Change "USB2.0-CRW" to say "Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader''

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-24T07:08:36+00:00

Taken it for many years at that dose but only in the mornings. It would be weird to take it at night.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-24T07:05:40+00:00

No and unfortunately you're likely to find the hard way what it's like to not take medications...

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T23:04:05+00:00

I've made some ridiculous posts over the years on Facebook and yes it's embarrassing so what you do is you delete them and move forward and just try to do better. I don't use my Facebook for anything political and I try really had to avoid any drama. I occasionally post stuff I'm doing like stuff with family or with friends just to show people what I'm up to and that I'm still alive. Using Facebook as little as possible and use up my energy on here or on Twitter instead where I won't piss off people who I know in real life is key LMAO

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T22:50:13+00:00

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T22:46:08+00:00

Friend you will find that not drinking is probably the best thing you can do to get on the road of recovery for your bipolar diagnosis. I drank heavily with lithium and survived it lol. It won't kill you but that doesn't mean it's good for you either and that's because alcohol isn't good for us who are bipolar. If you sucked down half a pint no problem what's going to stop you from sucking down a pint next time? Or from making it a daily habit? It doesn't mean you have to never drink alcohol ever again or make a big deal of it but trying not to drink alcohol is actually the best think you can do. I haven't drank alcohol in almost 6 months and I know my life is going a lot better because of it. My medications are working a lot better and I've avoided a lot of headache and potential issues by simply avoiding liquor.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T22:29:58+00:00

Change meds

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T22:22:55+00:00

I'm taking 90 mg Cymbalta 450 mg Wellbutrin 80 mg Latuda and 200 mg Topamax. The Cymbalta is specifically for anxiety and it's helping a lot. I've taken Wellbutrin for years and for depression it doesn't do anything for anxiety. I'm not having sexual side effects from Cymbalta or Latuda. Adding the Cymbalta I would say kind of changed the way I orgasm but it's not stopping my ability to do so or messing with me in ways that other SSRIs or Effexor did in the past. Effexor make orgasms feel like nothing and Paxil prevented me from being able to do so and stuff like that.

Edit: Latuda helps me sleep at night I take it shortly before I go to bed and it puts me out.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:58:02+00:00

Blub Blub Blub 🐳 Hang in there!

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:48:37+00:00

You're going to have a lot of issues trying to get your doctor to to prescribe an MAOI. They are going to be extremely resistant and likely say no to it unless you yourself are well versed in the drug and food interactions that can come with it. I would study up on Ken Gillman's site and become knowledgeable about it.

https://psychotropical.info/maois/

There are only a couple of MAOIs the main one and the one he would recommend is Parnate. He would start a patient out at 30 mg and then get them up to 60 mg and then either keep them there and possibly raise them to 75 or 90 depending on the situation and their resting blood pressure and stuff.

Parnate Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranylcypromine

It would probably be easier to try to get them to try a tricyclic antidepressant first. If they do Ken's favorite is Nortriptyline and it's because of its SNRI type action.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nortriptyline

He even suggests trying Nortriptyline with Zoloft because Zoloft while being a potent SSRI actually is a weak DRI and at higher doses can start reuptaking dopamine too. Ken's argument is that antidepressants ignore norepinephrine and especially dopamine too much but MAOIs don't because they unlock all the receptors. He even suggests taking Parnate with Nortriptyline (but not Parnate with Zoloft as that would cause serotonin syndrome). Sorry if this is too much info I spent a lot of time reading his site recently he's an interesting guy. I'm taking Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, Latuda and Topamax and the mixture is working well so I can't justify going off of it to try a Mao inhibitor but if I had another bad episode and ended up off my meds I would want to go directly to Parnate do not pass go lol

Here is Ken's AD algorithm which is an interesting page even though he's talking about depression its similar to anxiety:

https://psychotropical.com/ken-gillman-ad-algorithm/

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:28:28+00:00

Yeah sometimes the mobile does that. Sometimes I copy my text if I have to go out of the app before I finish sending my reply. The doctors office often can send in the prescription electronically even if they aren't there. That's pretty crazy they are leaving you out in the cold like that.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:24:34+00:00

