SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information - View Single Post - I think I may not have BP after all....but I am not mentally well....anyone relate?

kelsh · 11-15-2007, 12:43 PM

Hi Hippy, :comfort

You sure have a lot of symptoms all wrapped around each other. I was doing the same thing as you and had previously been diagnosed with Major Depression/Anger Driven. Then I went into a manic episode and was sent out of town to see a psychiatrist for a diagnosis.

She diagnosed me as BP and put me on 1200 Mg of Lithium and sent me home. In about a week I was Toxic on the Lithium and had to be taken back to see her and by the time I got there, I couldn't walk unless supported. She hospitalized me and took me off of all meds for three days and then started me on 900 mg. of Lithium.

I took this medication for over ten years....I had several manic episodes but not really a lot...I started keeping track and the manic episodes coinsided with when a new medication for my depression was tried.

I went with this information to my doctor and he had me see my local psychiatrist that monitored my meds.....she agreed that she didn't think I was BP and let me titrate slowly off the Lithium. This was the beginning of cutting down other sedating medications...some for my arthritis...and a road to losing weight and becoming more involved in daily life.

It took a year to titrate off these meds because she had us do it very slowly. I went back after the year was up for another evaluation. She was sooo pleased with my progress. She then told me about Lexapro and asked me to try it. End of story. The Lexapro + Effexor XR are the right combination for me. I rarely have a depressed day and if I do can work myself out of it.

As long as some of these diagnoses have been around and with all the new meds to address different mental illnesses, I am surprised it still is a mystery how to treat some of the mental health illnesses.

It has taken me many years to get where I am now. Lots of trials and errors but of course when I was first diagnosed with depression in the fifties...they didn't have much, if any idea how to treat depression....the biggest way (in the 1970's) was with sleep therapy where they would give me enough drugs so I would be awake at meal times only for three days. I had to be in the hospital for them to do it.

I hope you find an answer soon. I am no doctor but just told you what it was like for me. :praying

kelsh

11-15-2007, 12:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
kelsh Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Omak WA Posts: 1,048	BiPolar or not..... Hi Hippy, :comfort You sure have a lot of symptoms all wrapped around each other. I was doing the same thing as you and had previously been diagnosed with Major Depression/Anger Driven. Then I went into a manic episode and was sent out of town to see a psychiatrist for a diagnosis. She diagnosed me as BP and put me on 1200 Mg of Lithium and sent me home. In about a week I was Toxic on the Lithium and had to be taken back to see her and by the time I got there, I couldn't walk unless supported. She hospitalized me and took me off of all meds for three days and then started me on 900 mg. of Lithium. I took this medication for over ten years....I had several manic episodes but not really a lot...I started keeping track and the manic episodes coinsided with when a new medication for my depression was tried. I went with this information to my doctor and he had me see my local psychiatrist that monitored my meds.....she agreed that she didn't think I was BP and let me titrate slowly off the Lithium. This was the beginning of cutting down other sedating medications...some for my arthritis...and a road to losing weight and becoming more involved in daily life. It took a year to titrate off these meds because she had us do it very slowly. I went back after the year was up for another evaluation. She was sooo pleased with my progress. She then told me about Lexapro and asked me to try it. End of story. The Lexapro + Effexor XR are the right combination for me. I rarely have a depressed day and if I do can work myself out of it. As long as some of these diagnoses have been around and with all the new meds to address different mental illnesses, I am surprised it still is a mystery how to treat some of the mental health illnesses. It has taken me many years to get where I am now. Lots of trials and errors but of course when I was first diagnosed with depression in the fifties...they didn't have much, if any idea how to treat depression....the biggest way (in the 1970's) was with sleep therapy where they would give me enough drugs so I would be awake at meal times only for three days. I had to be in the hospital for them to do it. I hope you find an answer soon. I am no doctor but just told you what it was like for me. :praying kelsh __________________ God Grant Me the Serenity to Accept the Things I Cannot Change..the Courage to Change the Things I Can Change..and the Wisdom to Know the Diifference. Sobriety Date: July 10, 1988