Posted by dove on November 5, 2001, at 10:12:45
In reply to Re: med combo- Sar, posted by Krazy Kat on November 5, 2001, at 9:40:51
> > >
> > > 40 mg prozac
> > > 1 mg klonopin twice daily
> > > 1800 mg neurontin
> > > 25 mg lamictal, to titrate up to 50 mg
> >
>
> the drugs are for depression/anxiety/purported bipolar II.
>
>is there a drug for people who are obsessively suicidal? often all i can think about is hanging myself from a tree, and i chose the rope at Home Depot yesterday. i want a drug to make these thoughts go away...
> > >I'm taking a six med-combo, and I can relate somewhat (from your post at least) to how you are feeling. I've also held the same diagnoses, the only one that's been removed is the Bipolar--they couldn't pinpoint any single manic episode that lasted longer than a day.
Amitriptyline: 50mgs at bedtime (have moved in between 150 mgs. and 50 mgs.) It has positive effects on my sleep cycles, and has proved to act like a base stabilizer for my depression and anxiety.
Serzone: 400-450 mgs. per day. Softens the edges of anxiety and has a very good effect on my sleep and daytime moodiness.
Prozac: 35-40 mgs. per day, ramped up very slowly, 5mgs per day to 10mgs to 15mgs to 20, where I stayed for awhile, then 25mgs, 30mgs, 35mgs, and currently vacillating between the 35 and 40 mgs. per day dosage. This is being taken for energy, an uplift in mood, personal assertiveness, and anxiety.
Klonopin: 3 mgs. per day for panic attacks and anxiety. I rarely (*very* rarely) take this amount. I stick around 1.5 per day unless something is especially agitating to me.
Adderall: 40 mgs. per day, childhood dxed ADHD, it calms me down and helps keep me focused and not feeling so overwhelmed--which usually results in extreme mood-swings and suicidal impulses.
Neurontin: 1,200 mgs to 2,400 mgs. Stabilize mood, lift mood, lessen anxiety, seems to help....
The first item in your combo that gave me a flashing red light is your 40mgs of Prozac daily. When I first started taking Prozac in November-January of 1999 (or thereabouts...) I became extremely suicidal, I just wanted to get my house completely tidy before I did it. Luckily for me, I have five kids and a husband who find it extremely physically challenging to lift a toe--much less a hand--with household cleaning, so the house has never quite made it to tidy.
This time, currently--as opposed to my Prozac experience in 1999--the Prozac was ramped slowly, and in combo with those other meds already in place, it didn't numb me to the point of complete disillusionment, nor did it give me that extra push and energy to get rid of myself.
Klonopin is a mood stabilizer (and an anti-epileptic med) and can accentuate depression in many people, even at very low dosages.
So you have, with some certainty anxiety and depression, and a possible *maybe* for Bipolar II. The Second aspect of your med-combo would then be the excessive use of mood stabilizers and anti-epileptic meds rather than trying an older TCA, a SNRI, or an SSRI that doesn't have as long a history for causing suicidal impulses as Prozac. Your only true AD is the Prozac, and maybe that's not the med that's going to decrease the depression for you! There's Wellbutrin, Serzone, Effexor, and the other SSRI's aside from Prozac, there are MAOI's, atypical everythings, there are many more options awaiting you!
Try not to allow the Doc's to get stuck on the Bipolar treatment first, since it's quite obvious that it's not working. The depression may need to be treated first (and possibly immediately), and all the AE stabilizers and SSRI's in the world just might not do a decent thing for you!!!
I send my best wishes to you and hope your Doc will listen to you!
dove
poster:dove
thread:82989
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011104/msgs/83254.html