Posted by Chloe on December 10, 2001, at 19:48:53
In reply to Repeat request, posted by akc on December 10, 2001, at 11:38:41
Akc,
IMHO, switching meds is hell. But if you are having a problem with a med, I know how important it feels to make the switch. I just loathe the instability while I make changes. I have bp2, major depression, mood dyregulation stuff like that)
Li to Depakote, hum. For me, Lithium had a much better AD effect than Depakote. Dep made me a little flat mood wise. But it was very effective in controlling anger and keeping me relatively stable. They are both first line MS's. And if you are concerned about your thyroid, it's definitely worth a try. You do have to monitor your liver functions on dep, and weight gain can be an issue. But I see you are on Topamax. that is often used to offset the weight gain associated with dep. (I think I mentioned this to you in another query you posted)
Seroquel to Geodon, well...I really like seroquel because of it's sedating qualities. And is my first choice of all the Atypical AP's. I always sleep so well and find it a very nice quieting med. (I wish I could take it other than emergencies. But I have persistant TD probs)
Geodon, for me is extremely activating. it did have some nice AD qualities too. But I was hypomanic for the first 4 or 5 days on it. I never stopped talking during that time! After I settled down on Geodon, I found it helped with distorted thinking and gave me energy. But I had chronic sleeping problems. (Then of course the TD started so I had to end my trial.) But since you have added klonipin and have trazodone prn, this may not be an issue for you...But in my experience seroquel(calming) and geodon(activating!) are so different. I think you would have to switch extremely gradually, not to upset things too much.
This is purely just my personal experience. And of course YMMV. If you do start to make some adjustments, i do hope you do it very slowly and carefully.
HOpe this helps
C> Along with the klonopin request just above, I wuold lke to repeat an earlier request t get some feedback. Currently, I am taking:
>
> 75 mg Effexor XR
> 50 mg/50 mg Topomax
> 200 mg/200 mg Seroquel
> 600 mg/600 mg lithium
> 1 mg/1 mg klonopin
> 50-150 prn of trazadone (have been taking 100 here lately)
>
> My diagnosis is Bipolar II (mixed state -- agitation/depression), PTSD and alcoholim. Up until the klonopin was added, I was in a horrible mixed state. Now I am in a horrible depression.
>
> My doctor is thinking of changing some stuff -- depakote for lithium (scared to death on this one) and gedeon for seroqel.
>
> I would like any insight.
>
> akc
poster:Chloe
thread:86463
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011202/msgs/86521.html