Ocracoker16

I am happy to hear that you are feeling a bit better. I hope that will continue as you increase your Lamictal dose to the target dose. After all those weeks of slowly increasing the Lamictal from 25 to 100 mgs, I am glad it feels like it might be working. I think that the low dose Klonopin is a good idea. Good luck.

You could look for support groups in your area. You can go to the NAMI(National Alliance on Mental Illness) website or the DBSA (Depression Bipolar Support Alliance) website to find your local chapter. Both offer support groups on a regular basis.

It is not uncommon for pdocs to diagnose a patient with bipolar disorder after years of failure treating it with numerous AD's. Irritability is a symptom that is considered part of depression, but it also can be seen as dysphoric hypomania. Dysphoric refers to the kind of hypomania that is not the classic euphoric type where you feel on top of the world but more the angry agitated state. Others have mentioned that doctors have a better understanding of these illnesses. That is true of bipolar. Many people who didn't have really severe psychotic mania were diagnosed unipolar. Doctors started to see a less severe mania which they called hypomania. That allowed for the diagnosis of BP 2. Now there is a bipolar spectrum allowing for different degrees of full blown bipolar. Have you started the Topamax?

I take Celexa for OCD. Usually the optimal dose for OCD is a little bit higher than the one for depression. When I increase by 10 mg intervals it can take up to 3 weeks to notice a difference. However, jumping from 20 to 40 mgs may start to work in a week. I personally haven't experienced side effects from upping the dose from a dose I was stable at for awhile.

Another possible medication that a doctor might consider is Provigil or modafinil. It is a wakefullness promoting drug most commonly used for narcolepsy. Insurance usually doesn't cover it if you don't have insurance and out of pocket costs are high. However, it is quite popular. It is less addictive than a stimulant. Ritalin and amphetamines are certainly prescribed off label for depression, but it really depends on the doctor. There are some who won't do it. Think about the Wellbutrin or bupropion that subpurgatory mentioned. I have also had good luck with that AD.

I am not currently on Lamictal, but I take Lithium for bipolar disorder. I have been on Celexa for 6 years doing the same kind of frequent dose changes and trying to find the sweet spot. What I am going to say pretty much applies to all mood stabilizers. There are some people who can tolerate higher doses of AD's once they get to a therapeutic dose of a mood stabilizer. However, there are some people who can't take AD's at all even if they are on mood stabilizers. If your doctor were to increase your Celexa, you would need to monitor manic symptoms. I would recommend that you wait until you have been on Lamictal 100 mgs for atleast another week before upping the Celexa. Your doctor may increase your dose as well. Lamictal is a unique moodstabilizer because it does have such an antidepressant effect. You want to give it time at a good dose to see if it benefits your depression. Some people don't have to take any AD's while on Lamictal, but others do. The depression that you are currently experiencing may not be related to Lamictal. Some moodstabilizers have such anti-manic properties that they make you feel down and sluggish. Lamictal is not supposed to do that.

I think you need to contact your doctor immediately. I feel that not being able to walk or drive is a serious problem that needs medical attention. Since you have been having a lot of problems with your adrenal glands and cortisol levels lately, I would suggest you see your doctor and get some testing done to make sure that these issues aren't causing your current problems. I don't want you to conclude you have depression until you know that there is no other medical cause.

Welcome to the DF. I want to invite you to post in our Lexapro and Celexa forum. It is the best place to ask some of the questions you have about Lexapro. There are many people there who take Lexapro and can share their experiences on what to expect when you first start it or what the worst side effects are.

When I am depressed, I wear baggy suits that are usually black or grey. I sometimes wear a giant hooded sweatshirt over the suits. I don't wear earrings at all. I never wear any type of jewelry, because I don't want to attract attention. My personal trainer has noticed how I wear baggy pants and large t-shirts when I am depressed. My workout outfits end up in the bottom of the bin.

Welcome to Depression Forums. I believe its never too late to try to change the direction your life is going in so that you can have a more satisfying life. There are a lot of people here who can relate to your problems with romantic relationships and give you some practical advice. I hope you continue to post here. You have such good insight about what is going on with you. I am sure you will contribute to the discussions here.

Depakote is a mood stabilizer that is prescribed to bipolar patients. It is used to treat manic symptoms and can be very helpful for those with rapid cycling bipolar.

I have been taking Bupropion with citalopram for several years. It is common to combine Bupropion with another AD especially an SSRI. Sometimes doctors prescribe Wellbutrin when an AD is causing sexual side effects or weight gain.

