Just call me Shaky.

[no name no slogan]

Now this is interesting.

I've posted here before, about my current depressive episode (I have Bipolar II, and have had several depressive episodes throughout my life). It started about a month ago, and hasn't gotten a whole lot better unfortunately.

One of the symptoms of this episode is that I have a huge need to isolate and not be around people. Going to the grocery store is a chore-- going to Target is out of the question, as is work (I work in a huge building with 3,000 other people). I'm very anxious when I'm out in public for more than a few minutes.

A couple weeks ago, the doc dropped my lithium dose by about 1/4. One of the side effects of lithium is tremor, like a mild form of Parkinson's disease. I've never had this tremor before, even when we doubled my old dosage a few months back.

Somehow, this time, I got this tremor, even though my dose was cut. :wtf:

But now I can't tell if the tremor is from the lithium (or lack thereof) or because I'm so fucking nervous being around people right now. I have the tremor most of the time, but it gets worse when I deal with people. So who knows?

:shrug:

Any other lithium poppers ever experience this?

[EFerrari]

1. Goddam chemistry!

And I so relate to trying to figure out what is what. :(

Fyi, Doug and I found out that Vitamin E eases those tremors caused by meds.

****BUT****, you have to check with your doc about it because E blocks some meds -- blood pressure meds, for example.

[no name no slogan]

2. And wouldn't you know it, I'm on blood pressure meds, too

I just saw the doc again today, and we're going to play another exciting round of medication roulette. Yay! :woohoo:

This time, we're cutting back the Cymbalta and adding Zoloft. Plus, we're upping the lithium by another 300mg. We may also add an anti-anxiety drug because of the agoraphobia I'm experiencing. Oh, and maybe thyroid replacement because the lithium tends to retard thyroid production.

What fun.

[EFerrari]

3. We need Human Blender t-shirts.

Is the doc doing all that at the same time?! I thought they were supposed to only make one change at a time so you can figure out what is working? :shrug:

[no name no slogan]

4. The anti-anxiety is situational (a blood pressure med)

and I'm only adding the Zoloft (I'm returning to an earlier dose of lithium-- plus it was low in my last blood levels so it can go up some).

Still it's a royal pain in the ass. I've been in this latest episode for over a month, and I've about had it.

[EFerrari]

5. I hear you. It took us eight years to get to an effective cocktail

and, even that still had to be tinkered with every 8 weeks or so.

People don't understand how disruptive the whole process is and what a risk it is every time.

Hang in, my friend.

[no name no slogan]

6. thanks!

It's been twelve years on drugs for me-- eleven of which were spent with the wrong diagnosis. And I've probably needed them for the past twenty, IMHO.

At least it's covered by insurance.

[no name no slogan]

7. An update

I saw the doc this morning, and it turns out that the tremor may be a side effect of the increase in my Cymbalta dosage (60mg to 90mg). It's funny, because I've taken 90mg before and never had this problem before. Of course, it could be in combination with the other meds, but who knows.

So anyway, we're now going to cut the Cymbalta back to 30mg, boost the Lithium another 300mg, and then add in Zoloft, which I've never taken before. Plus, he also prescribed something called Propranolol for my recurring stage fright/social anxiety.

So now that makes SEVEN drugs I'll be on, not counting supplements like Omega 3s and multivitamins. Damn, this is fun. :eyes:

[Larissa238]

8. *hugs*

I know how horrible that med-ry go round is. I can't remember all the anti-depressants I have been on (I know wellbutrin, paxil, lexapro, doxepin, trazadone, and more) as well as tinkering with mood stabilizers (tegretol, lamictil, and lithium), and anti-psychotics (zyprexa, geodon, and seroquel).

Right now, I've been pretty stable for about a year, but sometimes it takes a long time for the right combination to be found. I had another bipolar friend whose 17th combination worked for her. Sadly, this is medicine, yes, but it is also a guessing game, since they don't know why some meds work for some people and not others.

Hang in there. *hugs* Your day will come as well.

[no name no slogan]

9. wow, 17 tries?

I've probably had 10 combinations myself, but wow 17 is a lot!

Zoloft is #5 for anti-ds IIRC. I burned through Cymbalta in two years (a new record). I'm still doing the lithium and lamictal thing so hopefully those will still work.

Unfortunately I think I've built up a tolerance to Ambien, as it doesn't seem to work very well anymore. Or maybe it's an addiction because I've been on it for a couple years now. As long as I get sleep I guess I really don't care anymore.

Thanks for the support. I hope things are going okay with you! :hug:

[Larissa238]

10. for sleep, have you tried trazadone?

It works wonders for me. It's an antidepressant that has sedating effects, so it can make you feel a bit better, as well as help you sleep. I know for me, my mind goes so fast I can't turn it off, and trazadone helps me with that. It doesn't do crap to keep you asleep, though, and if you wait more than an hour after you take it to try and sleep, it doesn't really work.

And as for me, I went hypomanic a couple weeks ago, spent the time between then and now in a mixed episode, and now I'm crashing.

Sorry that it's not great news

:hugs:

[no name no slogan]

11. I used to take trazodone but it affected me wierdly

I got really bad night munchies from it, and I gained a lot of weight (but that could be because I took it with Paxil and then with Effexor). I also have sleep apnea, but I do use a machine that keeps my airpipe open at night because I've woken up choking before (that's scary stuff).

Hope things are getting better for you. It can be a frustratingly slow process sometimes. :hug: