Is there anyone out ther after 12 years still going thru the medication roller coaster? I'm so very tired of this...any help?

I'm curious about this question too.

My mom was on several medications over the years, and it seemed that as soon as some particularly stressful event occurred, it was back to square one with trying to figure out the dosage and type of drug that would maintain her her health.

Is it common for people with Bipolar too, to have to make changes depending on life circumstances/events?

Cherie

On year 5 with my son and it is still a roller coaster.

His pdoc calls it fragile. I call it sad and distressing.

My meds are helping and have only had to up the anti-depressant once. (high stress)

Many people need to tweak up and down all the time. Sometimes once and a while and sometimes when things get really haywire, may times.

I am sorry. I really have deep empathy for your frustration.

((((((HUGS))))))
bizi

Hi, Cherie ...

Yes, it is common - for Schizophrenia and for Bipolar. It is an excellent idea for the doctor (or his support staff) to help teach the patient and patient's family that tweaking will always be necessary, and when to call the doctor's office for guidance in the tweaking.

As time goes on, the patient and/or family get more familiar with recognizing signs and symptoms (hopefully), and are able to successfully manage the illness.

Of course, some doctors have never become comfortable with patient-led medication tweaking, but that means that a sudden change will have to go untreated for 1 or more weeks, waiting for an appointment.

While schizophrenic patients are not always optimal for managing their own symtom in intensity, their immediate family and loved ones can be very finely attuned what's going on.

Some bipolars have found tht keeping mood charts to be useful in pairing stressors and mood changes. They can also be helpful in letting the doctor know what's going on between appointments.

Many bipolars find that a medication may work for several years, then stop controlling their symptoms, at least at past dosages. I hope that never happens for me. I don't know if it is more frequent with the anti-psychotics. I have heard that the brain tends/tries to recover it's "own equilibrium" and that this is why certain meds eventually fail.

I was on the same antidepressant for 8 years and did wonderfully, from beginning to end. Only changed because of the mouth dryness that never went away - dental decay enhancer.

I haven't heard any feedback on Lamictal failing eventually or if anti-epileptics lose effectives for controlling seizures. I know my grrandfather took the same medication for decades without needing to change meds.

Theresa

hi there
Yes I find that I have a major med change about every 3 years.
and usually after some major stressor.
Hopefully the lamictal will hold me for a few years as well...have heard great things about it and so far I feel great on it!
bizi

Thanks so much for the information.

The requirement for drug changes is similar to schizophrenia, it seems.

We always had a hard time with this, as by the time we knew that Mom was having difficulty, she would take herself off the meds. In fact, this was probably our biggest struggle; getting her to understand that they were a necessary evil at that point in time.

I think that's true for many people with medications though, expecially given some of the side effects.

Much appreciated.

Cherie

My psychaitrist once told me that the more faith and trust you have in your doctor, the more effective your medication will be.

I have no idea if that has been clinically studied, or if it's just his opinion, or if it was just his way of telling me (the queen of anxiety) that I needed to trust him more.

I do know that I feel more comfortable trying new meds and asking for changes if I feel as if my doctor (physical doc or mental doc) and I have a good relationship.... but I think that is because I feel like the doctor knows me as a person and not just a number.

Dear Missy,
Sorry that you are going through this.
12 years is a long time to keep trying and keep getting disappointed by the system.

I only have a few suggestions. Are you keeping mood charts? They help you and the pdoc. Lots of us do that until we become stable. Also, try a good multi-vitamin. Also you could try fish oil or foods with lots of omega three oils.

Mari