I am going to the doctor next week and want to talk to him about adding a mood stabilizer. Obviously he will have something to recommend and will probably know
best but I was wondering what people on here have tried and what has worked and not worked.
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Mood Stabilizers
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 beq |
Mood Stabilizers |
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Posts: 4 (01/06/09 21:41:12) |
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 484 (01/06/09 21:54:21) |
Seroquel caused psychotic episodes in me and some of my current health problems....
Abilify caused tremendous restlessness..... Geodon has been a godsend, it has made HUGE differences for me..... It stopped the racing thoughts and elevated my mood..... I am pretty stable now..... Geodon can cause a problem with a portion of the heartbeat and elevate the blood sugar...... I started daily exercise so I can stay on it because that drops my blood sugar.... I went from a depressed mess to feeling good and happy..... So much so in fact that starting this month my new insurance does not cover it as a prefcrred prescription and it will cost me 50.00 instead of 25.00 but I am not willing to try something else so I am going to pay it..... So much so in fact that I stopped the ambien for sleep because everything is working so well for me..... That is my experience  ....
I hope you find one that does as well for you..... Q |
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midnight soul |
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Posts: 18 (01/07/09 00:21:17) |
For the last 4 yrs. (or so) I have taken Lamictal, a mood stabilizer. I don't feel it has done much for me but my psychiatrist thinks it helps at least a
little...so I agree to continue to take it to please him and because I have no side effects from it. I started off low and went up to a therapeutic level of
250mgs/day.
I have also been on Topomax, another mood stabilizer. I had no side effects from it either but felt no beneficial effect either. I have been on ALL anti-depressants that exist, including all the old tri-cyclics and MAOI's. None of these have ever phased my depression or any other BPD symptom. I have tried ALL the SSRI's and some in combination with anti-psychotics such as Abilify, Respiridal, Geodon, Zyprexa. Abilify gives me heart palpitations and restlessness, and I also had side effects with Respiridil. No beneficial effects either. Zyprexa was a nightmare drug for me...the side effects horrible! I felt terrible on Geodon. Seroquel is WAY too sedating of a drug for me...it seems to exacerbate my depression. Prozac, an SSRI, worked a little bit for me, but only for a short while before it lost its effect. HOWEVER, drugs work differently for different people. You might be one of the lucky ones who finds a medication that helps you. But I know that if you are interested in a mood stabilizer, Lamictal and Topomax are 2 very common and popular mood stabilizers of choice by psychiatrists. I've come across many other patients (not BPD) who have been on them and I have rarely heard any complaints about them. |
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horsebdsu |
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Posts: 1343 (01/07/09 19:41:04) |
Topomax does wonders for me
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beq |
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Posts: 8 (01/08/09 16:15:24) |
I looked up Topomax and it came up to help with epilepsy, migraines and binge eating... is it really used as a mood stabilizer?
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horsebdsu |
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Posts: 1344 (01/08/09 18:26:20) |
Yep, it is. And I know a couple of other BPD that swear by it.
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yoyogirl1957 |
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Posts: 131 (01/09/09 03:32:50) |
My psychiatrist told me that everyone reacts to medications differently because each of us has a unique body and brain chemistry. In just one day of taking
Topamax, I nearly caused 4 car accidents and couldn't find my way to my friend's house who live only a mile from my house and where I had driven
frequently in the last 6 years It made me completely loopy. It was so scary that I called my psychiatrist who called me right back and ordered me to stop
taking it. He was surprised that I had that reaction since most patients have a favorable one but he said there is no telling until a psychiatrist has you try
it out. He said there is no exact science in prescribing meds for psychiatric disorders - it's all trial and error. But if you hang in there and have
patience, you and your doctor will find what works for you.
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 493 (01/09/09 17:05:51) |
Topamax is a migraine and seizure med, but used off label for a mood stabilizer.... My son takes it for his seizures....
However there is a doctor who believes that BPD is a related seizure disorder of the temporal region, possibly even a form of temporal lobe epilepsy.... Migraines and seizures are closely related, so if BPD falls into that spectrum as well it seems plausible that AED's could be used to treat it..... Both migraines and seizures run in my family, as well as psychiatric disorders..... Topamax is also not the only anti seizure medication used in psychiatric conditions.... No one truly understands neurological conditions, no one knows exactly why neurological meds work the way they do, so its all kind of a crap shoot..... Seizures are poorly understood so when my son started having them we were told he had idiopathic seizure disorder, a pediatric doctor literally told me that it means the doctors are idiots and have no idea why he is having them..... So its all about trial and error, so sometimes we have to try multiple meds, in multiple mixes to see what works LOL..... Welcome to being a guinea pig unfortunately  .....
