Risperdal/Lamictin

[Zoom]

I went to go see a crap psychologist the other week so I could finally get some ADD medication. Instead, she told me that I was actually moderately Bipolar and recommended the above medications.

At this point, I am flat out fscking refusing to go that route. What I've read in terms of the legal medical stuff, from people who have been on it...it seems like if you can hit that magic dose of the magic pills, everything's gravy. Otherwise, you turn into a zombie, or get worse, or lose your personality or at least the ability to function like a normal human being. All I want is the ability to concentrate and keep a normal mood for more than a day or two. I don't want to go on some jacked-up pharmacopia of drugs that even the FDA isn't sure how they work. It seems like everyone is on at least two-six different pills and they just all keep building on each other. "Take this pill for this condition and then this pill for this side effect and that pill for that side effect". NO.

I've got a book I"m reading on natural remedies and want to try that route first. It's about skewing your diet to the foods that keep your dopamine and seratonin levels where they should be (and other stuff, but that's the quick version). I'm also getting a second (maybe third and fourth) opinion; I saw a psychotherapist last year and he never once mentioned Bipolar, just that yes, I was ADD. I trust his opinion a lot more, because he was much more thorough in his evaluation, even if I didn't particularly care for him as a shrink. I also remember that when I was on birth control a few years ago, things seemed to level out as well; going to first try some herbal stuff that is supposed to keep female hormones level.

I'm just not taking this news well at all, really. It pretty much overshadowed a lot of my vacation, which pissed me off which made me worse, a never ending cycle. Blah.

[Saje]

Are you going with the diagnosis then or are you going to get a second (and third?) opinion? Do YOU think it suits you?? It would be nice if you had a doctor you trusted to walk you through all of this

[wcladymacbeth]

Ew that's a horrible first choice of meds even if you were bipolar. Why on earth would any psychiatrist in their right mind start someone on BOTH of those meds at the same time? What I've learned is that psych meds should always be introduced one at a time to assess how they affect you and stuff, since they can affect everyone differently.

You might check out the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD and for bipolar just to see for yourself which one fits you. Maybe it'll give you some insight, just in case.

Good luck with the natural remedies. I'll be interested to hear how they work. Otherwise you might look into starting something like Wellbutrin.

Here's a good article that was written for family practice doctors concerning adult ADHD diagnosis and management:
Adult ADHD: Evaluation and Treatment in Family Medicine - November 1, 2000 - American Family Physician

[smkie]

WEllbutrin is not for people who have any level of bipolar. IT has a text book sexual side effect that does not happen to people who are not suffering from bipolar disorder. See another doc.

[Zoom]

What I'm finding out is that you can apparently have both conditions at the same time...ADD with a side of Bipolar or vice versa. What really sucks is that the treatments seem to be counter-productive to each other. If you can get the depressive side of the Bipolar under control, then the mania of the ADD increases and again, vice versa.

What really blows about all this is that since I don't have insurance at the moment, I'm stuck seeing the "poor clinic" doctors in Colorado and my impression is that they don't really give a sh*t. I called around to a bunch of places to ask about a sliding scale and all I got the moment I said I didn't have insurance was a snotty remark that I should call Doctor's Care, the place I'm going to currently. The first time I went in and saw a GP, he essentially accused me of drug-seeking behavior because I've never sought treatment until now nor been hospitalized for any reason. Then I saw this quack and in 15 minutes and 3 "yes/no" worksheets, she pronounced me bipolar. She really wants me to start on the Lamictal, but mentioned Risperdal as a second, or alternative, or something.

I'm really kind of tempted to stay in Kansas for a bit, because at the very least, the county mental health here is nice and works with you. A good friend of mine is going there now and she's been ok with how they're going about things, if not entirely pleased.

I just don't want to end up doing some permanent mental damage, which is apparently a fairly common side effect--memory impairment, etc. That's the exact thing I'm trying to avoid.

[bubbatd]

Hope that you get to the bottom of this Zoom .