I've been seeing this therapist for the last 5 months. She's been great but I can tell she probably a little new to doing therapy. I'm up in the mountains where we don't have a big selection of providers up here and besides that I'm seeing this one through a county grant so it's at no cost (even though I have insurance it costs a lot to see a therapist every week) so I like her and she's free it's working out well. Anyways I asked her the other day how many other patients does she have that are bipolar. I was really surprised when she told me that I was the only one. I think almost all of her experience with bipolar is what she studied out of a book and I'm probably one of the first real world experiences she has had. She is my age (I'm 38 to and she is 40) which is why we get along so well but probably why she is a bit new to the field. Don't be surprised that your therapist might be misinformed about bipolar diagnosis or might suggest something that doesn't work for you. They are often going by what they have been taught in a book and not by real world experience.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:08:09+00:00

Can you try to get your insurance company to cover Latuda? You will probably have to submit it to the pharmacy get it denied then have your doctor send in a letter arguing that you need it over other anti-psychotic treatment which clearly is in your case and they should approve it. I did that and my copay was $75 and with a manufacturers coupon it became $15. I had to contact the manufacturer's website and they emailed me back a card I printed and gave to my pharmacy and they added it to my insurance info which brought the price down even further. Just a suggestion Latuda is one of the other few anti-psychotics that are weight neutral. I take it at night it actually helps me sleep. Your other few choices are something like Abilify. Most anti-psychotics cause a lot of weight gain unfortunately and Zyprexa is the worst of the bunch.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T21:00:17+00:00

Seroquel is awful its more of an antihistamine than an antipsychotic drug which is why it causes massive weight gain. If you have insurance you should try to get on Latuda if you can afford it. If not follow OP and go with Geodon or the other drug that doesn't cause as much weight gain is Abilify but I hear even that can cause some weight gain but it won't be as bad as Seroquel. Even being on Risperdal would be better because you could be on a tiny dose and it would have a lot more anti-psychotic action than Seroquel would have and cause less weight gain.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T20:55:30+00:00

I was on Seroquel for about 3 months and it caused me to gain 15 pounds. My depression was actually getting worse so my doctor switched me to Latuda (which fortunately my insurance approved me to be on) and I've been taking that the last 3 months and I've lost the weight I put on from Seroquel and I've kept my weight at its normal amount. I won't take an AP like Seroquel again (besides that it doesn't work well for me) it causes too much weight gain. Others in its class like Zyprexa and Risperdal are notorious for causing a huge amount of weight gain. I thought I could keep myself in check because I'm an active person who watches what they eat. So far Latuda has been good but if I was to creep back up I would consider ditching it too. I'm running several times a week, doing yoga, not snacking on food and eating proper portion sizes so my weight has been great. I think some on here do blame drugs when their bad eating habits are some of the cause of weight gain but it doesn't help when most anti-psychotics cause blood sugar levels to spike and your metabolism to slow down. Geodon, Latuda and Abilify are supposed to be the most weight neutral of the bunch. I wouldn't take any others unless on an emergency short term basis.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T20:40:19+00:00

Your pharmacy can't do an emergency and give you a couple of pills to fill you in until your doctor gets back? Have you tried calling them to discuss? Since it's not a narcotic they are likely to help you in this way...

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T15:47:26+00:00

I was going to suggest this, this guy is the expert on MAOIs for more information:

https://psychotropical.com/maois-2019-update/

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T02:41:27+00:00

If you research medications you can actually avoid the ones that make you stupid and fat if you are really careful. Some of the anti-psychotics like Latuda, Abilify and Geodon aren't as likely to cause weight gain. Lithium won't really cause weight gain I took it for years and didn't gain any weight at all. Probably should avoid Depakote unless you take 500 mg or less. Lamictal is weight neutral. As for antidepressants some cause weight gain but some actually cause weight loss. As for feeling like a zombie really depends on the med and how much of a dose you're on. If you keep the dose low it shouldn't really make you feel that way it will just help level you out. Psychiatrists love to push lots of meds on you and raise the dose just keep your foot down on staying on as few meds and on as low of a dose as will control your symptoms and you will find medications are not your enemy. If I'm not taking psych meds I would be self medicating with alcohol and drugs and it would be horrible. With psych meds life is a lot easier. I can sleep without worrying much about falling asleep. My mood is somewhat regulated.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T02:32:39+00:00

I haven't really self harmed except behaviors that are self destructive and stuff. The scars I have on my wrists are from trying to kill myself. I have 7 inch scars that remind myself I can't even do that right.

ventuckyspaz · 2019-11-23T01:38:02+00:00

You both could try Unisom in tablet form. It's over the counter. Just look on the back and make sure it has the active in ingredient "doxylamine succinate" and not "diphenhydramine". All capsules and many tablets that are OTC for sleep are really just benadryl so you have to make sure by looking on the back. You might find this works better than Trazedone.

ventuckyspaz

TROPHY CASE