self medicate

does anyone self medicate. meaning they go off and on meds as needed. I have tried abilify, now seroquel. I function much better off meds than on. I stay baseline for months until I am under a stress that I am having a hard time dealing with. Was dianosed bp in 2002 had a rough time from then till 2007 when I slowly on my own took myself off meds. Everybody started telling me that I was doing better. even my pdoc. who kept wanting me to maintain at 15mg of abilfy. had a stressor in 2009 tried to go back on 2mg of abilify it made me nausish and floaty (confused). went off did better. then tried seroquel 50mg xr. knocked my socks off. tried taking it every 3 days still dragged and after two week notice all I did was cry all day. however it did knock down my elevated mood. sooo I know it is not recommended to self medicate but it looks like the better alternative. meaning the side affects of being on the meds.

This sounds awfully dangerous to me, or you just haven't found the right diagnosis or right medication. I have to say, I'm lucky to have a family that is pretty close, and I don't always notice when I'm going through what I would call a "mean cycle", but they don't hesitate to point it out to me. Then I would usually start to write daily and notice that sometimes they were right or sometimes they were wrong. But I never hesitated to talk to my pdoc if someone commented, and show him my journal. All I'm saying is be sooooo careful with this, sometimes psych illnesses can wear many different looks, similar to addictions. You think you can control them yourself, and when you figure out you can't, sometimes its too late.

thanks for the replay. part of my delima is that I am not conveienced of the diagnosis. I don't see the mood swings and neither do some close friends and family members. I only have a problem when I am involved in long term stressors and unable to resolve the issue causing stress. do you do talk therapy with your pdoc or does he do meds only and then you have a talk therapist.
Thanks for your comments.

Hi clown3fish!

Did you intend to post in cyclothymia instead of BP? I was originally cyclothymic (before it was unsderstood much) and was mistakenly thought to have BP. The BP meds led to an agonizing year that turned me into a rapid cycling BP.

After 12 years of trying and being made sicker by various combos I finally committed to a more natural approach. I don't think pdocs have a clue how to treat milder forms of BP yet.

If your manias or depressions are so severe that they severly impact your life then you really need to accept whatever is available now. It sounds like therapy and learning better coping techniques might be all you need.

hi hoosierk
I was under the impression that cyclothemia was a mild form of bp. I too take the b12 supplements. a good morning 30minute walk on the treadmill does more good than any of the meds I have taken. do you know anything or anyone who has taken trileptal. the pdoc I am seeing now says it is for milder forms of bp. I have done research on the med but as usual don't like all the possible side effects. thanks for your replay

Hey clown3fish,
I'm not sure if trileptal is a "mood stabilizer" or not, but I did try lamictal for a while after being considered "mildly BP" (whether that's cyclothymic or not, I do not know). I was taken off the lamictal, and now I really don't notice much of a difference. I have a therapist that works closely with my pdoc, but I know my pdoc so well, that he and I talk pretty openly. I guess I'm with Hoosier on this one. I've found that the simplest combo has been the best for me all around, as long as I continue w/therapy and coping techniques. But if I go through a huge drama in my life, then we usually all work together on increasing my time for coping, increase my therapy, then increasing my regular meds for a short period of time, instead of adding a new one.

Its been frustrating to say the least, because you just want anything uncomfortable "to just go away" but I've found by using this plan, I've learned how to handle each situation a little better. Good luck, hope that helps.

Chl

Hi chl
trileptal is an anticonvulsive like lamictal. I was told to give it a least 15 days. well its been 7 and I had to switch to taking it in the morning because it was keeping me up at night. also have a restlessnes that wasn't there before and I am slightly dizzy all the time. it has made me a little irritable. I think I am going to keep with the talk therapy and no meds. I don't want to go back on that horrible med nightmare I was on from 2002 to 2007. I was a zombie and gained 30 punds. that has since been taken off my working out and I think my 30minute cardio workout every morning and afternoon does more good than the meds. Thanks for the reply. It was helpful to talk to someone who also deals with this issue.

Back to your original question - I actually had a pdoc prescribe 25mg Seroquel PRN. My family doc still gives me that perscription and once or twice a year due to unavoidable psychosocial stressors like you describe I take it and it stops the mania from escalating.

HoosierK,

First time really reading over these forums...you post really positive things and I like that you are going the natural route...you've obviously REALLY put effort into your health.

Side note: Sure appreciate your scriptures! Do you like Ps 37:29? Rev 21:3,4? : )

Hi Dan!

I try to balance my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. And yes I also appreciate Matt 24:14 & Is 65:17.

K