# medication help



## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Hi, to start off i've been on about every medication under the sun. There are very few that i haven't tried, although i'm willing to try a med again. Sometimes meds work better when they're in a combination with something else.

Anyways, I'm currently on 75 mg of Lamictal, 40 mg of latuda, and 900 mg of gabapentin. I was on lamictal a very long time ago(alone), and i remember it feeling like it had potential for it to be helpful(in a combination). So far we haven't found the right med cocktail..

My psychiatrist is extremely thorough and careful with what she gives me, it can sort've get annoying. I'm used to psychiatrists who prescribe whatever you want until hopefully you find the right one. My depression and anxiety hasn't lifted even a little bit, and my insomnia is starting to get a lot worse than usual. She finally agreed to makes some changes to the meds, but she is uncertain what will help.

The latuda is an anti psychotic and i've been on ap's in the past. I don't like the way they make me feel, i don't think its the kind of meds for me. I'm open to suggestions though. The one med were certain to stick with is the lamictal, for its the only one i noticed any change with. And were eventually hoping to substitute the gabapentin for something else, hoping we'll have better luck.

I believe the insomnia has to do with severe anxiety, but also mania. That being said, I believe you need a bipolar med or anxiety med to fix this problem, not a quick fix sleeping med. Does anyone know a med that sort've has the same properties as gabapentin, but may be more efficient? And the latuda, maybe a more sleep proven med to subsitute it?

I'm on like 3 weeks of hardly any sleep, i'm struggling a lot more than usual. If anyone could help me out it'd be much appreciated. I'm open to all suggestions and also any med that people had good experiences with.

Thanks a lot,

Andrew


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## Nathanael.A. (Apr 16, 2013)

May want to read my post ( http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/48413-pharmacotherapy-targets-of-possible-interest/ ), Its abit of an essay but I mention some pretty interesting stuff on there.

At the moment I've noticed some rudimentary success with Fluoxetine 40mg, T3 Thyroid hormone 80+ ug, Piracetam 1-2 gram/daily, 200mg lamotrigine/daily, NSI-189 40-80mg daily and 7,8-Dihydroxyfavone 50mg+ daily, Couracetam 40mg+ daily and uridine 250mg + omega 3 oil daily.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2014)

Lamotrigine + SSRI + clonazepam.


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Selig said:


> Lamotrigine + SSRI + clonazepam.


They're afraid to prescribe me an ssri because i have a history of mania. I have heard good things about this combination, and i think i'm willing to take the risk haha. Thanks for the feedback



Nath said:


> May want to read my post ( http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/48413-pharmacotherapy-targets-of-possible-interest/ ), Its abit of an essay but I mention some pretty interesting stuff on there.
> 
> At the moment I've noticed some rudimentary success with Fluoxetine 40mg, T3 Thyroid hormone 80+ ug, Piracetam 1-2 gram/daily, 200mg lamotrigine/daily, NSI-189 40-80mg daily and 7,8-Dihydroxyfavone 50mg+ daily, Couracetam 40mg+ daily and uridine 250mg + omega 3 oil daily.


That's some confusing shit^^ haha no offense. Man, I'm complaining about taking 3 meds a day... It takes forever to increase lamictal because of that deadly rash, i'm at 75 mg moving to 100. Did you notice anything once you up'd the dose gradually from 100 to 200?


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Anyone know a med that can help with anxiety but doesn't make you wicked drowsy like benzos?

What medications helped people get better?


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## Nathanael.A. (Apr 16, 2013)

I went up to 400 I think with the lamictal and yeah I did indeed notice a significant appreciable effect in the mornings.

In terms of anti-anxiety drugs i'm thinking maybe something called pyrazolam; in standard doses it releives anxiety and only in very high doses does it cause drowsiness and become a hypnotic;another suggestion might be pregabalin. Piracetam helped me with my focus attention concentration memory and energy levels, as well as helping in some social situations to certain extent; it has little to no side-effects.


