Day 6 -Lamotrigine still kicking my ass

Yeah so I slept 14 hours again today and I think that feeling out of sorts/ dizzy contributes to more lethargy that affects my mood and energy negatively.
I am choked that I need 6 weeks for this to take effect

so tired

day 3 of this med change and i am frackin tired all the time...sleeping in till 11-1pm.

3 cups of java and STILL tired.

 Frack me.

Med change: June 24th - day 2

Got a new P-doc this past Weds.

Trying new medication to eliminate all deppression & curb highs as well.
I have been cycling more rapidly and getting a bit more hypo manic at times of stress.

Going from Lithium 600 mgs & Elavil 25mg

to  Lamotrigine[LM] (mood stablizer)  & Seroquil ( to get rid of mania)

LM takes 6-8 weeks to work and starts at 15mg for 2 weeks to 25mgs for 2 weeks to 50 mgs for 2 weeks to 75mgs for 2 weeks ( 8 weeks total)

LM usual dosage is 100-500mg i think...but no toxicity like Lithium.

Seroquil has the side effect of weight gain so that sucks.

after 2 days, i am feeling groggy and my cognitive ability feels slow and sluggish...but we'll see if it is worth it in 6 weeks

So THIS is what Apo_Setraline tastes like....

I am cruising at a 1.9 out of 5 pucks today.

Yeah its a new record low, but I am trying to be optimistic with the .9 added on to inspire my way back to greatness.
I have just been really grumpy and irritable all day today and I realize, lo and behold (pun intended!) that I have just did a boomerang into the bottom end of being bipolar. What set this off?
well I did get stupid news from the university that I need to wait 8 weeks for my course transfers to be recognized before I can officially register for classes....and because classes start in Sept (4 weeks) I have kinda missed the boat and am flailing out in open waters hoping for someone to throw me a dingy or sumthing...*sigh*
But that just means I gotta do distance ed and hope I have the focus to study and do homework without a throng of fellow schoolees to keep conversation with me.....kinda worried about that one.

So needless to say, to help spare being a bear to my loving wife and children I decided to finally start my Apo-Setraline (APS) which is "canadian" for Zoloft. I hear as well that APS can trigger mania in 4% of the BP population, so i sure as heck hope I am in the double digits of the percentile...

Other than that I am not sure if I mentioned that I am a Troubador of sorts. I write songs, play and teach guitar and have the voice combination of 90's rock stars "Darius** of Hootie & the Blowfish fame" and "The Crash Test Dummys dude". I have played a couple coffee shops recently after several years of being dormant and have finally decided to get a "greatest hits" compilation together. I have a couple dozen songs that I have written mostly for my betrothed and also for the church, and I always wanted to lay them down before I forget em.....sooooo

I rented some recording equipment and will be laying down some original tunes over the next week. So yeah...music is healing and I find singing to God really helps ( check out the Psalms in the bible for some inspiration) so between this and APS we may be able to start "Bipolar Idol" whaddaya say folks?

God of Hope,
Fill us, sustain us, be ever present, and ever near as we work with you to gain wholeness, mentally, spiritually & physically. You are cool refreshing water to us in dessert lands. Hear us and draw near. Amen

P.S. **Darius will be releasing a country album....and its actually pretty good

Daytime Warrior

Hello bipolar friendly audience!

Today I have won a great victory: for the first time in 3 weeks I have been awake all day from 10:30am - 11pm.
Pretty amazing, as I usually wake up once at 10am to use the lu and then I end up back in bed till 2pm.

What's my secret you ask? Well, it comes down to my new double lithium dosage which is kicking the pants off of my bad down days for the past several weeks and the fact that today, I decided to cpap it in the living room in the midst of my loving families escapades (yes I have sleep apnea as well as bipolar and did I mention I am a type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure? ack) so i just snoozed/rested for 1/2 hr and then was up walking and laughing with my toddler & apple sauce making wife (my lovely Croatian wife-ling is canning up some home made apple sauce from the neighbor's tree)

yeah....what can i say...the zoloft presciption is in now, but I haven't started on it yet cause it seems this upped dosage of L is doing the trick.

Mentally as well I notice that I am a lot more "stable" and up...precurser to hypomania....we'll see.

Heck I even felt good enough to call my shrink BK and hopefully will get a visit in soon for good ol talk therapy.

ok hope y'all are doing well out there.

4 out of 5 pucks...boyezzzzz

Father God,
Thanks for helping me adjust to my new double L dosage and for the love you share with me and my family....my lovely wife & two precious girls.
You are forever praised.
amen

Red rover Red rover ...we call Zoloft over....

Welcome back to Med Upgrade!

Today our Bipolar Canuck is registering a woozie 2.5 out of 5 pucks. He is just on the threshold.
His shrink also doubled up his lithium to 600mg and had introduced a new drug to the party mix: Zoloft 50mg

It should be noted that B-Canuck has been on his daily dose of 300mg lithium on and off for the past 7 years since he escaped his hospitalization. How does he feel with the all new "upgrades" to his pharmaceutical wares. Lets get some reactions:

"Er...other than the fact my beer consumption and sex drive will be eliminated from my life, I guess I feel ok about it. I am trying to break a 4 week stretch of cycling down moodwise. Sure I'm a little terrified: doesn't it take 2-3 med changes before you find a mental health cocktail that works for you? *sigh* I guess I've got 14 days for this ride, so i'll tell you how it does....pray for me"

Sounds good b-canuck. We are rooting for you...and ahem:

May the God of peace empower and stabilize these new drugs you are taking so that your mind and moods will be crystal clear and so you can be the fun lovin gy we have missed for the past month. And don't worry about your job. Jehovah Gyra is your provider dude. amen