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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mindy b on June 18, 2008, at 21:31:14
I am Bi-Polar, PTS, severe depression and Gen Anx. disorder. I take lithium, wellbutrim , klonopin and serequel. I have had such severe anger that I have hit a car, beat on my spouse (which resulted in an assult charge and now I can't get a job cause of it). He is 6'3 and 200lbs to my 5'9 165 body and he is scared of me. I have hit him several times during these anger outburts. I can go from fine to severely pissed in 1/2 a millisecond. I can't sleep w/o serequel. But it has F-up my life so bad. I have no job or ins. so I get my meds from a free clinic so I have no Dr. that manages my medication. What to do?? Call a lawyer??
Posted by Phillipa on June 19, 2008, at 0:09:40
In reply to Serequel and anger, posted by Mindy b on June 18, 2008, at 21:31:14
Doesn't a pdoc see you at a clinic to write prescriptions for meds? Has anyone suggested a mood stabalizer and welcome to babble see you're new. Phillipa
Posted by Justherself54 on June 19, 2008, at 6:52:56
In reply to Serequel and anger, posted by Mindy b on June 18, 2008, at 21:31:14
Did your anger bouts begin after taking seroquel or where you placed on all your meds at the same time? It may not be seroquel that is causing it. There are other medications to help sleep. You must talk to the doctor who is prescribing your meds and tell him what's going on and perhaps ask him if he would take you as a regular patient to monitor you or refer you to someone who can.
If you are on lithium, you should be having blood taken to determine what levels the drug is in your system.
You could also check out to see if there are mental health advocates in your area. They can be helpful in setting you up with proper care.
Posted by Mindy b on June 19, 2008, at 16:23:35
In reply to Re: Serequel and anger » Mindy b, posted by Justherself54 on June 19, 2008, at 6:52:56
I was diagnosed w/ bi-polar about 10+ yrs. ago. The lithium helps alot, I get level checks every 3 mos. And I see the Dr. every 5 wks. for med check. They don't really give a crap how your doin though. I have been going thru some extremley bad times for about 10 mos. now. My house was forclosed on and lots of other horrible things. I have been suicidal and self mutilated for the last 4-5 mos. I tell them this every time I go in, as well as show them the scarring. But they don't change my meds nor try to councle me. I have always had anger issues, but not to this level. I have tried trazedone in the past for sleep but it never worked. Even now I wake up about 3-4 times a nite. It really sucks. I feel hopeless.
Posted by bleauberry on June 20, 2008, at 18:22:29
In reply to Re: Serequel and anger, posted by Mindy b on June 19, 2008, at 16:23:35
If I had to point a finger at the guilty one, it would be wellbutrin. Severe agitation and rage are not uncommon with wellbutrin. It is one of the more common side effects that can happen early in treatment, or it can mysteriously pop up months later. Sleep problems also. Mileage varies. It is a miracle drug for some people. It is rat poison to me and I'm not alone in that.
No matter what country you go to, paxil, prozac, zoloft, effexor, etc etc are antidepressants. Not so with wellbutrin. It is only a smoking cessation drug in some countries. Off topic, but just thought I would share that.
There have been a couple people here that reported uneasiness, anxiety, agitation kind of stuff with seroquel. Not common though. Maybe if seroquel is an agitation player with you, wellbutrin is aggravating it multifold?
Pure logic...if one was taking an antidepressant and was still quite depressed, why would one keep taking that drug? I don't get it. Just know there are many choices to replace it since it isn't doing you any good anyway, and maybe lots of bad. You won't know till it is stopped. You would not be the first to feel relief a week or two methodically weaning off it.
Obviously the biggest problem is the care you are getting. You might try just politely and respectfully, but very firmly, demanding a change. It helps to be specific and name a particular drug you want to try, why you want to, and to say you have definitely made up your mind to stop another specific one. Don't ask. Appointments are short. Take control and fill the time up with talk of a new direction. Don't give them time to spin the clock on your symptoms, what time of day you take your dose, what's going on in your life, etc etc. Every time the conversation steers away from where you want it to go, take the wheel and restart the conversation where you want it. That is...drug change. Be specific.
I've dealt with several GPS and 8 different psychiatrists. Most of them remind me of the one treating you. Firm, non-caring, unwilling to change course, unwilling to admit drug failure or drug-induced worsening. With the above tactful approach, I always got the prescription I wanted. They were probably shaking their heads as I left, but I didn't care. After that, they were always quicker to tend to my needs. Maybe when a patient is uneducated on drugs or doesn't have any idea where to go next, some doctors become complacent. But when you show you care and are taking a stake in the whole decision process, they begin to care.
I could be all wrong about wellbutrin, but my instincts say it is highly suspect in this whole scenario.
Posted by jana73 on June 21, 2008, at 11:46:24
In reply to Re: Serequel and anger, posted by bleauberry on June 20, 2008, at 18:22:29
It could be both the Seroquel & Wellbutrin. I got akathisia w/extreme rage w/ Effexor, which deals w/ norepinephrin, like Wellbutrin. Ive been down to 75mg from 375mg for a week. I was still feeling really depressed, aggitated & fearful yesterday, so I dropped my Seroquel from 250mg to 100mg. I was never suicidal/ homocidal until 5 weeks ago, when I started Seroquel- ironicly to try to calm me. When I ph'd my pdoc last week telling him how bad I felt, he said he would pass me off onto someone else if I didn't stop snapping at him. Next day went to emergency & they noticed the akethisia from the Effexor he kept upping & trying to mask w/ Seroquel. The more I complained, the less people wanted to help me. So try to make sure you remain calm, yet forceful. We're here to listen if you need to blow off steam. The situation compounds itself, when dealing w/ finances & relationships. My fiance finally started to understand when he got the info from the dr instead of me. Being temporarily separated helped. Giving up my pride & asking for disability/social assistance really helped too.
I go to pdoc on Tues, so will see what he says about everything. I've stopped thinking of him as my savior and am trying to rely on God to guide me. So much good info & caring people on Psycho-Babble. It's a huge blessing in my life.
All my best,
Jana
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