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  6 0 You need to consult a mental health professional. In the meantime, you need to focus on bringing routine into your life. You should try to wake up at the same time every day. If you like coffee, find a neighborhood coffee shop to go to every morning at the same time to wake you up. Then take a long walk or go to the gym. You need to get exposure to daylight and exercise and avoid recreational drugs and alcohol. Routine + daylight + exercise + advice from a mental health professional - alcohol - drugs = good mental health for you. Trust me bro, I've been there. Listen to your doc, take a walk, get up early in the morning and git 'er dun. Good luck, and good mental health. soundslikepuget answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report 1 comment by Finger Games… 2 0 Thanks! I think you answered to the question I really wanted to ask instead of the one I did I ask. I really just needed to know what you told me... what I should do until my next appointment. i will definitely try to do more of all that. Finger Games commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  4 0 It sounds like bipolar type II to me, which my husband has. You swing from suicidal to feeling relatively normal with no real cause. Antidepressants don't work, and neither do antianxiety drugs. Mr. Griffin's anxiety, depression, and mood swings are controlled by lithium, just like "classic" bipolar. Have you taken an HCL-32 self-assessment test for this type of cyclical depression? If not, Google it and see if you match up with what you are experiencing. Start here http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/HCL-32.htm and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_II_disorder I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's something to look into. Griffin answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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• Reputation: 4 Q&A: 0 0 0 4 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 tropicalzen

  4 0 I've had similar experiences, with all SSRIs and anti-depressants. I just can't take them, because I get manic, don't sleep for a few days, spend all my money, have sex with strangers, and then crash and sleep and feel enormous guilt for days or weeks. I have tried every single possible medication out there, solo or in combination with lithium or depakote, as my docs suggested I had a form of bipolar they called bipolar 2. It's not a real DSM IV diagnosis, but that's all they knew to call it. If this is also true for you, that any messing about with your serotonin will result in mania followed by depression, then you probably shouldn't take anything that messes with your serotonin. You can take antihistamines for anxiety control (hydroxizene, or even Benadryl) and try to figure out how to make the rest of your life better. I find that B & D vitamins, a sun lamp, exercise, and more fresh fruit and veggies makes a noticeable difference. So might getting or spending time with an agreeable pet, and getting a better therapist who won't reach for the Rx pad first (I highly recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). If you're like me and also have trouble with pain and sleeplessness, those might be better medicated and improvements there will definitely help with the depression. If you have PTSD you should try Prazosin, which the VA and US military are using to treat nightmares, flashbacks, and hypervigilence. I almost never have nightmares any more, it's awesome. Sorry to say, though, that if the SSRI type pills don't work or the side effects are too terrible, we just have to find other ways of coping with depression. It's not easy, it requires several long-term lifestyle changes, and nobody really knows the right path for you but you. Good luck. tropicalzen answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 Yes, I would say: talk to a *good* psychiatrist. Emphasis on the good. Psych med management can be tricky and each person responds differently to the different combos of meds. I have a great response to Zoloft + Buspar, but then I also had to add Abilify. But I went pretty much manic with Wellbutrin. I've heard of people going semi-manic to manic with Prozac as well. I don't know that the Buspar alone would cause any mania, but it might work in conjunction with the Prozac to cause hypo-mania in you. As far as I know, Buspar supposedly boosts the effects of some anti-depressants, so that might be why you are getting the break-thru hypo-mania. The mood swings might be due to changes that occur throughout the month if you are a female especially. Your best bet would probably be to try a different antidepressant, or a different combo of meds altogether. You should totally consult a psychiatrist with experience, because in general, primary care practitioners don't have enough experience working with psych meds to really know what works and what doesn't. And, I would say you are having some pretty serious issues if you are having that much depression and hypo-mania, so get help NOW! It is better to get things under control than to suffer through and wait until they get even worse. Depression is very treatable ... you just might have to try different meds until you hit the right one. It really is part art, part science. Good luck and hang in there!!! Kristin Bell answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report 2 comments by Finger Games and Kristin Bell… 0 0 Ah, I wish I could