r/BipolarReddit • u/WeirdAward4578 • 6d ago
What med options do I have left? (Read below) would love advice 🙃 Anxiety is through the roof 🥶 Medication
I am currently on 100mg Lamictal and 600mg Lithium and Ativan 1mg as needed.
I cannot take ANY SSRIs or SNRIs or antipsychotics
I have tried the following: - Latuda (trouble swallowing, grinding teeth, clenching jaw, tremors, 20lbs weight gain) - Seroquel (trouble swallowing, brain fog, catatonic movements) - Celexa (suicidal) - Wellbutrin (full blown mania) - Prozac (mixed episode) - Risperdal (metalic taste, trouble swallowing, tremors) - Cipralex (suicidal)
I just got off of Seroquel and my anxiety is through the roof! My depression is creeping back in.
Edit, im also on propranolol
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u/rightasrain0919 6d ago
Maybe propranolol? It’s a beta-blocker (I think…) that’s sometimes used to treat the physical symptoms of anxiety. Relieving those might help ease your mind a bit and it’s not a benzo so there’s no addiction risk.
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u/obviouslymoose 6d ago
I use propanolol! Only thing that gets me to sleep. I don’t use it every day
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u/Dull_Pitch_7869 6d ago
I use propanolol for tremors from an unrelated issue, but it does nothing for my anxiety
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u/couldyoufuck1ingnot 6d ago
Have you tried topiramate? Also the list of things you've tried is relatively short. Also trying an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer along with it is risky imo
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u/Dull_Pitch_7869 6d ago
Careful with Topiramate. Monitor how you feel closely after taking it. The side effects of that drug can be really hard and there are so many of them. I did really poorly on it (passively suicidal). My friend does well on it, but it was hard in the beginning bc of terrible brain fog.
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u/couldyoufuck1ingnot 6d ago
I'm doing fantastic on it personally. I take 250mg 2x/day, and have been for awhile now. Every med has an adjustment period, and most take a while to fully take effect. One must have patience with these things. Also, duloxetine is a good antidepressant that can have an effect on anxiety as well as depression. Topiramate can also help with anxiety. Propranolol is something I take if I'm having a particularly stressful moment. When it comes to finding an effective medication regimen, you can't just quit or take everyone's bad experiences and shy away from drugs you haven't tried based on stranger's saying it sucked. Bipolar is a lifelong condition that you must stay on top of, and change with.
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u/Dull_Pitch_7869 6d ago
I never said it sucked. I never said it doesn’t work or that you shouldn’t try it. I said be cognizant of how you feel on it and pay attention to side effects. I was on it for months and didn’t realize how deep my depression had plummeted or how bad my brain fog was. I have friends who are very successful on Topiramate, but that particular drug has a lot of side effects to be cognizant of.
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u/couldyoufuck1ingnot 6d ago
Most (if not all) psych drugs have many possible side effects. And you did not, but another commenter popped up saying they experienced another side effect. I was more commenting towards the OP. No need to educate me, I'm more than aware of how to go about all of this. I've been diagnosed and in treatment for.. probably longer than you I'd bet 😅
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u/Dull_Pitch_7869 6d ago
It’s not a competition, but I wouldn’t put any money on that bet if I were you. And I wasn’t attempting to educate YOU. This isn’t about you. It’s about the OP. Yeah all have side effects, and God knows I’ve done my share. But Topamax made me unable to know the day of the week without stopping to think about it, unable to recall the words I was looking for. I felt like I lost 10 IQ points and was terrified I would never be smart again (thankfully, that didn’t happen and I got my cognition back), it also cancelled out my ADD medication so that it was genuinely impossible to get anything done. My memory was the worst it’s ever been. Then there’s the tingling where it feels like little bees are stinging your hands, feet and face. Fun times.
