Posted by MomO3 on July 2, 2002, at 13:02:49
In reply to Bipolar or ADD??? » Fuscia, posted by JonW on July 2, 2002, at 12:34:41
Hi Jon,
I have been struggling with the Bipolar vs. ADD question recently too... It sounds like you and I are much the same page right now.
I took prozac for the better part of 9 years but rarely for more than 2-3 months at a time. Several months ago I got pdoc to diagnose ADD and I have gone thru the standard pstims - I liked them ok, but the resulting irritability and anxiety were unbearable.
For 2 months I was taking neurontin, dexadrine & paxil in the morning, and neurontin & xanax at bed. I was also mood charting (not at Dr req, but just for personal discovery). About a month into this combo, I felt *great*, I was happy, active, motivated, peaceful... then things started to come apart, and the mood chart showed it.
I would grog in the a.m. as always - after 1st cup of coffee I would feel ok, then I got very overactive, over-focused, irritable, and didn't accomplish much. By 2pm I would sometimes have an anxiety attack followed by a crash, or just a plain crash. I was so depressed I couldn't move... couldn't cook, clean, I would literally crawl back to the babies room to change diapers, and then lay on the floor when I was done. I would go to bed and repeat the same the next day... this went on for atleast a week... I felt like I was about to come un-glued. (Does this sound like mixed-states bipolar?)
In desperation I switched all of my meds... I switched from a low dose of dexadrine to a higher dose of concerta (leftover in the cabinet) - I switched from paxil to celexa - and basically caused a "switch" to a hypomanic state, with restlessness and insomnia.
I told Pdoc about all of this and he upped the neurontin dosage, and has made me swear off the SSRIs completely... My new cocktail is neurontin + ritalin in the am - sometimes ritalin at noon, and neurontin + klonopin at night. I am now usually overfocused, and battling a lurking depression. Yesterday I forgot the ritalin and was on the floor at noon... so I guess the ritalin is my anti-depressant now? I just don't know anymore....
Although I am leaning towards bipolar, I am really afraid to get that diagnosis because I don't want to take lithium or anything that will make me any fatter than I already am...
What meds are you taking (sorry if you already posted that I am just back after a psycho-babble sabatical).
Thanks!
Mom
poster:MomO3
thread:111115
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111208.html