How can you tell that a certain medication is working???

[Malaksharif]

i have been reading through many posts here where members examines the effect of their new medication within days of the time they started  taking their new meds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,some even change their meds within weeks!!!!i mean almost every week or 5 days they change or adjust their dozes ,,,,,,,,,,,

all this is contradicting to what i read on line or to what my pdoc tells me
for example,my pdoc always tells me to wait and be patient and not every change of my mood in days time is because of my meds coz there are lots of other reasons that can make me manic or depressed that has to do with my environment and daily life ..................i read that lamictal takes almost 6 month if not a year till it build up and its effects shows.................although lithium takes some month till it works

i started with 200mg lamictal right away when i was first diagnosed and it did not work with lithium till a year passed..i felt horrible for a year now am swinging from good ,ok or bad..of course life is not bright any more but am not really ding like that past year

my question is do pdocs in the USA or Europe have a different view on this matter,,,,,,can really meds show their effect within days????????????????
PLZ i really need an answer on this
thx in advance

[Malaksharif]

i am so grateful for sharing this with me..........i hope both of us get better soon as my curve has been going down for some time too,,,,,cannot left my self up yet..........

i do not know about your schedule but when am able to get up at dawn and go for a walk,my day passes ok,,,,,,,,

so sorry you had a rough day
praying for you (you are a brave mother :).
hope i will have the courage to have children too

[hell1971]

saw my doc today and he is weaning me off over 12 days the lithium, he agrees im becoming sick again, he beleives the lithium isnt working and is going to increase the olanzapine which he hopes will deal with the sleep problem and can also make you feel better which it did when i first took it. i think long term he will try and get my on a mono  drug maintenance and has talked today about another drug alltogether but he wants to work with what i have but he also thinks talk therapy to help me to manage the stress in my life at the moment will also play a part to getting me well. im back next week so he can make sure things havent gone too far south. must admit had the worst day so far today.

[hell1971]

im in new zealand

[Malaksharif]

thx a lot for your concerns,,,,,,,am anxious to hear what your pdoc has to say about his,,,,i really like to know what other pdoc in (USA and Europe) think

thx again

[hell1971]

I know that when i took epilim and lithium neither of these had any effect on mood overnight  they did however effect me due to side effects like the sedation etc.. which in turn calmed my manic state somewhat, i have still not recoverred fully 7 months since start of episode but a significant event happend recently and i went 5 steps back and sent me into a more extreme mixed episode, i was given olanzapine and this did do something within days i thought i was sweet, i felt happy and thought i was finally back to normal, unfortunatley it didnt last and my doc is still tweeking my meds and i just dont know anymore. I am still on all three drugs and i feel like i am becoming sick again, starting to grind my teeth, started obsessing, started to talk to myself in my head, started having rehearsal conversations, starting to see objects as something they are not, starting to get paranoid, i am seeing my doc tomorrow if its relevant i will let you know.