Losing hope finding the right bipolar med

[zulu123]

Hello,
Making this post to hopefully get some inspiration. Any other bipolar folk out there who are happy with their medications and feel like theres a positive impact?

So far i've been on Abilify and more recently Latuda. These two meds have fucked my shit up honestly. I have been on latuda for 4 months and recently I am experiencing anxiety, akathisia, restlessness, paranoia, brain fog, and just overall feeling terrible in general. Last two days I have been taking benadryl just to not completely lose my shit and I am probably going to ask the psych to switch meds because I can't take it anymore. I hate that I have to take these meds for the rest of my life. I just wanna feel normal and like myself.

Anyways let me know your experiences please, I could really use some inspiration and positivity right now.

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

For me, just a single medication wasn't the solution.

Ended up on Effexor which works great for my lows, but doesn't touch the highs. And I also take Seroquel which works great for my highs but doesn't touch the lows.

I've been on this combination for several years and am happy to keep taking it since it works well enough for me. I've only been hospitalized for psych shit once since starting on this combo.

 

[timf]

This guys videos are interesting;

 

[iji]

As you've already noticed, those drugs have those awful (expected, not "side" or "adverse") effects, and that's something that most psychiatrists won't want you to know and will disregard your complaints about it. And from there they will prescribe you more drugs (psychopharmacology and polypharmacy/polydrugging). https://joannamoncrieff.com/2013/11/21/models-of-drug-action

Bipolar drugs including neuroleptics (aka antipsychotics, tranquilizers) and lithium, anticonvulsants ("mood stabilizers") are the worst. You're already noticing the extrapiramidal effects, but there are many not so obvious effects in the long term like cardiovascular harm, demyelinating (damage to the myelin protective covers on the nerves), etc.

The thing with these drugs is that you shall have them in your pocket just in case. When you notice you're entering manic/hypomanic/impulsive episode and can cause harm to yourself to your harm. See, it's way less harmful in those cases you're not able to manage/deal with it in a healthy way to take the drug, because the other potential harm is way worse. But I disagree with routine/continuous usage of those drugs. Because you're not learning anything, how to actually deal with life/world and yourself, something that's not an actual disease (unfortunately ICD includes "mental and behavioral disorders", DSM is entirely just anything other than medical science).

So you really need to begin noticing and tracking your mental and behavioral patterns, why they happen (triggers, stressors, adverse life events, etc), and what helps and what does not helps managing/dealing with them. For bipolar, it's very common chronic stress, sleep deprivation, trauma, stimulants (be it alcohol, music, a hobby, etc) to trigger an episode. You really need to be aware when you're having or likely to have an episode. There are many interventions you can try: routine, sleep, healthy eating, managing/reducing stress (interpersonal, environment, etc), dbt, act, communication with wise people, so on.

 

[theboy]

I have Bipo 2
I have been taking medication for years. I tried too many pills so I understand how this works.
Medications unfortunately do not cure BUT they do make your life "stabilize" and function well.... you know what I mean. The positive point is that you will be able to lead a normal life without having any oscillations between euphoria and depression.

If a medication bothers you, say so... but you have to be patient... I know, it's horrible but remember that it's better to feel stable with medication.

 

[ShatteredSerenity]

I have bipolar 1 and I'm currently taking lithium, quetiapine, latuda, and propanolol. I've had problems with side effects too, mostly akathesia and restlessness. The quetiapine and propanolol seems to have helped with that. The side effects suck but hopefully you can make adjustments since there are a large number of meds available.

 

[mahoganylvr]

antipsychotics are HARD to deal with in my experience. i recommend talking to your psych try a different classification of BP meds before giving up, like anticonvulsants.

 

[Greyhawk]

I have heard a lot of stories where people can live a fairly normal life with bipolar after finding the right medication. My mom has bipolar and she has been doing pretty good for some time now. I got diagnosed with bipolar II a bit over a month ago and started taking lamotrigine and it has helped a little. I'm very afraid of trying medication that might effect my cognitive skills. Does anyone feel that your bipolar meds have affected your problem solving skills, creativity or memory and if yes, how severely?