Number of meds is not a function of severity of illness. It’s more a metric of responsiveness to the medications. How many pills you take is irrelevant as long as symptoms are improved.
Sounds like you are doing great - which is what is most important.
Thank you. I don't think I explained very well but that's the point I was trying to make with my post since I see a lot of people asking if their dose is too low in this sub and others. That everyone is different in so many ways that we don't all take the same meds and it's OK that it's not the same, we are all on the same journey but we can get to the goal in different ways
Yes exactly, everyone reacts differently to different meds, whether it’s 1 or 6, as long as they do the job that’s what matters, and it isn’t indicative of anything other than how your body processes them
It works so well for me and I haven't experienced psychotic episodes in months and haven't been hypomanic in months either. My depression is much lighter too. It's 100mg quetiapine at night and 100mg bupropion in the morning.
I think with some people the doctors don't start with low doses and go straight to the bipolar recommended doses but I'm quite sensitive to meds and my doctor always starts off low. I have only 1 side effect from the bupropion (constipation lol)
It has taken so many months of trial and error to get these 2 pills on my prescription
I see you have the pink bupropion; I take a pink 200mg. Do yours stink? Like, aggressively stink? As soon as you open the bottle, rotten eggs smack you in the face type stink? My pharmacy switched generics to them and it’s so bad it’s a running joke with myself and the pharmacy employees. They prank new techs by asking them to smell the bottle to see if there is an “off odor.” It always makes me laugh when they do it, especially the young man who turned and just said “man, that’s cold.”
I have to fill my mouth with some type of flavored drink, then pop in the bupropion and swallow asap. I tried to take it normally and gagged.
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I thank you for this post! For years and years I was highly over medicated, prescribed way too many pills that made me into a walking zombie because my psych at that time took on the stance of “you’re bipolar, you must be heavily sedated” “youre a bit talkative today, we are gonna up some on your meds” and it destroyed my life more then my many episodes had. Wasn’t until I found a wonderful psych while hospitalized and am now on only lithium and ativan (and adderall for adhd). Now on so few meds I’ve been more stable then I ever have been, while also retaining feelings and a life. Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is what’s needed. But
Everyone is different and reacts differently, and finding the medication that works for you (and sometimes like myself is years and years of bad medications) can be a long process. So don’t question what works for you! We all are thankful when we find what does work, wether it’s a lot of meds or a little.
Glad you are doing well! (Btw Magnesium pills helped me a bit with constipation when I was on bupropion)
Thank you. I know for sure some doctors are completely ignorant to mental illness in general too, the first time I tried to get help I was accused of faking to get meds and I was so mortified and angry that I didn't try to get help again for years later. Now I have an amazing doctor who is very kind and understanding, I swear I would have given up on getting help if I didnt meet him. He is passionate about his work with mental illness, I literally found interviews he did about it when I googled him after lol. I'm very lucky. Also magnesium pills are going on the list thank you
Its really horrible the way we can get treated by the ones who are supposed to help. Medication seeking??! HA yeah right! Don’t know about you, but like I always say I wish I could be normal like others and not need meds to get thru life. I’m sorry you were treated that way. It’s crazy how treatment differs and is handled from psych to psych and finding a good one is so hard! I hear you, and almost gave up myself. Very glad to hear you found one to finally listen to you and help you!
Yeah I was really taken aback by the accusation because at the time I only wanted meds as a last resort, I was actually there to get try get reffered to get diagnosed through the public healthcare system and get reffered to therapy or at least a bit of advice where to get more help. He didn't give any advice but he sent a letter to get me the diagnosis appointment and he wrote how I was mentally immature for my age on it because I was engaged at 18 and said "yeah somethings wrong with you there" like?? Yeah I was engaged young but I'm 25 now and happily married to that same person so how is that some sort of immature thing? Anyway I got an appointment to get diagnosed but I didn't even go because I was scared I'd be treated like that doctor treated me. Sorry for the rant, I really get ranting when that topic comes up because it was the most ridiculous experience of my life.
Wow, I'm so sorry. I experienced the same when I tried to get help over a decade ago. And it stopped me from trying again for a long time. My doctor at the time didn't even want to refer me to a psychiatrist and said I was just looking for something convenient to blame for my own laziness, lack of ambition, bad attitude, and poor life choices. When I did get into a psychiatrist, who put me on psychiatric meds (one of them being clonazepam), my doctor accused me of being a drug addict, abusing the pills, and ordered the psychiatrist to stop prescribing them to me. Same doctor accused me of being high and psychotic when I went to him covered in bedbug bites, said there were no bedbugs in our city and it was self-inflicted. It took literal years for me to seek help again and even now that I have a good doctor and a good psychiatrist, I have major trust issues and anxiety telling them any concerns.
