if anybody can find this!

[joeyf1232002]

Hello, looks like this place has been dead, 1 posting in the last 45 days. Guess I'll just give it a gander, who knows if anybody will read this. I'm on this forum to talk on the NA chat boards but I also suffer from bipolar. I was diagnosed when I was 15...they said I had ADD when I was 11 and up till I was 15, when they said I had bipolar instead. So 48 bottles and almost 15,000mg of speed later I was put on Depakote with Zyprexa, Klonopin and it turned me into a zombie, then the plenty of anti-depressants with Tegretol made me manic as all hell, spending 1,500$ a day on clothes, 1000$s on drugs. I was put on Lithium and now everything is fine. I feel normal and out going. Like I didn't have bipolar in the first place. My point here is that, those with this ****** disorder, don't give up so easily because there is something out there that WILL work for you make you feel like yourself again. I have a buddy who just did something similar as me. BIpolar also is something that needs to be treated before it gets to late. Suicide or substance abuse, one of the two, almost always follows. 85% of bipolar patients not being treated with meds have substance abuse disorder. I take 900mg of Lithium a day, every day..wake up and take my pill, at night take my second 450mg lithium and 1mg of klonopin. I go about my day as if I were alive and it feels great. Without these meds, I could be out robbing places right now, who knows. You will find a way, one of these days for all those out there suffering from bipolar or severe depression. Good luck to all! Any responses or hugs and flowers out there?? I would kindly accept them I'm open for talk if anybody wants or if anyone even sees this...haha
joey

[HelpDepression]

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your post. It's easy (allbeit important) for people to write when things are miserable, but not many people will take the time to say something when things are good.

It's a very important concept for depression sufferers to understand that the same thing WILL NOT work for everyone. Medication is a tricky thing, and it may happen for you right away ... or it may take years before you finally get it right. Eventually, though, something will work for everyone. You just have to hang in there long enough to find it.

Thanks again, and congratulations on the recovery!

------------------
Chad Colbert
chad@helpdepression.com
http://www.helpdepression.com/

Hi Joey...

Wow. You've been through so much. There is so much history to our stories (isn't there?) that it would take pages to explain, but I just wanted to tell you that I went through every damned anti-depressant out there and spent two years in bed, leaving my son literally without a mother when he was only seven or eight. After all the medications I was asked to try and did, they told me that ECT's were my last option, a last hope. I went through six of them. They were barbaric and did absolutely no good. They removed memories I wanted to keep and left memories I would give anything to forget. Years later I found a neurologist because I couldn't stand the pain of the migraines any longer. He asked me to try one more medication. It was Depakote. For me it lifted the weight of the world from my shoulders. One day I just stopped and realized "I haven't cried in three days"! The headaches were just about gone too. They still haven't changed my diagnosis from PTSD and there certainly isn't any happy pill for me...I remain low all the time but at least I'm putting one foot in front of the other and keep going. You know, I didn't realize that maybe my overspending sprees might have been due to the medication I was on. Hmm, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Smiles one day I hope to achieve, but I am glad that there is happiness that balancing the brain chemistry can bring to you. Good luck and may you continue to have many more happy days.

Love,
Tricia

Hi,
I am happy to see that I am not alone in my 30 year battle with the "practicing(on us)medicine" thing. As was stated, not all meds work on everyone. And getting the right diagnoses is the hardest part. I was labled so many diffrent things, so many times, that I am surprised the doc's didn't run out. I found out that if you are miss-diagnosed and they put you on the wrong med(i.e. the right one for that problem)that you can exhibit the symptoms of that diagnoses. Or end up in Zombie Mode. My daughter use to call me "liveing dead girl" when they had me on lythium-almost800mg-. But the good thing is that things are looking up.
First because I am almost a month sober, and second because the Doc. finally listend to me and found a med. that worked for me. So as my little smilie guy sugests, its brighter out, and the sunglasses are on so I can walk into the light of a new day, and a new way of life. THANKS ALL BLESSED BE

[MonicaR]

:okay:
I was just thinking today that my meds might not be right. My doc has upped my dose of Paxil and I am still eating everything in sight and spending every last cent I have and more. It is nice to have a place to read other peoples experiences. I will be going back to the doc again soon and even though I don't want to, we may have to find something else. I was just about ready to stop taking it and saying forget this. I have tried a lot of meds too, but, you guys make it sound a regular occurance before finding the right one. I'll give it another try.
Thanks,
MonicaR

Hi Monica,

Welcome to the forum.

Medication issues with depression and bipolar and PTSD seem to be complicated. It takes time to figure out the right combination. A medication may work for one episode and then not for the next. I watch it all the time in my work.

Keep trying until you get it right.

Hugs,
MG

[MonicaR]

Thank you for your support MG , it sure helps to know that people are there to talk to. I'm new to asking people advice because I am a total codependant, but I'll try. Thanks again.:shades:
MonicaR

[Pickle]

Hey, Joey,

How about a rainbow filled with love, hugs and tender mercies? I wish you rainbows. Just think, that everything you went through in the past, has made you the beautiful person you are today.

Love,

Pickle