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mdemeritt17
Posts: 5 Member
Hi, my name is Marissa. I recently joined mfp to lose a few pounds. I've been diagnosed with bipolar disorder I and panic disorder since I was 17, and then recently was also diagnosed with GAD (now 20 y.o.). I just started taking medication again, and am on lamictal, latuda, and then xanax as needed. I'm looking for other people who have similar issues that I could talk with.
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I just started titrating onto Lamictal. I'm not bipolar, but many in my family are, and my depression takes on an unstable nature similar to bipolar disorder. My psychiatrist is hoping the Lamictal can help reduce the severity of my depression periods. Here's hoping. I was on Abilify for a while, but it contributed to weight gain, and wasn't super effective. And I tried to take Saphris, but it gave me horrible restless legs and insomnia. I think Latuda is next on the list if Lamictal doesn't help.
I'm on a cocktail of other stuff, too. I have Asperger's, and some of my medications are geared specifically toward complications from that neurology. Not so much panic disorder or GAD as constant management of feeling overwhelmed and confused. Especially in social situations.0 -
Hi Marissa! My real name is Kim. I am bipolar 1. I was diagnosed 12 years ago. In 10 days I will be 46. I was hospitalized for about 2 weeks. It was my first and last hospitalization. Currently I take klonopin, Wellbutrin and Topamax and have been on that mix for the past 3 years or so and have been doing pretty well. I have tried Latuda, but it made me SUPER tired. You say you just returned to taking meds?? I am curious, how were you able to stop? I would love to some day be able to be off of all meds. But if I "play doctor" and don't follow my plan, I am a mess and go "bat **** crazy" and my sleep cycle gets messed up.
On Monday, I am going to a 5-day retreat on mental health to become a peer support specialist. I am super excited. The internet connection is limited so if you don't hear anything back from me, that is why. I also found a nice support group on Facebook. I do not know anyone in real life that is bipolar so I am always happy to meet people "like me"!!0 -
I shouldn't have quit; I ran out of medication and had just moved away to school so I didn't know where to go for them. I got really depressed, but I think my levels of anxiety about school balanced it out enough that I still made myself do things or else I would have a panic attack. I have cycled several times, but I haven't went into a full-blown manic episode for awhile. I've become very self-aware when I start showing signs of another episode coming so I try to counteract them by avoiding things that trigger them more. I'm glad to be back on medication though. I felt like I was getting a lot worse and I don't think I could have made it through the schoolyear that's coming up.0
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I tried to stop one of my meds while I was a junior in college. It made me super sleepy all the time, and I couldn't drink alcohol with it. Worst decision ever. I went into a terrible downward spiral, and it took about 6 months to stabilize again. That being said, I'm hoping my current cocktail's not my maintenance dose. My psychiatrist suspects I might be overmedicated for my current external triggers. It worked in college, but my needs and life are very different now.
Several relatives on my mother's side of the family are bipolar. Abilify has worked well for the two on medication, but it's just so expensive that neither of them keep up with their regimen the way they should. So many of the psych meds are prohibitively expensive. Big problem, I think.
mdemeritt17-is anyone in your family bipolar or suspected bipolar? I assume it runs in families because it has in mine, but I don't know if that's universally true. I had a similar problem with the depression in school. I was so depressed, but if I quit going to class or didn't show up to soccer practice, I would lose my scholarship and upset/anger so many people. I was scared of both of those, so I went through the motions.0 -
Hi I also have bipolar. I'm 35 and a mum of a gorgeous little boy. I'm on Abilfy, allegron and lexapro. When I started lexapro I was always hungry and put on 20 kg through binge eating. Now I'm on metformin as an appetite suppressant and I'm losing weight again. I was diagnosed in 2006 after being misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder for 7 years. I'm stable now.
Would love to have friends with similar issues.0 -
Yes, my mother and uncle are both bipolar as well. It definitely runs in the family.0