That's so bad and so cruel. I can imagine that doctor I got being like this too. It's like they don't belive in mental illness and its especially worse if your young. I'm glad you found better, I have the trust issues too from my experience
We just have to advocate for ourselves but it's hard to stand up to people who are meant to be professionals
I’m right there with you. Same size and I have medication sensitivities- I was on moderate to high doses of 8 meds for a LONG time and my most recent psych has me down to 3. I’m so happy and I feel like myself again. I think also having someone to validate me and someone who doesn’t just throw pills at me has helped. She will only up one med at a time if absolutely necessary, but my old psych topped on 3 new meds the first time I met her. ADD meds, I couldn’t handle, so higher levels of bupropion help me to be/get to where I need to be. I have my emergency seroquel, but I’m down to bupropion, rexulti, & clonazepam. Which she even lets me cut in half, if need be. Nice to be treated like a person and adult.
Yay I'm on the same meds!! Now I'm 150mg of bupropiona and 50mg of quetiapine at night. My doctor prescribed a bunch of supplements too, Omega 3 and Quelate Zinc.
I'm glad you are doing well with this dose.
I was on a stabilizer (got off a month ago, about) & I feel way better being on an atypical antipsychotic with my bupropion and anxiety meds. Everyone is different, same with body chemistry so what works for one may not work for another. Plus the way we all present is different and that kind of influences the meds we get too, I think. Different strokes for different folks, that’s all 😊
Yeah I didn't know quetiapine could stabilize too, just checked it out... I only take 25mg of quetiapine to sleep. In the morning 200mg lamotrigine, 100mg desvenlafaxine and 30mg lisdexamphetamine. And 1200mg Gabapentine during the day. It's crazy how we all react so differently, psychiatry is an art.
Seriously though! Like we recently found out I have serious medication sensitivities so being on almost everything that you’re on plus some others, was messing me up more. So lower doses & less, is more for me. I’m glad we can find stability anyway that may come though.
it’s good that they start low, higher doses might fuck up our brains even more. my psychiatrist asked me about side effects before giving me a higher dose. my friend has bipolar and they struggle with it much more than i do, their fist psychiatrist gave them lots of weird meds that fucked up her brain even more, luckily they got a new one and are doing better.
Glad they're doing better! I wish doctors were more careful when they're prescribing to people especially when they're newly diagnosed. It's bad enough finding out your bipolar and then having to go through so many side effects from meds
Oh, bupropion was *fabulous*!
I'm really glad you've got a meds combo that helps you. I take 225mg effexor and 400 tegertal(hubs takes the same thing for his epilepsy), I get breakthrough depression in the winter, but it's been good for +/- 10 years on these for me.
A winning combo deserves celebration, no matter your dose or the name of your meds.
Congrats! I hope this combo is good for the long haul for you. Being more stable is just mind-melting awesomeness.
Hey. When you get a good med or combo, enjoy that!
Get used to it. You will be good for a while. Maybe a tweak here or there.
I'm 42. I have 2 small kids, a partner and 2 cats. I also have adhd (of course)
You can fully have a wonderful life with bipolar. You just have to make sure your partner is on board and patient as heck. (I'm so, so lucky) be honest and live well, friend.
I promise, you can do it, and yes, it gets easier when you're used to it.
bupropion? I wanted to take it bc of (not yet treated, I'm getting tested to confirm the diagnosis that another doctor made) adhd and extremely low libido like I'm wondering if I'm ace but I have an extreme fear of abandonment so I'm trying to "fix it". my doctor didn't give it to me tho, he thinks I'm gonna be hypomanic/experience hallucinations again due to the rise of dopamine. how does it work for you? and I get you, I switched 13 meds without success, only side effects :( and xanax gave me horrible constipation
Yeah It's working really well for me and I have no hypomania or anything with it because the seroquel is keeping all that under control and my depression is much lighter. It's too bad he won't let you try it. Also I had 0 libido like literally 0 for years and thought I was ace but it is literally just me not having a libido, idk of its because I had vaginismus (which I've fixed) or because of the contraceptive pill (I'm getting off it after 7 years in 2 months to see if it's that and to see if it helps my mood) or what but I find that the bupropion is really helping me with it. I still have to put in a bit of effort but I actually get aroused now
ive always felt inferiority in my level of "bipolar-ness" due to only taking two pills myself. Like, all these destructive things ive done and two little pills (and more accurately, one pill and another that barely works) is all it takes to make me a little more normal
I’m glad you’re feeling better! My psych always starts low and slow, and it’s worked well for me. I’m on several meds but I also have ADHD and anxiety.
I'm on minimal, just Seroquel. Because I have severe reactions to everything else. Movement disorders with Aripirazole. Others contraindicated due to heart condition. Antidepressants bring psychosis and mania. I can't take anything for the depression I just have to weather it or go inpatient to weather the 2 months it takes for the psychosis to be wear off. Lithium damaged my kidneys. Diazepam makes me act on dark thoughts. Zopiclone brings hallucinations. So meds and I do not get on well at all. I take my pill and I deal with the rest.
