medication for bipolar syndrome

i was recently diagnosed with bipolar syndrome. my doctor prescribed cymbalta for it to help level out my moods. today was my first day to take it. it made me really nauseated and tired. right now, i'm really not sure how it will help... is anyone else on this medication??

 

i have taken medication for mild depression/anxiety (zoloft) i had horrible side effects the first like 4 days but once it got in my system it really helped me with my anxiety (i was having HORRIBLE panic attacks). i was on it a year and now im off, it just had to help get me on my feet again and im much better now (still not perfect but who is?) give it some time, good luck! medication isnt for everyone but it did help me, i say give it a try and you can always figure something else out.....

 

a lot of times side effects tend to go away after you take a medicine for a little while... good luck.

 

I was borderline... yadda yadda they put me on seroquel and lexapro and depakote. My boyfriend was put on some bi-polar meds and he got really really sick and nauseous (sp?) he tried moving to taking them before he went to bed. Sometimes you have to ride out the side effects to get the help. But you could always go and switch meds. Sadly it might take a while to figure out what works for you. Seroquel given at the dosage I am suppose to take makes me tired for the whole day, it sucks and I have no energy. So I take very little of it right before I go to bed.

 

Take the Cymbalta with food. Nausea is a very common side effect, ESPECIALLY during the first 7-14 days of treatment. It is an excellent medication. Give it some time.

 

oh yeah. . . and it will help you by restoring the balance of certain neurotransmitters, namely serotonin and norepinepherine.

 

if its not severe, try st johns wort
i decided to try it out before going on prescription med's and ithink its working for my moods a bit
and well its harmless herbal lovely stuff

 

Its still chemistry! If herbals do work, there is little to no difference between taking them or taking medication!

St. John's Wort has MANY drug interactions, including oral contraceptives, BTW.

 

actually i have anxiety disorder right now,i have panic attacks,7 weeks ago i had a teribble depression too..i have therapy treatment for 6 weeks,and i'm already much better..i dont take any drugs right now..cause my psyciatrist said that i can fight with that panic attacks well.maybe i can take drugs later i dont know...
i'm a medicine student too,and i can say certainly drugs are not solution all by themselves,you must solve your problems with theraphy too,or there will be recurrence,and slow treatment period...some researchs show that in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders drugs and theraphy have same results...
dont take drugs or herbs without a doctor's prescription..and pls dont forget if you can regulate the dose,every drug and herb is a toxic...take care...

 

and also i want to say smth about the medication you take for bipolar... it will show its effect only 2-3 weeks later(i know it from the pharmacology lesson..and my first psyciatrist)
i think dont use herbs by yourselves,sometimes its really harmful

 

OH BOY GUYS!! i was just recently diagnosed with bi polar nos but uhh i was on lithium and that made me throw up. so they put me on lamictal and i was the one in 2,000 people who is allergic to lamictal. so i broke out in this horrible rash that turned literally my whole body red and i had a 105 degree fever and my whole body itched and yes i have scaring and right now im on depakote and i feel dizzy all the time. i think i might just boycott drugs!!!

 

I'm on both lithium and lamictal... and they work great for me.

 

oh man you are lucky. im glad they work for you.

 

BiPolar illness is ALWAYS severe. SJW is not going to work for either true Maina or the type of crashing depression that BiPolar illness causes.

Often antiseizure drugs, like Valproic Acid others (Grant, help me out here) are very effective for people with mood disorders.

One of the problems with BiPolar is that by the time you get into a really bad Maina or Depressive state, you are too sick to even realize you are ill, much less to do anything about it. This is a debilitating illness. Please do not neglect your mind and body. If you had an oozing pus sore, not yet Septic, but ready to go there anytime, you wouldn't ignore it, or just put some honey on it (I hope) you would do what you needed to do to get better. Think of BiPolar as similar.

Please, you deserve to get good treatment, before you get too sick to function. I've seen people destroy their lives, their jobs, their relationships and finally themselves by refusing to treat this illlness. Please treat it. There are meds you can also take for the nausea, if it doesn't stop. Also there are other drugs they can use, basically the antiseizure drugs, which will work if you can;t take the meds you are on. You may have to try a few drugs to find the one which is helpful for you.

Good luck.

Please take care of your body and mind.

Maggie

 

Valproic acid is effective, but hardly used anymore due to side effects. There are many others, including carbamazepine, Trileptal, Topamax, and Lamictal.

Also, atypical antipsychotics are used in lower doses to stabilize mood. They include Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, Geodon, and Zyprexa.

There are still many other options, besides the ones I've listed.

Like Maggie said, get the treatment you need! There are MANY options. Unfortunately, trial and error is sometimes the only way to find the best option for you. Don't loose hope and/or give up!

 

thanks for all the advice guys. i started taking it at night and i feel much better. i still get some side effects but they definitely aren't as severe.

 

man, this whole fuckin "mental-illness" thing is such a crock of shit. people are making a living off people's souls and it's so fucking disgusting nobody even realizes it, they're all like bipolar this and schitzo that. FREE THE PEOPLE!!!
don't take that fuckin shit if you don't have to, experiment with homepathy.

 

The idea that mental illness is a crock of shit is absurd.

The fact that you say "FREE THE PEOPLE" demonstrates your complete misunderstanding of mental illness. All too often, that is EXACTLY what treatment for mental illness does. . . it free's the people from the grips of mental illness, and allows them to function much more completely in society, and with a higher level of comfort and enjoyment.

The hundreds of thousands of people (if not more!) that are successfully treated clearly demonstrate both a need for treatment, and effectiveness of treatment.

Do you really think all the people working in healthcare, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, orderlies, and other staff, are all part of a vast conspiracy? I guess they partner with the drug companies, just to turn a profit, right? I guess that all the patients and insurance companies have been duped by the vast conspiracy, right?

BULLSHIT!

 

The idea that mental illness is a crock of shit is absurd.

The fact that you say "FREE THE PEOPLE" demonstrates your complete misunderstanding of mental illness. All too often, that is EXACTLY what treatment for mental illness does. . . it free's the people from the grips of mental illness, and allows them to function much more completely in society, and with a higher level of comfort and enjoyment.

The hundreds of thousands of people (if not more!) that are successfully treated clearly demonstrate both a need for treatment, and effectiveness of treatment.

Do you really think all the people working in healthcare, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, orderlies, and other staff, are all part of a vast conspiracy? I guess they partner with the drug companies, just to turn a profit, right? I guess that all the patients and insurance companies have been duped by the vast conspiracy, right?

BULLSHIT!

Reply:

Well, basically, asshole, it is a fact that drug companies make Billions off the drugs they make for mental illness, and it is my theory that in any number of cultures that practice shamanism would consider what is thought to be a mental illness in america(and other countries), they would nourish the 'delusions' and construct it into a positive life-changing experience, whereas here, it's thought of so negatively, people are making a profit off of the paranoia they promote. there is a new science emerging that studies the spiritual aspect and the chemical aspect of your idea of so-called mental illness. If you'd like to try expanding your mind sometime, try reading Saints and Madmen. If not, piss off and banter up someone elses ass.

@

 

Huh???

Is there an echo in here?