i am creating this thread to discuss prescribed meds. in essence, i want to discuss the pros and cons of a variety of meds for things like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder (all ailments i possess), and so on. anecdotes and experience-sharing are welcomed and solicited.
my current (and recent) cocktail consists of the following:
Brand name / Generic name / brief description
- Lamictal / lamotrigine / anticonvulsant, mood stabilisation
- Oleptro / trazodone / sleeping aid, antidepressant
- Xanax / alprazolam / benzodiazepine, anxiety, panic attacks
i am likely to be prescribed an additional antidepressant soon, possibly one of the following:
- Lexapro / escitalopram / SSRI, antidepressant
- Zoloft / sertraline / SSRI, antidepressant
i suppose it’s possible i could be prescribed Celexa / citalopram as well, though I don’t know much about that one.
as of today i’ve been taking the lamotrigine for a little over a week. this is a drug i’ve taken before, in late 2014, but i lost (resigned from) my job after i was admitted to the psych ward for suicidal ideation and haven’t had insurance since; thus, no meds either. functionally, it seems to bring the highs and lows closer together; for a manic-depressive that spends the majority of her time on the bottom end of that spectrum, this is not remotely a bad thing. the new Rx hasn’t quite reached full potency yet, so we’ll keep an eye on that. not too expensive either, which is a plus.
trazodone is really effective. the first few days were accompanied by a mild zombification in the mornings that usually passed by mid-day. since then, however, the zombie effect has significantly lessened and i feel far more in control of my sleep habits. my insomnia is to the point where i absolutely do not ever fall asleep unless i explicitly pass out. there is essentially no time i can remember being able to fall asleep of my own volition without being unable to stay awake. this is, obviously, a huge problem, and trazodone has been helping a lot. i didn’t realize at first it was also an antidepressant, but it will take some more time before i can comment on those effects. i will say that i feel more neutral in general and less likely to get immensely stressed lately, and i feel semi-confident in attributing some of that to the trazodone.
conversely, some of that i can also attribute to the alprazolam. this is a goddamn miracle drug as far as i’m concerned. panic attacks are some of the most unpleasant experiences, and this drug competently mitigates them. thus far, i’ve found the best usage is to monitor my anxiety ticks (mine are usually excessively facepalming and fidgeting / playing with my hair), and take one when i notice them. this keeps me from getting into full-blown anxiety attacks quite effectively so far, with a mitigation rate of 100%. not a single blow-up since starting the current regimen. not too shabby, since i usually have a pretty significant one at least once or twice a week.
i will update with more impressions and thoughts, but i’m eager to hear others’ details as well.
<3