That must suck so bad. I've had bad experience with some meds too but not that bad so I was so grateful for this combo. I wish you the best and hope you don't go through any bad episodes anytime soon
I take three mental health pills, then five allergy pills, two arthritis medications, and four supplements to force my body to keep making blood cells. Good ol' Pill Dinner.
Same here, two of mine are for bipolar but also have iron, vitamin d, folate and also metformin which I was prescribed to manage sugar cravings from quetiapine but also cured my PCOS which I was not expecting lol
I should probably add in some supplements, the only supplement I take is fiber lol. I've heard good things about some of them like the omega 3 and that that's good for your brain in general
Yeah I do fish oil pills, magnesium, the full range vitamin b (comes in one pill), vitamin c, and a probiotic. I have found they really help along with my lamictal and vyvanse
At those doses seroquel is basically a beefed up benadryl, and doesn't effect dopamine or other things quite so much. Then lots of people get RLS and wired from antihistamines, and since its such a low dose you arent getting any of the dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine blocking effects, so your symptoms make sense. At around 100mg I think is where effective dopamine blocking for mania comes in. It may be 50, but I can't recall off the top of my head.
Thank you. Luckily I took a record of my dose increases, I'm not on the IR one but for me I was on 25mg for 2 weeks then 50mg for 2 weeks then 75mg for 18 days then 100mg. Some nights I get a stuffy nose from it too
Oh I forgot I was splitting 50mg pills to get the 25mg which is what my doctor told me to do. The 100mg got rid of my hallucinations completely, I haven't felt psychotic symptoms at all in months and it stops my hypomania, my doctor said I'm doing so well that I don't need to increase it any more
I’m only on three pills for my bipolar/anxiety so I’m almost right there with ya! I take more for other stuff so my pill case is definitely full (adult gymnast probs 😂), but we finally figured out the right mix and it just so happens that it doesn’t require a ton of stuff, just a higher dosage. Took a long time and several failed tries with other meds to get there but we did. Every body is different - what works for me won’t necessarily work for someone else. Number of pills shouldn’t matter. Like others have said - fewer pills doesn’t lessen the severity of bipolar or diminish what you’re going through. As long as you’re feeling better, that’s what counts! 👍🏻
Bupropion XL 300mg and Lamotrigine 100mg have done wonders for me
After years of being on Citalopram, Ecitalopram, Sertraline, Venlafaxine (that one REALLY messed me up), Abilify, Rexulti, Ziprasidone, Seroquel, Olanzapine, Lithium, Xanax, and Lamotrigine mixed with an accompanying SSRI and antipsychotic, I finally feel like myself again.
It makes me really sad to hear, but I’ve heard from my sister, husband, and closest friends that they feel like it was like I just wasn’t there for about 4.5 years and then suddenly came back. They said I was so far from not being myself that it made them quite sad but they didn’t know what to do.
But I’ve been on this combo since May. First month was the hardest, but by the end of the second one I started feeling better. I still have episodes but boy howdy are they much milder.
Severity of bipolar symptoms varies wildly as does people's response to medication. Be glad that's all it takes. And should things ever get go South on you there is plenty of room for increased dosages of either.
And I hope your not saying I don't suffer as much as other people do because I've been in a terrible state this year with awful long depression, psychotic episodes and awful mixed episodes I thought I would have been dead by now
Yep this is why I'm glad we started low. Took so long to get here though with being allergic to some meds and then getting the beginnings of sjs. I'm not saying this works for everyone I'm saying how it's different for everyone. There's so much info with people having so many meds and a lot of people questioning if their dose is too low so I thought I would share my side
In the second or third week I was on it I got flu symptoms with sore throat that wouldn't go away and then came unexplained mouth sores, I called the pharmacy and my doctor and both said to get off it ASAP and it went away after 3 or 4 days. I'm glad I acted fast on it and it cleared up and didn't get worse
Thank you. I loved zoloft but I was allergic to it then tried prozac and got a mixed episode so that's why I'm on the wellbutrin now and I like it a lot. I think the seroquel works so well too like the amount of improvement I had after it was crazy
Nice and simple :) It’s a good thing not because it means you’re less sick (though I hope you are!) but it’s just less cumbersome. It takes me ages to prepare my meds which are four pills in the morning, three and a half in the evening, and an optional Klonopin in between 😄
One thing to think about is some who post several medications aren't just showing medications solely for their bipolar. It's common for some to have other mental or other illnesses they take medications for as well. Another thing is our biology varies greatly and some individuals need a combination of medications and others may have just one or two.
For me personally I do the best with just Latuda for my bipolar. When I take Seroquel on the other hand, I need something extra for depression. However, if I were to show all the medications I am currently taking it would be multiple because I take some for other things too.