tell a good psychiatrist from a bad psychiatrist before things start going wrong! I guess it's like anything that way you can never tell from the cover. If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them especially if you know one who maybe more open to alternative approaches as well as psychiatric meds! I wish it was based on the month too! But it seems pretty unpredictable. The only things that might effect it is if I am going out to a big party or exciting event the hypo-manic-esq feelings are more likely to arise. Well that and if i use other mind altering substances but I guess I'll be trying to stop that now. Thanks for your help! Finger Games commented 11 months ago | Report 0 0 Yah, it is really hard to tell the good docs from the bad in the beginning. I guess the proof is somewhat in the pudding. If they DON'T help you after some time and don't seem to really care, then they pretty much suck. lol. Yah, taking non-prescribed drugs can really mess things up a lot, so it is good if you are stopping that. The prescribed meds really can't work with other stuff coming into the mix, even (I hazard to say) alcohol can really screw things up. If you find you can't stop the extra drugs/alcohol, at least tellyour doctor so they will know what is interfering. I wish I knew someone in Seattle. If you ever move to Vancouver/Portland, let me know! I know a really great psychiatrist down here!!! :) :) Kristin Bell commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  4 2 Ask a doctor. ballardgirl answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report 1 comment by Finger Games… 0 1 Thanks but I've asked three. I don't knows and one I don't... bipolar? I'm just trying to feel proactive while the professionals are lollygagging and I'm getting crazier and crazier. Finger Games commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 You need to quit drinking, FG. Seriously, l'm not trying to be a dick, but you say yourself elsewhere that other meds you're on are being compromised by the alcohol you're consuming, so it only makes sense these would be too. Until you deal with that, every med you take will have contrary effects. freikja answered in Mental Health/Addiction 9 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Finding a good psychiatrist is tough. I've seen some terrible ones and had miserable experiences with poorly prescribed drugs. But when I moved to Seattle, I discovered Dr. Shereen Morse. She's fabulous. Seriously. I've had trouble with getting the right drug at the right dose in the past, and she was able to help me find what worked for me. She really knows her pharmacology. She also is a great therapist. You get 45 minute appointments. I have never felt rushed or ignored. She helped me with cognitive behavioral therapy, plus medication, so that I'm now at a comfortable baseline. So that's my advice. Dr. Shereen Morse, MD, best psychiatrist ever. Contact: 1914 North 34th Street Suite 401, Seattle, WA 98103 (206) 353-1150 ‎ Anna L answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 In working with a lot of psych med prescribers, it has seemed to me that a lot of it is trial and error. Sounds like you've got really clear data that your current med regime isn't working for you. When that happens the best thing to do is let your prescriber know and try something new. HealOnCapHill answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 That's not characteristic of BuSpar at all, so it's unlikely that's the cause. You didn't say how long you've been on the BuSpar, but it generally takes about six weeks for it to be really effective (for me, it's a miracle drug - even my co-workers have commented on how much calmer I am on it). We are all unique little chemical mixing vessels. Everyone brings their own individual body chemistry into play, along with everything else you're exposed to, ingest, etc. No one can predict how someone else will react on any particular drug regimen. I will say, though, that I've heard many more people on Prozac especially who have the same complaints as you mention in your question. Try different antidepressants. Serzone worked for me for a long time, and it doesn't have the anxiety-inducing quasi-manic effects, nor is it quite as sedating as, say, Paxil can be. Some people can't take SSRIs but have good luck on the older tricyclics. One of my sisters has been on a tricyclic med for over 20 years. If she goes off it, her symptoms return. I'm not on any ADs now myself (just the BuSpar for anxiety), but I had a nearly 30-year history with them. I had my best success with Serzone and then, when it quit working, Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin is contraindicated for anyone who experiences manic episodes, though (I don't - I only go down, never up). Time to talk to your doc about trying something other than Prozac, would be my advice. Geni answered in Mental Health/Addiction 11 months ago | Report 1 comment by Finger Games… 0 0 Thanks for your advice. I've been on Buspar for a month and half to two months. I've been on prozac for about three months. The mood swings started mildly on the prozac but increased exponentially on buspar and have gotten more dramatic plus and more rapid. Yes I know that buspar does amplify the prozac so it makes sense that it would amplify the mood swings. I believe that it interactions with the dopamine too. Finger Games commented 11 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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