel_ezz]

i used to take 25-50mg to stop my manias. But for this last one i upped to 300mg then reduce it to 150. Each time i try to reduce it by 25mg only and the symptoms come back. i wish i can go back to my 50 at least or perhaps 100 at most. i think it's the deterioration of the disease.

[Athena_M]

"The brain doesn't understand"  that's what my psychiatrist said about going off a medication.  I have the same problem, I can not go off of my Seroquel or I immediately start getting manic/dellusional.  So, I have stayed on it for 6 years straight and have not had any mania.  

[yarrow]

Something else to consider is that lithium seems to protect brain cells in those with bipolar disorder; it preserves gray matter which otherwise decreases as part of this condition.  Take a look at this study:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/67545.php

For the sake of your future, it could be a very good idea to keep on taking those medications steadily.

[ILADVOCATE]

No its just like any other kind of medication. To work they have to be at an effective dose or the symptoms they were treating return.