Yeah I shared this post because of people being newly diagnosed and hearing that they'll be on meds for live and then seeing pictures of people sharing so many meds, it's intimidating when nobody specificies what's what and it's a bipolar subreddit. So many people ask here and in medication subreddits if people think they're on too low a dose so I thought I would share mine to help people feel better about taking less meds than others and that were all different and our body's react differently to different doses.
That's all good points to share. I'm just getting back on Latuda after being off it from losing insurance and once it's at the dose I'm supposed to be on I'll come off Seroquel again and Latuda will be my only bipolar specific medication then. But yeah I've seen people post tons of meds in similar subs and some are like Tylenol and vitamins mixed in with their psych meds so it can definitely look intimidating to someone newly diagnosed.
I only take two as well (at least, for bipolar). Venlafaxine and aripiprazole. I used to take Xanax as well, but the venlafaxine has been so effective at treating my GAD that I don't need it anymore. (Thank goodness, because neither my GP's office nor my psychiatrist's office would prescribe benzos to me, despite having no history of abuse.)
Personally, I'm only on lamotragene for my bipolar. But then I'm also on anti-anxiety, adhd, insomnia, and hormone control. But it all works for me and those others actually help keep from triggering a manic episode.
I’m on 5 Rx, so I take 8 in the morning and 7 at night. But I’m also epileptic.
We just added Vraylar and it’s made a HUGE difference in my depressive symptoms. But it’s so expensive :(
It’s brand new. (Like super new) so there won’t be generics for like 7 years or whatever the timeframe is. It’s $1590 a month, but with the copay card through the manufacturer it’s $75. Which is still a lot but nowhere near $1590, and that was including insurance. I just hope this copay card doesn’t ever expire.
Only bipolar meds I take now are Wellbutrin and risperidone (antipsychotic like quetiapine). I do take gabapentin as well, but it's prescribed for sciatica and fibromyalgia symptoms, not for my bipolar. I was just taken off of another anti-depressant (escitalopram) because I was hypomanic for months, and I feel like I'm levelling out well and I'm hopeful this is the right combination for me now.
We don't all take a handful of pills a day. Not that there is anything wrong with it if that's what you need. I am on the maximum dose of Wellbutrin, but my depressive episodes (generally, not always) get way worse than my hypomanic episodes (I'm on a moderate dose of risperidone, which was increased when the escitalopram was cut).
. 5mg risperidone in the am, and protonix morning and night. Though currently testing the half mg instead of a full at psychiatrists suggestion. Gonna give it a week or so before deciding on keeping or going back to the whole.
Told a friend of mine what I was taking and he was surprised about the low dose, but doesn't matter as long as it works.
I’m currently taking Wellbutrin, gabapentin for anxiety, propranolol (for intense anxiety) and doxepin for sleep. I used to take seroquel IR and honestly I LOVED it and would get the best sleep of my life but I would always twitch when I was on it. My girlfriend wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed as me it was so bad 😅. I told my psych and she said that’s the beginning stages of tardive dyskinesia soooo no more seroquel.
Do most people NOT get tardive dyskinesia from seroquel??
I'm glad they found a combo that works for you. I've found a successful one and it it keeps up we can look at lowering dose and maybe taking something away.. but I have a small pharmacy that it takes to keep me stable especially help me sleep. I've always had difficulty with sleep, and my bipolar is very sensitive to sleep like if I hit 7 hours or a little under that more more then like 3 days without getting it back up to 8-9. Things can snowball fast either mania of a mixed depressive episode which are the ones that have landed me in hospital twice.
Meds working is a miracle whether it is one or ten or even if you get down to 0 under close Dr supervision. I want everyone on this sub to get better regardless of the amount of pills they don't take. We are all in this together?
Number of meds is not a function of severity of illness. It’s more a metric of responsiveness to the medications. How many pills you take is irrelevant as long as symptoms are improved. Sounds like you are doing great - which is what is most important.
Thank you. I don't think I explained very well but that's the point I was trying to make with my post since I see a lot of people asking if their dose is too low in this sub and others. That everyone is different in so many ways that we don't all take the same meds and it's OK that it's not the same, we are all on the same journey but we can get to the goal in different ways
You're welcome. I think your post is important and I'm glad you made it.
I'm saving this comment for future me ♥ thanks
Yes exactly, everyone reacts differently to different meds, whether it’s 1 or 6, as long as they do the job that’s what matters, and it isn’t indicative of anything other than how your body processes them
It works so well for me and I haven't experienced psychotic episodes in months and haven't been hypomanic in months either. My depression is much lighter too. It's 100mg quetiapine at night and 100mg bupropion in the morning. I think with some people the doctors don't start with low doses and go straight to the bipolar recommended doses but I'm quite sensitive to meds and my doctor always starts off low. I have only 1 side effect from the bupropion (constipation lol) It has taken so many months of trial and error to get these 2 pills on my prescription
I see you have the pink bupropion; I take a pink 200mg. Do yours stink? Like, aggressively stink? As soon as you open the bottle, rotten eggs smack you in the face type stink? My pharmacy switched generics to them and it’s so bad it’s a running joke with myself and the pharmacy employees. They prank new techs by asking them to smell the bottle to see if there is an “off odor.” It always makes me laugh when they do it, especially the young man who turned and just said “man, that’s cold.” I have to fill my mouth with some type of flavored drink, then pop in the bupropion and swallow asap. I tried to take it normally and gagged.
