Posted by oceansun on October 20, 2014, at 22:25:01
In reply to how do you know when you need an AD?, posted by Christ_empowered on October 20, 2014, at 14:40:16
If you're lying in bed all day -- you sound pretty depressed -- I wouldn't worry right now about avoiding pain or taking another med. You're not avoiding pain by taking an AD; that thinking can be a sign of depression itself, at least it was for me.
Is it existential pain, and/or from trauma or specific things?
And if motivation and lethargy are your top concerns, I second the Wellbutrin recommendation, and I don't think it would increase hallucinations, but I could be wrong, I don't know much about them. As for the hallucinations, can you raise the Abilify dose? I don't know what the highest dose is offhand. If not, you could switch to another antipsychotic that may work better for you, since I think you're on a high dose already.
I don't know if any of this is helpful, but I'm sorry you feel bad, and I hope you and your pdoc can figure something out.
> I know, I know; at the end, its up to me and my doc. I get that.
>
> But..its like...I have very mild what I call "quasi-hallucinations," despite the current combo (30/Abilify, 100/Lamictal, 1200/Trileptal), plus massive doses of select supplements (Orthomolecular...check out www.doctoryourself.com if you're curious. Or read up on Dr.Abram Hoffer).
>
> Anyway, its like...I require my current meds, but an AD feels like...excess? Too much? An easy way out? Like I'm hiding from pain as I go through a rough patch?
>
> And yet...I think I may need to do *something*, you know, if only for a period of time, like 6 months or so.
>
> I'm physically slowed down. I feel like I'm just going through the motions when I interact with people. Since I'm unemployed, I have the luxury of lying in bed, just thinking. I've gained a considerable amount of weight, although that has fortunately stopped. I'm stable at the fattest I've ever been, lol.
>
> I go for days without brushing my teeth. Luckily for me, my somewhat affluent parents took me in and give me leeway. They're basically well-educated hippies, lol. My hair gets greasy. I find doing simple things to be an incredible chore. I smoke heavily, like 2 packs/day of my beloved Camels.
>
> What to do? Any AD suggestions? Would the dosage of Abilify need to be adjusted?
>
>
> I should add...I have 2 PRN meds. 2mgs/Risperdal tablets (my shrink pulled it out of his desk, lol) and low-dose neurontin. When I really need to simmer down the voices and agitation, I take a few neurontin, plus 1-3 Risperdal, plus some taurine and b-6 (not on and empty stomach, for obvious reasons). Knocks me out cold, I wake up fuzzy brained, but calm. This is not a long term solution, obviously.
>
> Thoughts? Advice?
poster:oceansun
thread:1072567
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20141017/msgs/1072622.html