Lethargy and medication

[starbunny]

Since taking seroquel for bipolar my life has slowed down enormously and I have gone from being very active to the most inactive I have ever been in my life. I lack motivation to do even the most basic things, and I have other side effects. My pdoc believes that this lack of motivation etc is depression, which I'm sure it is but he wants me to increase the seroquel substantially as he believes that it will help. I am worried that this will will make matters worse as I sometimes can't make it out of bed as it is, and am struggling to function. He suggested changing to respirdol as that would be less sedating, but I haven't heard any good things about it from anyone I know who's tried it. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Although my family comment how much better I am, for me it feels as if I am turning into a vegetable.

[starbunny]

Yes, I agree adel. I suspect that if you are hearing voices then perhaps you may need to stick with an AP as well as a MS.
The downside of seroquel is that in order to work on psychotic symptoms the dose has to be increased above levels generally required for sedation, as I have discovered. The pdoc told me that sedation stops after 100mg, but each time I have raised the dose I have been even more lethargic.
I am glad that your parents are backing you up and supporting you, and my thoughts will be with you tomorrow, and please let me know the outcome of your appointment.
Best of luck and please take care of yourself friend :)

[adel_ezz]

hi again

i reread your post because we are in the same shoes. Tomorrow i am seeing my pdoc. I am discussing 3 possibilities after my mania is almost ending:

1. to take seroquel only as a monotherapy and raise the dose to 150 hoping to lift
   depression and act as a mood stabilizer while cutting off all the other AP's i.e. the
   risperidal and stelazine

2. to stop all the AP's except a minor dose of seroquel 25-50mg say + lithium all in all

3. to take another MS like valproate or gabapentin

i really am running out of ideas and i don't think the pdoc can propose other choices. of course there remains another AC like lamictal or tegretol or trileptal

a continuous struggle indeed. yesterday i had severe suicidal thoughts and hearing voices telling me or ordering me to cut my throat off, my parents got alarmed and informed the pdoc that my BP is to be taken seriously this time because not that things don't improve but in fact deteriorate so we need a strong intervention instead of the trivial sedatives i'm taking

hope you are well

[starbunny]

jimgreg

Hi yes, I was calmed on a low dose  - 100mg and slept better, but the depression persisted so the dose went up. I am now on 600mg and it is meant to go up!! so you can understand how I find it difficult to accept that it will help with the depression, only in the way that perhaps I won't care about the fact I am totally inactive with zero motivation.

adel_ezz

Yes, we have very similar positions - with tackling the depression, and I hope that you will get on with the gabaprentin. I asked about it (and Lyrica) and the pdoc did not think it was for me. He said that I would not be as depressed if I was not worrying about paranoid things, and that it would be better to tackle the paranoia first than the anxiety that goes after it. :(

bipolar community

I really am wondering whether to switch antipsychotic to something less sedating. If anybody has got any experience of such a drug I would be ever so grateful if you could give us a review, thanksx

[adel_ezz]

me too nowadays as it is bringing me down. once the mania is gone hopefully, my pdoc will probably put me on lithium. i shall discuss wiuth him first gabapentin because it has no side effects at all and good for anxiety.

i read in the british medical guide that the first intervention is using antipsychotics, then you give lithium for a no of years.

look nobody knows anything and you keep trying that's the trick then after a no of years the meds stop functioning then you switch to something else. some docs say it will get better others affirm things will get worse.

[jimgreg]

so true..i was on 100 mgs at nights only..i was able to have a good day till i took trhis med and it dids me just as you..i was on it 2 yrs...its a anti psychotic class..some pepole that are very maninc need 400 mgs aday,,to calm them..but not us lol