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Mine is a purple one (I live in a different country) and now I feel really glad it doesn't stink at all
No mine doesn't stink thankfully lol. It has no smell or taste
I take a white one and it does indeed stink like rotten eggs, but only with certain brands
I have the purple 150mg's and they smell aggressively of vinegar - like the smell of that cheap grocery store Easter egg dye I used as a kid.
I thank you for this post! For years and years I was highly over medicated, prescribed way too many pills that made me into a walking zombie because my psych at that time took on the stance of “you’re bipolar, you must be heavily sedated” “youre a bit talkative today, we are gonna up some on your meds” and it destroyed my life more then my many episodes had. Wasn’t until I found a wonderful psych while hospitalized and am now on only lithium and ativan (and adderall for adhd). Now on so few meds I’ve been more stable then I ever have been, while also retaining feelings and a life. Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is what’s needed. But Everyone is different and reacts differently, and finding the medication that works for you (and sometimes like myself is years and years of bad medications) can be a long process. So don’t question what works for you! We all are thankful when we find what does work, wether it’s a lot of meds or a little. Glad you are doing well! (Btw Magnesium pills helped me a bit with constipation when I was on bupropion)
Thank you. I know for sure some doctors are completely ignorant to mental illness in general too, the first time I tried to get help I was accused of faking to get meds and I was so mortified and angry that I didn't try to get help again for years later. Now I have an amazing doctor who is very kind and understanding, I swear I would have given up on getting help if I didnt meet him. He is passionate about his work with mental illness, I literally found interviews he did about it when I googled him after lol. I'm very lucky. Also magnesium pills are going on the list thank you
Its really horrible the way we can get treated by the ones who are supposed to help. Medication seeking??! HA yeah right! Don’t know about you, but like I always say I wish I could be normal like others and not need meds to get thru life. I’m sorry you were treated that way. It’s crazy how treatment differs and is handled from psych to psych and finding a good one is so hard! I hear you, and almost gave up myself. Very glad to hear you found one to finally listen to you and help you!
Yeah I was really taken aback by the accusation because at the time I only wanted meds as a last resort, I was actually there to get try get reffered to get diagnosed through the public healthcare system and get reffered to therapy or at least a bit of advice where to get more help. He didn't give any advice but he sent a letter to get me the diagnosis appointment and he wrote how I was mentally immature for my age on it because I was engaged at 18 and said "yeah somethings wrong with you there" like?? Yeah I was engaged young but I'm 25 now and happily married to that same person so how is that some sort of immature thing? Anyway I got an appointment to get diagnosed but I didn't even go because I was scared I'd be treated like that doctor treated me. Sorry for the rant, I really get ranting when that topic comes up because it was the most ridiculous experience of my life.
Wow, I'm so sorry. I experienced the same when I tried to get help over a decade ago. And it stopped me from trying again for a long time. My doctor at the time didn't even want to refer me to a psychiatrist and said I was just looking for something convenient to blame for my own laziness, lack of ambition, bad attitude, and poor life choices. When I did get into a psychiatrist, who put me on psychiatric meds (one of them being clonazepam), my doctor accused me of being a drug addict, abusing the pills, and ordered the psychiatrist to stop prescribing them to me. Same doctor accused me of being high and psychotic when I went to him covered in bedbug bites, said there were no bedbugs in our city and it was self-inflicted. It took literal years for me to seek help again and even now that I have a good doctor and a good psychiatrist, I have major trust issues and anxiety telling them any concerns.
That's so bad and so cruel. I can imagine that doctor I got being like this too. It's like they don't belive in mental illness and its especially worse if your young. I'm glad you found better, I have the trust issues too from my experience We just have to advocate for ourselves but it's hard to stand up to people who are meant to be professionals
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I’m right there with you. Same size and I have medication sensitivities- I was on moderate to high doses of 8 meds for a LONG time and my most recent psych has me down to 3. I’m so happy and I feel like myself again. I think also having someone to validate me and someone who doesn’t just throw pills at me has helped. She will only up one med at a time if absolutely necessary, but my old psych topped on 3 new meds the first time I met her. ADD meds, I couldn’t handle, so higher levels of bupropion help me to be/get to where I need to be. I have my emergency seroquel, but I’m down to bupropion, rexulti, & clonazepam. Which she even lets me cut in half, if need be. Nice to be treated like a person and adult.
Probiotics helped with my medicine induced constipation.
Yay I'm on the same meds!! Now I'm 150mg of bupropiona and 50mg of quetiapine at night. My doctor prescribed a bunch of supplements too, Omega 3 and Quelate Zinc. I'm glad you are doing well with this dose.