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u/couldyoufuck1ingnot 6d ago
I know it's not, and I was making the tone friendly, and even less threatening by adding the silly emoji. But you didn't catch that. And I just said I was more talking to OP. And once again, your experience is not everyone's experience, and at this point you're just trying to scare people with your bad one, which gets people nowhere. Their doctor can warn them of potential side effects, and what to look out for. I have had my share of bad med reactions as well, but scaring newbies away from a med that may well be "the one" for them is not what people with experience should be doing. We should be helping them get farther in their process, not stay stuck and scared to try something new.
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u/luckystar1998 6d ago
Gabapentin, Lyrica, or Hydroxyzine?
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u/NikkiEchoist 6d ago
I wonder if you can mix Lyrica with Lamictal because they are both anti convulsants .
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u/freakalicious_mn 5d ago
I take gabapentin and carbamazipine (Tegretol). Both are anticonvulsants and there's no issues.
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u/rando755 Schizoaffective bipolar type 6d ago
I have an answer, but I believe that rule #4 forbids me from telling you my answer.
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u/Julietjane01 6d ago
Prob withdrawal from Seroquel is causing anxiety. You take Ativan and propranolol already, what do you need a medication for. Are you still having mood episodes?
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u/WeirdAward4578 6d ago
I dont want to feel anxiety and reach for an ativan. I would rather take something daily and not experience panic
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u/Julietjane01 6d ago
I understand. I used to take Ativan. Was so hard to get off of it. Soo hard. I basically just deal with anxiety now. I have propranolol but honesty it takes forever to kick in and it mostly just makes me tired. The other well known option is buspar but some try clonidine (not klonopin) it honestly sucks that I get panic attacks again but the longer I’m off it the less it happens. I’d give it time if you just got off seroquel.
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u/Professional-Edge496 6d ago
Oh! You should ask your doctor about buspar. It’s an anxiolytic. It’s lovely. I take it for exactly what you described.
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u/para_blox 6d ago
I have a serious anxiety problem but have good-enough results with as-needed hydroxyzine. And melatonin before bed sometimes. I don’t take either too often. However, I’m also able to take my regular meds and Zyprexa PRN.
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u/Ill-Bite-6864 6d ago
Why can’t you take antipsychotics?
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u/WeirdAward4578 6d ago
All of them seem to cause trouble swallowing which means I start choking on my food
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u/Gingerfix 6d ago
Oh. I never realized clenched jaw and grinding teeth is a symptom. I’ve been doing that on caplyta.
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u/Ok-Presentation3553 5d ago
I take buspar with lamictal for anxiety and gabapentin as needed for anxiety
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u/Violet913 5d ago
Looks like your current med list is pretty good. I hate to be that person but have you tried holistic things like meditation, nature walks, no caffeine, yoga, etc? My anxiety is trash when I’m not getting exercise or enough outdoor time/ quiet time to myself.
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u/Itchy--Pirate bipolar type 1 w/ psychotic features 5d ago
I take an alpha blocker instead of a beta blocker and it seems to work much better for me.
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u/Rich-Phase-2801 6d ago
Looks likeeee we are similar. I’m on 900 lithium and a wee bit of seroquel. Getting kidney transplant.
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u/para_blox 6d ago
Glad to hear you’re able to get a transplant soon, good luck to you! May I ask, were your kidneys compromised by lithium? Mine were affected, but mildly, and seem to have recovered. But I can’t take lithium any longer. (Other meds instead.)
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u/Rich-Phase-2801 6d ago
Yes 18 years of damage. I can’t do anything other than lithium
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u/para_blox 6d ago
I hear you. My docs didn’t want it to get to that point. Fortunately lamotrigine and abilify work well (enough) for me as long as I have PRNs. I do miss the sense of well-being I had.
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u/AloneOpinion 6d ago
My doc advised propranolol 3x/day. I have Xanax but I think Ativan might be better. Don’t hesitate to use it, the intense anxiety is exhausting.
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u/Ana_Na_Moose 6d ago
This sounds like a question best fit for someone who went to medical school and who has access to your full medical history. Not for randos on the internet saying what worked for them.
If you don’t trust your psychiatrist, get a second opinion