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Hell yeah man, thank you. That sounds like exactly what i need, pyrazolam, Do you know what the difference of gabapentin and pregablin is? I can't focus for shit right now, and i'm starting school up again. That might be another possibility

Thanks dude, really appreciate it


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## Nathanael.A. (Apr 16, 2013)

I can't elaborate on either gabapentin or pregabalin see in as I hav no experience with either. the closest I've come is nabbing a capsule of 200mg lyrics off of my mate. I think it made me feel bait drunk, I've spoken to people though, and they've reported it makes them consistently drowsy so Im not sure if its something u shud be takin wen ur putting pen to paper on ur final exams. Gabapaentin is a painkiller which makes people drowsy, the exact mechanism of action is not known but it is Not an opioid. Pregabalin was developed as a more potent analog of gabapentin, which also turned out to hav beneficial effects in anxiety disorders.

; Oh and maybe a crude extrapolation, if u cud somehow quantify or describe DP/DR as a disorder where the body responds to chronic stress and pain but numbing itself endogenously, and therefore numbing the experience of raw emotion as well, then maybe taking a painkiller like pregabalin wud be counterproductive, but thats just my conjecture.


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

You make perfect sense, it's funny because i'm actually weening off the gabapentin. Maybe that's the med that's holding me back, it sure feels like something with my meds aren't right. I'm just tired all the time, and still have bad anxiety. But that being said, it still feels like there's something in there that's working but maybe somethings countering like you said.

I've taken high doses of gabapentin before and I felt piss drunk too haha. I guess i built up a tolerance though cause I rarely feel that anymore. I'm a little worried about dropping the gabapentin because it's been my main med for a while now. But you can look at it another way way also, it could be holding me back. I never knew it was considered a pain reliever, i thought its main purpose was for anxiety. Yet it hasn't done shit for my anxiety, just made me feel sort of physically comfortable. I guess proving the fact its a painkiller haha

I really appreciate the feedback man, I'm seeing my psych this week. Definitely bringing up some of your thoughts and suggestions


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

I'm still having trouble with this, can anyone come up with other specific meds that'd work well in my case?


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2014)

Honestly I'm never going to be an advocate for benzos, because i've been on them 8 years and i do believe you will reach a ceiling, but, that being said, every person is different, and with the combination you've tried, benzos may be a last resort. Nothing short acting like xanax though, like selig said clonazepam works very well. You could most likely get away with trying .25. Just a suggesstion, you may however run into issues with this with the new psych from the sounds of it. I'm surprised the gabapentin hasn't done anything at that dose. Did it ever help?


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## nabber (Feb 13, 2009)

edit**

I didn't notice your other thread, I also take 2mg of klonopin at night and yes it does carry over, the half life is 36 hours. Just being honest about it. Sorry...


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

slemshedy said:


> Honestly I'm never going to be an advocate for benzos, because i've been on them 8 years and i do believe you will reach a ceiling, but, that being said, every person is different, and with the combination you've tried, benzos may be a last resort. Nothing short acting like xanax though, like selig said clonazepam works very well. You could most likely get away with trying .25. Just a suggesstion, you may however run into issues with this with the new psych from the sounds of it. I'm surprised the gabapentin hasn't done anything at that dose. Did it ever help?


8 years, damn. You must be pretty dependent on it, my psych is really afraid of that. When something gives you relief when your feeling like shit, you take every ounce you can get. Even though that might mean becoming dependent on it, although makes it a lot worse in the long run. Eventually you have to get off that shit and its much worse after that. I'm pretty good at looking at the big picture in that situation. Mainly its for sleep but my sleep is so fucked that the klonopin doesn't even help. I think its mania, but i'm afraid she'll give me a bipolar med if i push that. Bipolar meds make me wicked tired throughout the day and i don't need that right now, i'm beyond tired as it is.

I was on the gabapentin for like 4 months and i just weened off it. I feel no different then I did when i was on it, mentally. Physically, it helped me a bit with feeling calm and having less of the anxiety physical sensations, which can be sort've debilitating. I think its time for a new psych all together like you said, she's very old and doesn't really have that mind of new ideas like younger psychs. I don't wanna break it off with her because i consider her a friend and feel comfortable with her, but i know its more important to get my meds straight.

