Posted by 4WD on January 17, 2006, at 22:12:38
In reply to Re: Med-induced hypomania? Crazy and hopeless » 4WD, posted by detroitpistons on January 17, 2006, at 10:16:20
> Marsha,
>
> The meds changing our brain chemistry issue does not make me feel good, to say the least...I just can't help but feel that my condition has changed because of them. A doctor would probably say that it's not the meds, that your condition is changing naturally, but my gut tells me that it's the meds. Regardless, what's done is done, and now I have to take more meds to treat my slowly deteriorating condition.>
> I know what you mean about being anhedonic. Paxil made me feel better for a short time, but I was mostly just numb...Very little emotion or feeling, and no happiness or joy. I didn't like that at all. Lexapro was a complete waste of time--virutally no effect. And now back to the Effexor, and it doesn't work even remotely as well as it did the first time.I'm afraid of that too. The last time I was on Effexor it didn't work well at all. It's kind of a last resort now - at least I can tolerate it's side effects and it will (I hope) at least keep me out of suicidal depression.
>
> When you said that you felt like you were on the verge of having a panic attack, but never quite having one, I could relate 110% because that's exactly the way I've felt recently. I think it's noteworthy to point out that the first time I ever felt that way, I was withdrawing from Paxil. I wonder if there's some sort of connenction.The first time I felt that way was when I had stopped Effexor and started Paxil. That happened twice. It happened again when I stopped Effexor and started Cymbalta. But I had stopped Effexor in the past without having this happen. Only a couple of years earlier.
>
> I was also a very nervous kid. As I got older and my anxiety progressed, I'd become very irritable when my stress levels increased (due to school). This happened even after adolescence, while I was in college. I severely distressed relationships with certain people. I would get overly angry and irritable about things. I think I've always managed to salvage my important relationships, but I killed off other, less significant relationships. I would have thought that all of this is caused by GAD, and that my depression is anxiety driven, but I'm curious to see what my doctor says.I used to have mainly depression but I truly think now that if I didn't have the anxiety, I would be much much less depressed. Before I got into this state of horrible fear and anxiety, I was doing fairly well on just 37.5 mg Effexor. By fairly well, I mean functional, tired and listless and anhedonic but not desperately depressed and not anxious.
>
> I'm not suggesting you're bipolar, but there is a very strong connection between anxiety and bipolar II. Anxiety can actually be a result of bipolar (or be a separate disorder). It's an interesting subject.
>
> You really do HAVE TO GET YOUR HOPES UP. At least you have Klonopin to bail you out if all else fails. I know it doesn't cure everything, but it probably helps a lot. Besides, it makes perfect sense that Depakote could help you. You are in a hypomanic state, and Depakote is a mood stabilizer. What else could you ask for?I've been on the Depakote for less than a week and haven't noticed any difference. I'm still at a low dose, though. I'm hoping it will kick in soon.
Well, I don't know if I"m in a hypomanic state or not. I wake up scared and very jittery. I'm very nervous until my Klonopin kicks in but it's not a worry kind of anxiety. I was definitely in teh hypomanic state (flitting around, no concentration, way too much bad energy, doing too many things at once, etc) while I was on the increased dose of Celexa but within a week or 10 days of lowering the Celexa back down that went away.
>
> One last thing...in my post yesterday, I mentioned that I thought I was feeling better. Well, I've been taking Xanax, but yesterday I didn't take it in the morning. On my way home from work, mind started speeding out of control. I felt super depressed and anxious. It felt more like a mixed state.That's exactly how I feel a lot of the time. Very scared and nervous and jittery and deeply deeply depressed at the same time. It's horrible.
But then I got home, popped a xanax, and everything was fine. It seems like I feel the worst when I am by myself and I have nothing else to do but think (like when I'm in the car in the terrible Chicago traffic which also agitates me).
Me too. If there is something I have to do, and I go ahead and do it, especially if it involves being around other people, I usually feel better. In fact, I can't let myself stay home by myself too much or I will definitely start to get crazy feeling. The mixed state feeling. There are times, however that I try to go ahead and do what I need to do and I still feel horrible.
> I don't feel bad all the time though. Do you? I'm curious.Sometimes at night it all goes away. And I take my last Klonopin dose of the day at about 2 or 3 pm. By maybe 9 or 10 at night, sometimes 11, I feel almost normal. Sometimes I even feel happy at night. But when I wake up in the morning, it's all back again. I feel bad every single morning. Scared and wired. That's what wakes me up- the nervous feeling. I don't get enough sleep because the nervousness wakes me up.
When do you feel okay? It is at regular intervals or is it random?
Until I started this thread I had no idea there were so many people here having these very same symptoms. Seems like *somebody's* pdoc could figure it out.
Marsha
poster:4WD
thread:596880
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060115/msgs/600193.html