I did not have a good experience with Zonegran. I started out on 25 mgs which is a tiny dose. It was somewhat sedating, but the big problem was the headaches I developed. They were accompanied by nausea and dizziness. I could not function. I wish I could be more positive.

Too bad triazolam which is also known as Halcion is a sedative hypnotic. It isn't used for anxiety.

I am assuming that you have recovered from the panic attack. I am glad that you were able to identify it early and ask for help. I would have been happy to walk you through a series of breathing exercises, but I wasn't here when you posted. You are welcome to post, but I am concerned that sometimes nobody will be available. You must have felt extra anxiety as you waited for someone to reply. What kind of therapy have you had? I think you could benefit from learning about what might trigger your panic attacks, what signs let you know you are having a panic attack, and some ways to deal with the attacks. There is a lot of good info in the pinned topics section. There are breathing exercises as well as ways to talk to yourself to help you calm down. These sort of things may sound silly, but they do work. Don't give up on them, because they don't work at first.

Have you considered therapy? Divorces can be really hard to deal with. Anger and resentment are common emotions. Therapists can help you by allowing you to express your feelings without having to worry about holding back. Just blowing off steam can allow you to let go of some of these feelings and reduce your level of anger. A therapist could help you work through your anger towards your ex which might enable you to avoid feeling really upset every time she does something annoying. Therapists are used to working with individuals who are having difficulty with someone who has no interest in changing their behavior. You are in such a situation which is frustrating. However, there are ways of becoming accustomed to a pattern of behavior and being able to classify it as such without an emotional response. This situation you are in really sucks. Many people would be so consumed by anger that they could never see that they needed to "shed" it. You are wise to recognise that you are going to implode soon.

Yes, call that doctor. That doctor will be able to prescribe your medicine atleast enough until your doctor is back. I once had a similar issue with running out of meds when my doctor was gone, but I was able to get the prescription called in by the doctor who was covering for my doctor.

i dont feel effects of klonopin. maybe its just cause im used to xanax? I think that you are used to the quick onset of xanax. Xanax also has that sort of feel good (antidepressant) tendency in addiction to helping anxiety. Klonopin doesn't kick in as fast and it has a much longer duration of action. I take Klonopin and I don't tend to notice it kick in like I could feel with Xanax. I also don't feel it stop working. It is much smoother. If you really like Xanax you might want to ask for the once daily Xanax XR.

I was on risperidone about 5 years ago at a similar dose. I had similar side effects. I felt kind of dazed and out of it. The hospital doctors didn't care. When I got out I told my pdoc that I had felt this way for a month. I added that it was affecting my ability to focus on my school work. She took me off. Talk to your doctor about this. There are other atypical antipsychotics that you could try.

I think that Moonlightress has made an excellent point about how finding effective treatment for your symptoms is far more important than the diagnosis. I read your post and I immediately felt concerned about you. I think that speculating on whether these symptoms indicate bipolar disorder or unipolar depression really should not be your priority. These issues are serious and need to be addressed especially since you feel that the suicidal feelings you are having are becoming stronger and harder to fight. I can relate to being curious about being bipolar. My pdoc always told me that she wanted to focus on getting me better and that we would use meds for other conditions if they helped me. I got the same response to being suicidal in the ER when my diagnosis was depression and when it became bipolar. You may end up with the bipolar diagnosis down the road, but for now you might want to pursue treatment for your symptoms. I really believe that you are suffering and I wouldn't think that any diagnosis would make me think it was less serious.

Welcome to the Bipolar Forum. Feel free to jump right into a discussion or start your own.

I had a similar issue with Restoril. It kept me asleep, but it didn't help me fall to sleep.

I have been in therapy for 9 years. For most of that time I have been going on a twice weekly basis.

There really aren't any identifiable risk factors for psychotic depression. Although, a family history of psychotic disorders does increase the risk in some way. Psychosis is not caused by a sense of guilt. Researchers believe that high levels of cortisol which is a stress hormone may contribute. :plain:

Ambien can cause a lot of weird neurological effects since it is a sedative hypnotic. Ambien has been reported to have caused feelings of depression especially in already depressed patients. Also, feeling zoned out or disoriented is fairly common. I thought I would also mention the Ambien sleep driving problem. People are getting up in the middle of the night and driving around. Some people get pulled over and charged for DUI. This is documented. A website known as Psych Central just posted an article on this.