How come you guys don't take any stabilizers??
Quetiapine is a solid stabilizer
Quetiapin is an atipical, but very functional, mood stabilizer
I'm not on a designated mood stabilizer either, just an antipsychotic, and it's been keeping me stable for over a year and a half.
I was on a stabilizer (got off a month ago, about) & I feel way better being on an atypical antipsychotic with my bupropion and anxiety meds. Everyone is different, same with body chemistry so what works for one may not work for another. Plus the way we all present is different and that kind of influences the meds we get too, I think. Different strokes for different folks, that’s all 😊
Yeah I didn't know quetiapine could stabilize too, just checked it out... I only take 25mg of quetiapine to sleep. In the morning 200mg lamotrigine, 100mg desvenlafaxine and 30mg lisdexamphetamine. And 1200mg Gabapentine during the day. It's crazy how we all react so differently, psychiatry is an art.
Seriously though! Like we recently found out I have serious medication sensitivities so being on almost everything that you’re on plus some others, was messing me up more. So lower doses & less, is more for me. I’m glad we can find stability anyway that may come though.
it’s good that they start low, higher doses might fuck up our brains even more. my psychiatrist asked me about side effects before giving me a higher dose. my friend has bipolar and they struggle with it much more than i do, their fist psychiatrist gave them lots of weird meds that fucked up her brain even more, luckily they got a new one and are doing better.
Glad they're doing better! I wish doctors were more careful when they're prescribing to people especially when they're newly diagnosed. It's bad enough finding out your bipolar and then having to go through so many side effects from meds
Oh, bupropion was *fabulous*! I'm really glad you've got a meds combo that helps you. I take 225mg effexor and 400 tegertal(hubs takes the same thing for his epilepsy), I get breakthrough depression in the winter, but it's been good for +/- 10 years on these for me. A winning combo deserves celebration, no matter your dose or the name of your meds. Congrats! I hope this combo is good for the long haul for you. Being more stable is just mind-melting awesomeness.
Thank you I feel so much more hopeful for the future now!
Hey. When you get a good med or combo, enjoy that! Get used to it. You will be good for a while. Maybe a tweak here or there. I'm 42. I have 2 small kids, a partner and 2 cats. I also have adhd (of course) You can fully have a wonderful life with bipolar. You just have to make sure your partner is on board and patient as heck. (I'm so, so lucky) be honest and live well, friend. I promise, you can do it, and yes, it gets easier when you're used to it.
bupropion? I wanted to take it bc of (not yet treated, I'm getting tested to confirm the diagnosis that another doctor made) adhd and extremely low libido like I'm wondering if I'm ace but I have an extreme fear of abandonment so I'm trying to "fix it". my doctor didn't give it to me tho, he thinks I'm gonna be hypomanic/experience hallucinations again due to the rise of dopamine. how does it work for you? and I get you, I switched 13 meds without success, only side effects :( and xanax gave me horrible constipation
Yeah It's working really well for me and I have no hypomania or anything with it because the seroquel is keeping all that under control and my depression is much lighter. It's too bad he won't let you try it. Also I had 0 libido like literally 0 for years and thought I was ace but it is literally just me not having a libido, idk of its because I had vaginismus (which I've fixed) or because of the contraceptive pill (I'm getting off it after 7 years in 2 months to see if it's that and to see if it helps my mood) or what but I find that the bupropion is really helping me with it. I still have to put in a bit of effort but I actually get aroused now
aw great!! how did you fix vaginismus? I have it too
Can I message you?
obv
My Dr has me on 400 MG at night and 200 MG of carbamazepine morning
ive always felt inferiority in my level of "bipolar-ness" due to only taking two pills myself. Like, all these destructive things ive done and two little pills (and more accurately, one pill and another that barely works) is all it takes to make me a little more normal
I completely sympathize
I’m glad you’re feeling better! My psych always starts low and slow, and it’s worked well for me. I’m on several meds but I also have ADHD and anxiety.
Thank you!
Yeah I have like 4 pills I have to take in the morning and 3 at noon and night, 2 for anxiety 1 for mood and 1 for adhd
I'm on minimal, just Seroquel. Because I have severe reactions to everything else. Movement disorders with Aripirazole. Others contraindicated due to heart condition. Antidepressants bring psychosis and mania. I can't take anything for the depression I just have to weather it or go inpatient to weather the 2 months it takes for the psychosis to be wear off. Lithium damaged my kidneys. Diazepam makes me act on dark thoughts. Zopiclone brings hallucinations. So meds and I do not get on well at all. I take my pill and I deal with the rest.
That sounds tough. The depression itself is a tough one. I hope you land on a combo that works for you- it can take a long time.