[Sunnypup]

Zoomer, get another opinion.

Tim is adhd. Seriously. He went to a doc who decided, no, even though Tim is a textbook case, he's really just depressed so here, take some anti depressants. >_< Well, that sucked because now, he still was forgetting where he left his wrenches (on top of the refrigerator? Really?!) but totally didn't care. It didn't bother him at all that he couldn't focus for five minutes. So after that failed, he went back, and they prescribed adderall or something like it, and he did great. Unfortunately that was the last time we had insurance for both of us, and its @#$% expensive to pay for monthly doctor visits and medications. So, now he "self medicates" with caffeine when it gets really bad.(crunch time before tests/projects. Mtn dew is his drug of choice...) We're thinking that this semester we're going to try some vitamin B and/or visit a natural food store and find a good combo "focus" type vitamin.

I'm mildly add, and notice a marked difference when I drink Monsters . (niacin, b12, caffeine etc. ) Making that a daily regiment *might* be bad for you though . <--- me on a daily dose of monster energy drinks...

Good luck. What is the name of that book by the way? Could be a helpful resource.

[Pam111]

Originally Posted by Sunnypup

Zoomer, get another opinion.

Tim is adhd. Seriously. He went to a doc who decided, no, even though Tim is a textbook case, he's really just depressed so here, take some anti depressants. >_< Well, that sucked because now, he still was forgetting where he left his wrenches (on top of the refrigerator? Really?!) but totally didn't care. It didn't bother him at all that he couldn't focus for five minutes. So after that failed, he went back, and they prescribed adderall or something like it, and he did great. Unfortunately that was the last time we had insurance for both of us, and its @#$% expensive to pay for monthly doctor visits and medications. So, now he "self medicates" with caffeine when it gets really bad.(crunch time before tests/projects. Mtn dew is his drug of choice...) We're thinking that this semester we're going to try some vitamin B and/or visit a natural food store and find a good combo "focus" type vitamin.

I'm mildly add, and notice a marked difference when I drink Monsters . (niacin, b12, caffeine etc. ) Making that a daily regiment *might* be bad for you though . <--- me on a daily dose of monster energy drinks...

Good luck. What is the name of that book by the way? Could be a helpful resource.

my little brother has adhd, and when he was first diagnosed my dad was very anti-medication, and the doctor had him drink diet mt. dew every morning


zoom, i hope you can figure this out. being without insurance sucks

[Zoom]

Yeah what's funny is that caffeine is recommended as "poor man's Adderall". I've essentially weaned myself off of caffeine because it's "not good for you" in an overall sense and they say with bipolar it's really bad. And I was getting most of it from soda, which is horrible for my teeth.

And yet I feel so much better on it. I've still cut way down but now drink tea instead of loads of Dr. Pepper and will indulge in the occasional Sugar-Free RedBull. This book I'm reading says that B-vitamin deficiency does tend to correlate with bipolar symptoms, so it would make sense that RedBull would help, since it's mostly B-vitamins. Same with those 6-hour Power Shots.

Going through some profiles in both this book I'm reading and this ADD website that I was sent, I do fit a good portion of the profile for bipolar. But then...who doesn't? I don't know how much to believe but I do know that my head is not a very pretty place to be quite often and the darker side has become more prevalent lately. I've also been under a lot of stress lately though as well and I know that's always been a trigger for me.

[Baxter'smybaby]

Zoom--is there any family history for either ADHD or Bipolar?
My daughter is on lamictal for seizure disorder. A nice side effect of it has been a mood stabliizer--she has been on in for many years now (hmm...7 maybe?)--dosage has stayed the same (knock wood) and she is seizure free.
I know you are not looking at it for seizure control--but just thought I'd give my two cents on the mood part.
Weeding through medical info is not fun. What do your parents think? Are they able to give an objective view on this?

Also--I am working with several young children (four year olds) who are on risperadol--some good, some not so good --depends on you and your body.