mixing meds

[needhelp4me434]

i'm begining to think the reason we have so many adverse side effects from these drugs is because if one does'nt work they add another without our bodies cleansing it's self from the other drug we were trying.

i've been treated for depression for over 5 years. i have had anxiety/panic for 30 years. all those suffering years the docs kept saying it was depression. anyone who has anxiety and panic will know how horrible it can be.

since no dr would treat the anxiety, i did, with alcohol for about 20 years. i've been sober 17 years. that's another story.

after getting sober i mananaged the anxiety with the help of books and tapes.

but in 2000 my life began to change. i changed jobs going to one high stressed position to one higher, got married moved  the baby of the family moved out and my mother in law moved in. these changes put me in a spin.

again i go to the dr complaining about anxiety and am dx with bi-polor issues and would go thur 3 years of a different drug after drug. finally i found a dr who listened to me and with the grace of god and ativan i'm anxiety free. but she felt i had depression and srarted a 2 year trial and error with every drug and then some. if anything they made me feel depressed or caused anxiety issues. finally i said lexapro works fine and left it at that.

then my life took a spin again. my father had been living with me since my step mother passed away in 03. daddy was a daddy every kid dreams of. i had to quit work in 07 because of his declining heath. my husband is a merchant seaman and is out to sea 4 months at a time. so for 7 years i was with my dad 24/7. he did'nt have dementia was a joy to be around and i loved him dearly. he would pass away in sept. for 6 months i watched him slip away from me. my father loved life, he did not want to die he just wanted to get better. i feel into the worse depression. it was just like what you see on tv.

and this is where my story begins. the dr started adding other anti depressants. first abilify. it did help for awhile but i developed facial twitching and had to go off it. the depression lingered so just recently i was put on pristiq. my anxiety went from mild to severe, just like others have posted, depression was severe i could not settle down, had diarrhea the whole time.

so i think the problem is. i'm grieving for my daddy. i miss him so so much. and i have to do more then take a pill to get thur this instead of having another pill added over and over. i don't think we should have meds mixed like this. i know there's no easy way. if you go off one to start another you'll have re-bound depression or so i've heard and of course the withdrawls. but mixing is'nt the answer either. and another thing, if anti depresants are suspose to help with depression why am i depressed.does anyone have an answer to this

thank you for letting me vent.

[ILADVOCATE]

Understood and I'll try to wait until I can get a public statement from a provider agency about glycine but what the one my psychopharmocologist spoke to detailed was that it could be considered as an adjunct to a conventional antipsychotic agent and would be addeed to their formulary in cases where known treatments weren't working out and they were a research psychiatrist who had taken this into further understanding. I'll update people as the results are made public and I recieve permission to make them available here. I have in the meantime updated any places where this treatment is being discussed outside of here that no treatment of any kind should be taken without a psychiatrist's express permission and supervision. There have been multiple controlled studies since 2003 showing a high rate of efficacy and favorable side effect profile but it is still an unknown quantity and I should make that clear.

[LeftCoastChick]

Being a Bi-polar, things are going to go up n' down, regardless of meds, sad to say. Now you are grieving, a natural process, and painful by any stretch of the imagination. Having a mood disorder sure doesn't help things does it? Have you thought about grief or just regular counselling? It could help tremendously.

I have to interject, that studies on a  med that are not approved by the FDA, should not be considered. It may work well in a study for one person, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate for the general public. So if you are thinking about changing treatments, have a chat with your psychiatrist, and see what your options are. It's important to educate yourself, and have good rapport with your pdoc.

[needhelp4me434]

to tell you the truth, i don't know what i am. i've been treated for bi-polar, aadd anxiety depression ocd. i've been able to keep all the above under control except the depression, which again i never thought i had till now.

i have been on a lot of different anti depressants. my dr looks for those that help with anxiety. maybe i should try on for just depression. do any of ya'll know one might be?

i have trouble tolerating most all meds. even over the counter.

i have'nt had a drink in 17 years. hope i don't pick up one. anxiety was always the cause anyway, and as long as i don't have problems with that i think it's safe to say i won't pick up. i have friends in a.a. so i feel ok with this dx.

i think alot has to do with my dads death. i trtired fron nursing when he took sick. i think cause i'm alone for the first time in my life, my husbands out to sea. and i don't have anyone to take care of or be around has a lot to do with all this

just writing to this forum has helped me today. i feel better now then this am. mornings are hard.

i'll look up glycine. we have a psych dr in the family. i don't see her because we are family, but she does clincial trials.

i've decieded to stay on the lexapro. i will call my dr about the pristiq and ask her for a med for depression only. the abilify was started to help with the depression. it did'nt help much and the right side of my face twitched  it still does  but not as much or for as long.

ILADVOCATE i got your e-mail but i could'nt get to the web site it sais to go to.

thank ya'll for your input. it's helped

[ILADVOCATE]

Actually sometimes people are wrongly diagnosed. It can be confusing if someone only speaks about symptoms of depression when they have manic days as well. Its best to explain everything going on to a psychiatrist and not try to self diagnose. As for the study I am in I would probably not be allowed to post the link once its completed but the specific article I direct people to on glycine can be found by doing a google search "Dr. Javitt, glycine" for informational purposes but right now its still a Phase II study compound but one worth understanding out of interest. Actually from what I've found with people I know, many people live their lives undiagnosed and unhappy and thinking they are a bad person instead of understanding they have a psychiatric disability. Medication along with talk therapy is what helps everyone recover and new treatments come out all the time. For a list of new psychiatric medications in development google "psychmeds123" which updates itself.

[teko]

Wow, Nothing I can think to add to that except, Remember that exercise and keeping your mind busy with other things goes a long way to keep you from falling off the wagon, so to speak. Music, crosswords, keep a journal of how you feel from day to day. And, I agree that meds are being prescribed like candy these days, so educate yourself as much as you can. lil advocate has given some great info. I would be interested in that as well.

[ILADVOCATE]

It depends on what's going on. First of all, alcohol is never a good mix with anything. You would need to go to a rehab. program. There are dual recovery programs for a person with an alchohol abuse issue and a psychiatric disability. Secondly, those particular anti-depressents may not have worked for you or may be on the wrong medication. Perhaps you need a mood stabilizer instead or in addition. Abilify is not an anti-depressent. Its an antipsychotic and it can be used as a mood stabilizer. Options for mood stabilizers that are not antipsychotics are the standards such as Lithium, Depakoate and Lamictal. I found Lamictal to be the most tolerable. Did your psychiatrist take you off Abilify because of the facial twitching but otherwise believe you needed an antipsychotic? Did it go away? Because if not he may have believed you have tardive dyskinesia and there is treatment for that. If he believes you still need an antipsychotic Clozaril is still an option as it doesn't cause tardive dyskinesia and if you were ruled out for that I could provide you with a link to the study for the Phase II study antipsychotic I am on and you could bring that to your provider. We obviously cannot provide a diagnosis or make medical reccomendations but can give you information to bring to your psychiatrist. You need to  to speak to them and get things adjusted. "Depression Central" describes options with anti-depressents and mood stabilizers. You also could benefit from a talk therapist as well.