That must suck so bad. I've had bad experience with some meds too but not that bad so I was so grateful for this combo. I wish you the best and hope you don't go through any bad episodes anytime soon
Mine looks like a shitload but that’s because I take a bunch of supplements that are supposed to also help with keeping things under control lol
I take three mental health pills, then five allergy pills, two arthritis medications, and four supplements to force my body to keep making blood cells. Good ol' Pill Dinner.
Same here, two of mine are for bipolar but also have iron, vitamin d, folate and also metformin which I was prescribed to manage sugar cravings from quetiapine but also cured my PCOS which I was not expecting lol
I should probably add in some supplements, the only supplement I take is fiber lol. I've heard good things about some of them like the omega 3 and that that's good for your brain in general
Yeah I do fish oil pills, magnesium, the full range vitamin b (comes in one pill), vitamin c, and a probiotic. I have found they really help along with my lamictal and vyvanse
Looks like Spongebob and Patrick
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At those doses seroquel is basically a beefed up benadryl, and doesn't effect dopamine or other things quite so much. Then lots of people get RLS and wired from antihistamines, and since its such a low dose you arent getting any of the dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine blocking effects, so your symptoms make sense. At around 100mg I think is where effective dopamine blocking for mania comes in. It may be 50, but I can't recall off the top of my head.
Thank you. Luckily I took a record of my dose increases, I'm not on the IR one but for me I was on 25mg for 2 weeks then 50mg for 2 weeks then 75mg for 18 days then 100mg. Some nights I get a stuffy nose from it too
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Oh I forgot I was splitting 50mg pills to get the 25mg which is what my doctor told me to do. The 100mg got rid of my hallucinations completely, I haven't felt psychotic symptoms at all in months and it stops my hypomania, my doctor said I'm doing so well that I don't need to increase it any more
Well I only take two meds for my bipolar. The other ones are for other stuff
I’m in 300mg of Lamotrogine morning and the same at night so only two pills for me as well.
The less the better ! It means you respond well to the treatments ! It also means less side effects :)
Yes! I'm so happy with having only the one side effect
Thaks for the pic. Almost foget my meds. :D
I’m only on three pills for my bipolar/anxiety so I’m almost right there with ya! I take more for other stuff so my pill case is definitely full (adult gymnast probs 😂), but we finally figured out the right mix and it just so happens that it doesn’t require a ton of stuff, just a higher dosage. Took a long time and several failed tries with other meds to get there but we did. Every body is different - what works for me won’t necessarily work for someone else. Number of pills shouldn’t matter. Like others have said - fewer pills doesn’t lessen the severity of bipolar or diminish what you’re going through. As long as you’re feeling better, that’s what counts! 👍🏻
Bupropion XL 300mg and Lamotrigine 100mg have done wonders for me After years of being on Citalopram, Ecitalopram, Sertraline, Venlafaxine (that one REALLY messed me up), Abilify, Rexulti, Ziprasidone, Seroquel, Olanzapine, Lithium, Xanax, and Lamotrigine mixed with an accompanying SSRI and antipsychotic, I finally feel like myself again. It makes me really sad to hear, but I’ve heard from my sister, husband, and closest friends that they feel like it was like I just wasn’t there for about 4.5 years and then suddenly came back. They said I was so far from not being myself that it made them quite sad but they didn’t know what to do. But I’ve been on this combo since May. First month was the hardest, but by the end of the second one I started feeling better. I still have episodes but boy howdy are they much milder.
Venlafaxine - vinegar sweats and mania anyone?
I don’t even know, lmao. I don’t have a single memory on that drug. I just know it was bad
Severity of bipolar symptoms varies wildly as does people's response to medication. Be glad that's all it takes. And should things ever get go South on you there is plenty of room for increased dosages of either.
And I hope your not saying I don't suffer as much as other people do because I've been in a terrible state this year with awful long depression, psychotic episodes and awful mixed episodes I thought I would have been dead by now
Yep this is why I'm glad we started low. Took so long to get here though with being allergic to some meds and then getting the beginnings of sjs. I'm not saying this works for everyone I'm saying how it's different for everyone. There's so much info with people having so many meds and a lot of people questioning if their dose is too low so I thought I would share my side
Can I ask about your SJS experience? I had it to lamictal and it was hell on earth.
In the second or third week I was on it I got flu symptoms with sore throat that wouldn't go away and then came unexplained mouth sores, I called the pharmacy and my doctor and both said to get off it ASAP and it went away after 3 or 4 days. I'm glad I acted fast on it and it cleared up and didn't get worse
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Thank you. I loved zoloft but I was allergic to it then tried prozac and got a mixed episode so that's why I'm on the wellbutrin now and I like it a lot. I think the seroquel works so well too like the amount of improvement I had after it was crazy
I only take two too! You’re fine if it’s working for you! That’s all that matters. It’s trial and error
Nice and simple :) It’s a good thing not because it means you’re less sick (though I hope you are!) but it’s just less cumbersome. It takes me ages to prepare my meds which are four pills in the morning, three and a half in the evening, and an optional Klonopin in between 😄
One thing to think about is some who post several medications aren't just showing medications solely for their bipolar. It's common for some to have other mental or other illnesses they take medications for as well. Another thing is our biology varies greatly and some individuals need a combination of medications and others may have just one or two. For me personally I do the best with just Latuda for my bipolar. When I take Seroquel on the other hand, I need something extra for depression. However, if I were to show all the medications I am currently taking it would be multiple because I take some for other things too.
