Hydrocodone, Bi-Polar, & anger

Hello,

I have been diagnosed w/ Bi-polar, anxiety, and panic attack and been on medication for these conditions for 7 years now. Early in 2006 I ruptured a disk and eventually had surgery to remove part of the disk. Before and after surgery I was on a dose of hydrocodone 5/500x2 - 3-4x daily for the pain. While on the Hydrocodone I began to experience fits of rage that eventually cleared up after I stopped taking the Hydrocodone. Once again at the end of 2006, I ruptured yet another disk. Once again I was placed on Hydrocodone for the pain before and after surgery. Once again I experienced the fits of rage. This time, on top of the outward anger, I was experiencing dreams and thoughts of hurting certain individuals. This type of thought is not typical of myself.

It wasnt until a few months after getting off the Hydrocodone for the second time that I realized the conection between my anger and use of the Hydrocodone. my question is COuld this have been casued because of a reaction between the Mental Health prescriptions and the Hydrocodone???

Thank you in advance.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

This kind of rage reaction could have been caused by the hydrocodone all alone. I have seen that before.  Also, the medication you are taking for anxiety and panic suppresses those feelings you don't want to deal with, but they don't necessarily go away, and still have to be processed and understood. So, think about the rages you had, and try to understand the underlying frustration in some new and beter way, searching for a solution, rather than turning away from what you are trying to tell yourself.