Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

[Crazy@home]

I am currently taking 30mg Abilify, 400mg Wellbutrin, 10mg Ritalin 200mg Lamictal and .5mg of Klonopin. I actually am doing really well taking all of this stuff. And, I feel even better being on Atkins. I have lost 12.5 pounds since the first of January. I know that doesen't sound like much, but this is the first time I have been able to lose weight since being diagnosed 3 years ago. I had tried several different weight lost programs but I didn't even make it through the first week with most of them. Then, I would gain the weight back plus some. This time with Atkins, I didn't even feel the same after the first week of Induction. The first three days were the hardest, but I made it! Now I don't even crave the sugar and soda. I cheated one time an felt totally sick to my stomach. I decided that will never happen again. Its just not worth it. Now when I eat I even have my meals planned out a day in advance and am not ashamed of bringing my own dinner when we go to a friends house. I have already intoduced the new veggies. This week I inroduced an unsweetend soy milk (only 1 net carb per cup) along with some sour cream (1 carb per tablespoon) along with some other cheeses. We will see how that goes. Thanks for listening.

[Lulubell]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

that's great news, crazy! i have a friend who is on a ton of meds for conditions not limited to bi-polar disorder. i know she takes abilify, zoloft, risperdal, something for anxiety (can't remeber), and a whole lot of other ones. at the moment, she is pushing 400 lbs, and we all know that anti-psychotics like risperdal lead to type II diabetes quickly in that patient population. i have tried many times to get her to start atkins with me, or at least some form of low-carb, but she will not. her endocrinologist gave her a diabetic diet because she is diabetic and has PCOS and metaboilic syndrome X on top of the metal health issues. but, she doesn't stick to that diet at all, and so she's convinced that she can't live without orange juice or whole wheat muffins.

i hope that you have continued success and i think you are going to find that once the carbs and insulin is controlled, your mood swings will be less often and less severe. good luck!

[Miss_Catrina]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

Hi Crazy@home, I'm bipolar II and on Lithium, Lexapro, Valium, and I'm being weaned off of abilify. I've only been working with my psychiatrist on this for about 2 months and we don't have it straightened out yet, so I'm feeling reeeeeeaaaaally bad right now.

I also just started Atkins 10 days ago, and enjoying it. Good luck to you!

[StarPrincess77]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

I am also bipolar and have been on various meds which added to my weight gain. I was depressed for a year or so and gained around 60 pounds. I am trying to lose the 60 pounds now. I haven't started Atkins yet but will be doing so on tomorrow.

I am hoping it will work again. The first time I did Atkins I wasn't on any medications.

Good luck!

[Riley3001]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

HI! Bi-polar II here and on Zoloft and Neurontin. Gained about 40 lbs. since last August and cant get rid of it. I do notice that when I am watching what I eat I feel so much better emotionally and physically. Good luck to all of you with "crazy" issues.

[mommagoose]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

Hello , I am restarting Atkins after a year of being off the wagon. For about a month I have been manic. After 9 days of being back on the Atkins plan I am leveling off and feeling more normal. I am currently only taking Zyprexa which I have been on for 6 years now.
In the past I have been on every medication labeled for Bipolar disorder. Zyprexa is the only medication that has ever helped. The resent set backs happened when I tried to work two jobs at the same time and did not watch my diet and sleep schedules. I wish you good luck on your quest for weight loss.
Linda

[Mamanugget]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

Hello fellow bipolars...I am an unmedicated bipolar 1 I know that sounds insane. It runs in my family and I had to deal with it alot growing up in my family members. I didn't show signs until I was 20ish. And I am 23 now. I see a therapist and psych once a month and self monitor. Since I only had a few manic episodes and had it treated as soon as they appeared I have been able to keep from having any other episodes. My disorder is set off by stress. My first symptoms appeared in Iraq when I was in the military. I had two kids and since the first pregnancy which was drug free I have been in remission. I feel nice seeing other woman on here who also have the disorder. I wanted to share because usually people are ashamed to mention it because of the stigma attached to it. But its nice to see people who aren't If you dont mind me asking, what made you discover that you infact had it?

I was in Iraq my first episode and I knew it was manic because I didn't sleep for weeks at a time lol, I was very productive, I even got awards for it. And my brain seemed to function even better than usual and I made amazing discoveries in the work in my field. But infortunately it came crashing down and I went and told my husband I wanted a divorce, wanted to go back to college and be on my own and wasnt ready to be married. Then thankfully they gave me ambien to get some sleep and have a few days off and then I got back to normal. But I was lucky it wasn't worse. Thank god for my life experiance with my family members disorders because if not it could of been alot worse. I self monitor to make sure I never get to the point they did.

[mommagoose]

Re: Bi-polar taking several meds- anyone else??

Hello everyone. I am again having "issues". I have always had more problems with depression in the winter. Right now all I want to do is sleep and stay home. It is impossible to get motivated to exersize and staying on track with food is a real struggle. I am not sure what I can do to get myself out of this blue funk. I sure could use some help.
Linda