Medications

[jaimeinottawa]

I have been on soo many different medications for my bi-polar. I have had doctors tell me I am not bi-polar and put me on antidepressants alone, only for me to become very manic. At this point I am just sick and tired of the medications. I am sick of the doctors and all of the different opinions. The most recent medication I was on was lamotrigine, i was up to 200 mg/day i broke out in tiny itchy bumps everywhere. I stopped taking these pills and the bumps have started to go away. I am not sure if it was an allergic reaction, or what it was. Every pill I have been put on has cause such bad side effects that my life seems pointless and hopeless. I just don't know what to do at this point. Do I just say forget about the meds, I will just try to live my life the best I can knowing I cannot go into busy stores, or work? Or do I keep on this path I have been on trying every different medication the doctors throw my way? The meds I can remember taking, and I dont remember them all are paxil, celexa, effexor, prozack, citalopram, clonazepam, lamotrigine, and there are defanitly more than I cannot remember the names of.  I just dont know what to do anymore...
By the way, i believe Effexor should be taken off of the market. The dreams they cause cannot be a good thing. I was waking up screaming thinking there was blood all over me, calling people to make sure I didn't actually kill them. Something that makes your dreams so evil and feel so real has to be saying something about the medication itself. Yet my doctors told me the dreams were not connected with the pills. Weird how the dreams started when I started taking those pills, and went away when I stopped taking the pills... I never remembered my dreams before the pills, and never remembered them after those pills. Things like this make me wonder about all of the different medications doctors throw at me :S

[Crystlas]

I can write more later, because I have to go work.  Most care centers for mental illness have a psychiatrist working in conjunction with a therapist.  Mine does.  I see the psyc. for meds and my therapist for everything else.  She helps me stay on the right track with the illness and helps me w/ life stuff.  I will write more later, but wanted to give you that line of advice!  I am on Lithium, BTW and never have had a problem thus far.  

[jaimeinottawa]

I was diagnosed when I was 14 but doctors had their different opinions. I do have a psychiatrist, but I never talk during my sessions, so I don't see how it is helping me. I was in the mental hospital for a little while, when I was 18, they told me I was not bipolar when I first went in there, and not too long after they told me I am bipolar, and I have BPD. I have always refused the lithium because anyone I know who has taken it has told me it was a very bad experience. I do get very manic when I am on an antidepressant alone. I get lazy and zombyish when I am on all the meds they want me on. But if I take no meds I feel like a normal person, but with more mood swings, some manic episodes, not that often, and some depression episodes, but not too often. Without the meds I atleast feel I have the energy on some days to clean, and cook, other days I don't feel like even getting out of bed. But when I was on the meds, I just sat around all of the time not wanting to do anything, not depressed, but lazy and tired as hell. I have been through a lot for someone my age, and i take that into consideration for myself. I brought it up when I first saw my psychiatrist, just like I have with all of the others, but he doesn't really bring any of my past situations up, which I kind of prefer. But he doesn't really bring anything up, spends more time asking me about the meds, I really don't like talking about my problems, I am better at writing them out. I get really stressed out when I have to go to the psychiatrist, always have, so I make my visits as few and as short as I can.

[DLA]

I would also suggest a new dr.  

I also agree with the Effexor being a horrendous drug!  Apparently some ppl do have really good luck with it though.  Personally I will never get near the stuff again.

[Crystlas]

In my opinion, being un-medicated with bipolar sucks big time.  I still feel bad a lot on meds, but much much better than w/o.  When were you actually diagnosed bipolar?  I was started on Lithium and then they tried 10 different other meds to work with it.  Well that did not work and I ended up in the hospital.  They started me on Wellbutrin in there and it is helping alot.  Most anti depressents will make you manic w/o a mood stablizer in place first.  Have you found a good psychiatrist yet?  That makes all the difference.  I went through a few myself to find a really good one.  Hope this helps some!