Q |
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stmnstff101 |
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Posts: 136 (01/10/09 18:50:55) |
ive been on carbamazapine i think thats how its spelt, i found it worked for me but it caused terrible headaches
also been on sodium valporate i also think this helps but made my hair fall out but remember meds work differantly on differant people steph x |
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sybil |
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Posts: 22 (01/28/09 14:10:35) |
i'm on seroquel - day two - no BAD reactions yet - was totally stoned the first hour or so though - hee hee...give me a break if anyone thinks thats wrong
but I liked it
Its the only really bad side effect the doc mentioned, and slight weight gain etc. but I don't think it should give psychotic episodes, he was very clear of the dosage requirements as its usually used as an anti-psychotic, but also mood stabilising in bpd of course. Q - if you read this - what dose did you take? |
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nomore |
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Posts: 4 (02/22/09 16:41:40) |
i was on effexor xr 150mg and seroquel 25mg in am 200mg at night for 10 months, the weight gain from seroquel was way too much for me. 30# in 30 days. so i
tried to go on prozac and elivil (this combo helped me to lose weight when i was 16) and after two months was freaking out and went back on the
effexor/seroquel. about a year after that I hit a manic state and my fiance at the time (now husband) convinced me that i did not need meds. after two months i
was freaking out, we agreed that i should go back on meds, BUT i was pregant. seroquel worked great for me(other than weight gain) and the only reason i cant
go on it now is my lifestyle and not being able to take it at night (i drive my husband to work at 3 am some days)
i got a rash from lamictal (not the one that is bad, but they said not to take it) in past been on paxil, zoloft, trileptal, elavil, prozac, serzone, wellbutrin, ??? i just started abilify and lexapro. not liking side effects of headache and nausua but no restlessness yet in fact i have been drained of all energy. |
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 634 (02/22/09 18:42:07) |
Sorry Sybil I missed your question....
I was on 125 mg a day was all at the end of my taking it.... Q |
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anotherkindofgreen |
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Posts: 8 (02/24/09 07:47:50) |
has anyone taking geodon noticed a weird headache/jaw stiffness issue? like not being able to open your mouth all the way?
"when you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust him in spite of your
feelings, you worship him in the deepest way"
-C.S. Lewis |
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gypsy |
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Posts: 758 (03/02/09 02:34:09) |
dear anotherkindofgreen, Ive said this in another post to you but just in case you dont read that one.. Please get that jaw stiffness checked by a doctor asap.
I dont want to freak you out but there are some weird and not so wonderful reactions to these drugs and there is one that effects your motor function ie how
your body moves so please rule this out before you go further. Are you having any other stiffness in any other areas? Please see a doctor.
gypsy
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in
having new eyes."
Marcel Proust |
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BionicMike |
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Posts: 3 (04/16/09 20:16:39) |
I take 200 of Lamictal and 30 of Abilify and that really helps me. I know a lot of people on Lamictal and we all swear by it. I used to have wild swings of
emotion and since the Lamictal I haven't had nearly as many. I have "breakthrough" crying episodes, but they're far and few between.
Michael |
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Syndica |
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Posts: 41 (05/03/09 08:54:13) |
hi there,
I can't take seroquel, it makes me convluse like a sezsure. But I am on Tomomax it works to some degree, i need a higher doseage though. |
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darkness on the edge of town |
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Posts: 4 (05/09/09 01:26:56) |
Lamictal is the SHIZNIT!!! I take 50 mg in the AM and 25 mg @ night. I also take 25 mg of Lexapro, 30 mg of ellavil, and 50 mg of seroquel. Four different
meds..but I feel a lot better and i can think SOOO much clearer when I get all emotional. I'm still a wreck...but I'm a better functioning less
self-destrucive wreck *LOL*
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dockgirl |
Lamictal mood stabilizer | ||
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Posts: 1 (07/08/09 21:10:46) |
Inquire about a drug called Lamictal. -Was doing excellent for me!
Good Luck. |
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dockgirl |
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Posts: 2 (07/08/09 21:50:55) |
Recently my health insurance ran out...due to my husband's job. I can't go to a doctor anymore, but she had me taking 100 mg of Lamictal two times a
day, and that was it. Now I've been off of it for three weeks. I can definitely tell. When I took it, I felt no side effects, and actually got to be the
me I wanted to be. I could control myself and my thoughts. Now I realize I need much more than that. Such as an anti depressant and My anxiety level is
through the roof. I can barely function without having a spirraling out of control anxiety and or panic attack. I'm scared to do everything, go anywhere,
or Lord forbid if there's a problem, I just may lost it. What "cocktails" (of meds) are working for everyone? I just need to be calmed down and
to be able to control myself and thoughts again.
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nas |
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Posts: 76 (07/08/09 22:05:24) |
Hey there,
I have depresion and BPD, so I take Paxil (SSRI antidepressant), a low dose of Seroquel (atypical anti-psychotic to sleep) and I take Lithium as a mood stabiliser. Lithium is most commonly used for Bipolar which I don't have... The reason why I take lithium over other mood stabilisers is because it not only works as a mood stabiliser for the BPD, it also augments (intensifies) the effect of the antidepressant for my depression. Two birds, one stone
I haven't been taking the lithium for that long but I am feeling better - I've just increased the dose so I'll give you an update of the effects in a couple of weeks. |
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gypsy |
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Posts: 920 (07/09/09 22:20:51) |
Hi nas, glad to hear the Lithium is working out for you
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in
having new eyes."
Marcel Proust |
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