If anyone has sorta the same circumstances as mine, sleepy/depressed as hell and anxious, and has found a med that can help please let me know. I think the main concern is not sleeping but i feel like that's a much more complicated issue to fix because we aren't quite sure what it is. I'd really appreciate more insight on this topic

Thank you


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2014)

You have no idea man..... I wish someone had told me 8 years ago about the dangers of benzos. 5mg a day of this poison. Don't get me wrong, they work for people who take them the right way, but they are not meant for this type of length at this dosage. I'm in the process of tapering now because they do not work for me anymore, and I can say it has been hell. I dont want to give you the wrong idea though, for most people they work amazingly, and i had some great years where I was able to finish college and enjoy life, but recently they just kinda stopped working if that makes sense. Its a rough feeling knowing what i'm going to go through in coming off in the next year, but it will be for the best, and I have a psych and therapist and support system at home that are very helpful. I'm going to ask my doc about gabapentin because its been recommended before. Did you have any luck with it at all??


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

I promise you man your gonna feel better off it eventually. It'll definitely be tough for a little while, but just knowing that your at a natural state is sorta relieving. I've had to get off meds I was on for a while and it was definitely rough but in the end I always was happy with that choice. It's sort've like being a drug addict and having to go through the terrible withdrawals when you finally find the strength to get off it.

Gabapentin is literally the most mild and natural feeling med I've been on. Its not really for anxiety in my opinion, i think it focuses more on though the physical anxiety sensations. I felt comfortable on it, but I never went up to an extreme dose. I'm sure it could've been more beneficial if I increased, but I just couldn't see it giving me that extra push i'm searching for. So I dropped it because i don't wanna be on more meds then i have to. It's not really a med for like curing any disorders in my opinion, its pretty mild. I think its the perfect med to help ween off another dependent med, in your case. It's actually known as a pain reliever so it'll have some of the same properties as the klonopin's muscle relaxation. Give it a shot man, and pm me when you get some results

'


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## clockwork8 (May 9, 2013)

StandAlone said:


> I've taken high doses of gabapentin before and I felt piss drunk too haha. I guess i built up a tolerance though cause I rarely feel that anymore. I'm a little worried about dropping the gabapentin because it's been my main med for a while now. But you can look at it another way way also, it could be holding me back. I never knew it was considered a pain reliever, i thought its main purpose was for anxiety. Yet it hasn't done shit for my anxiety, just made me feel sort of physically comfortable. I guess proving the fact its a painkiller haha


It does indeed make one feel "really comfortable" and slightly drunk without drowsiness, but you're right it doesn't help -that much- with anxiety. I think it helps a little. I'm pretty sure pregabalin is basically the same in effects but more potent. I would say that the gabapentin may be decreasing your ability to focus on logical activities. I think it makes it harder for me to focus and I've heard several people say it makes you stupid. I think they most likely just mean it makes it harder to focus. I think its best use is as a painkiller particularly for nerve pain, and recreationally to get a drunk feeling with few side effects.

You could try phenibut or l-theanine supplements. I'm not sure how effective they are.


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## Nathanael.A. (Apr 16, 2013)

Update: I recently tried a combination of 2 meds, 400mg of modafinil +50mg Amitriptyine or however u spell it, I felt like it has been the most effective combination for me so far mate


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions buddy. I got a session with my psych today, Imma bring that up cause i was thinking the same thing. Latuda doesn't feel like its doing shit, and ive been on seroquel in the past, and atleast if it doesn't do anything itll help get me some much needed sleep.


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Anyone know of a med that has anti depressant properties like maybe more energy and less anxiety, but doesn't have a lot of potential to cause bad insomnia/mania. I think cymbalta is an snri, affecting the dopamine as opposed to serotonin. Anyone have success with this?


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## StandAlone (Jan 22, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback man, i really appreciate it. It is a lot of meds, and i feel like the more meds im on the more complicated the issue gets. So i think i'm dropping this med called latuda because i don't think its helping, and ill probably try seroquel. I'm actually between psychs right now, my doc was pretty tough to deal with for meds, she was afraid to prescribe me anything. That could be a good quality in a way but it just wasn't working. She had like three meds in mine and i tried all them, she ran outta ideas and wasn't willing to try others really. I just left her a message today and told her i couldn't see her anymore

I've been on seroquel in the past, it helped me sleep. I hate the feeling i get from taking anti psychotics, they bring some uncomfortable side effects. But honestly i don't care at this point. I think lamictal + seroquel(to help balance the ssri energy, possible mania) + ssri could be a great combination. Imma bring it up when i find a new psych. I'll pm you when i find one if that's alright, you're pretty helpful with this stuff.

Thanks

i like your picture by the way, it reminds me of dp/dr


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