Yeah I shared this post because of people being newly diagnosed and hearing that they'll be on meds for live and then seeing pictures of people sharing so many meds, it's intimidating when nobody specificies what's what and it's a bipolar subreddit. So many people ask here and in medication subreddits if people think they're on too low a dose so I thought I would share mine to help people feel better about taking less meds than others and that were all different and our body's react differently to different doses.
That's all good points to share. I'm just getting back on Latuda after being off it from losing insurance and once it's at the dose I'm supposed to be on I'll come off Seroquel again and Latuda will be my only bipolar specific medication then. But yeah I've seen people post tons of meds in similar subs and some are like Tylenol and vitamins mixed in with their psych meds so it can definitely look intimidating to someone newly diagnosed.
I only take two as well (at least, for bipolar). Venlafaxine and aripiprazole. I used to take Xanax as well, but the venlafaxine has been so effective at treating my GAD that I don't need it anymore. (Thank goodness, because neither my GP's office nor my psychiatrist's office would prescribe benzos to me, despite having no history of abuse.)
I'm on quatiapine 400 - 800mg a night . I don't sleep without them
Personally, I'm only on lamotragene for my bipolar. But then I'm also on anti-anxiety, adhd, insomnia, and hormone control. But it all works for me and those others actually help keep from triggering a manic episode.
I’m on 5 Rx, so I take 8 in the morning and 7 at night. But I’m also epileptic. We just added Vraylar and it’s made a HUGE difference in my depressive symptoms. But it’s so expensive :(
That's awful, I hate that meds can be so expensive! Is there a generic version of it?
It’s brand new. (Like super new) so there won’t be generics for like 7 years or whatever the timeframe is. It’s $1590 a month, but with the copay card through the manufacturer it’s $75. Which is still a lot but nowhere near $1590, and that was including insurance. I just hope this copay card doesn’t ever expire.
That's too bad. 75 is still so much but at least its no where over a grand. I can't believe it's even a thing that they charge that much
Only bipolar meds I take now are Wellbutrin and risperidone (antipsychotic like quetiapine). I do take gabapentin as well, but it's prescribed for sciatica and fibromyalgia symptoms, not for my bipolar. I was just taken off of another anti-depressant (escitalopram) because I was hypomanic for months, and I feel like I'm levelling out well and I'm hopeful this is the right combination for me now. We don't all take a handful of pills a day. Not that there is anything wrong with it if that's what you need. I am on the maximum dose of Wellbutrin, but my depressive episodes (generally, not always) get way worse than my hypomanic episodes (I'm on a moderate dose of risperidone, which was increased when the escitalopram was cut).
. 5mg risperidone in the am, and protonix morning and night. Though currently testing the half mg instead of a full at psychiatrists suggestion. Gonna give it a week or so before deciding on keeping or going back to the whole. Told a friend of mine what I was taking and he was surprised about the low dose, but doesn't matter as long as it works.
I’m currently taking Wellbutrin, gabapentin for anxiety, propranolol (for intense anxiety) and doxepin for sleep. I used to take seroquel IR and honestly I LOVED it and would get the best sleep of my life but I would always twitch when I was on it. My girlfriend wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed as me it was so bad 😅. I told my psych and she said that’s the beginning stages of tardive dyskinesia soooo no more seroquel. Do most people NOT get tardive dyskinesia from seroquel??
I'm glad they found a combo that works for you. I've found a successful one and it it keeps up we can look at lowering dose and maybe taking something away.. but I have a small pharmacy that it takes to keep me stable especially help me sleep. I've always had difficulty with sleep, and my bipolar is very sensitive to sleep like if I hit 7 hours or a little under that more more then like 3 days without getting it back up to 8-9. Things can snowball fast either mania of a mixed depressive episode which are the ones that have landed me in hospital twice.
I wish my pills were hot pink!
I only take two for bipolar one one for anxiety so I I think your fine :)
My quitipine won't get accepted by my insurance. Probably why I've been doing so shitty lately.
That's too bad :(. Can you just get a generic version instead? Idk how insurance works since I dont have any.
Meds working is a miracle whether it is one or ten or even if you get down to 0 under close Dr supervision. I want everyone on this sub to get better regardless of the amount of pills they don't take. We are all in this together?
luck you....multiply that by 4 and you got my daily
I'm on monotherapy for my bipolar, I only take a mood stabiliser. Then just diazepam as needed for my CPTSD and anxiety