bipolar and anxiety....help?

Question

i have both of these...i am a young mother of 3 children. i cant drive anymore, keep a job, i feel like i dont know what is going on. i take lithium, effexor and xanax. why wont these work? i want my old life back.

Answer 1

About ten years ago I experienced something very similiar. I couldn't work, couldn't clean the house, didn't even want to leave the house. I tried several different anti-depressants and anxiety medicines, experienced everyside effect that existed and didn't feel any better.

The only thing that worked for me was talking to a therapist and getting to the root of the problem. Only when I was able to unearth was was really bothering me and begin taking the steps to deal with it and fix it, did I begin to feel better.

Medication is a "band-aid." It is intended to take some of the emotional pain away so you can function in your day to day life while working on resolving the real issues through therapy. If you rely on medication alone, chances are you will either relapse or not feel much better.

If you're not already talking to a therapist, I highly recommend it. It isn't easy and can be difficult to acknowledge things you've worked so had to ignore but it is for the best. If you want to chat, you can email me at [e-mail]. Not only do I work in the medical field, I have also experienced depression and anxiety so I can truly understand what you are going through.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

Boy if that dont sound like me! I would say about two years ago. I was feeling like I was just a shell . How long have you felt this way?Do you have any help wiyh your children?? Im sorry I keep asking all these questions.You say you have bi-polar plus anxiety, wow, that is pretty bad.You sure are a strong woman to have these two terrible diseases and plus raising 3 children.As I was saying, I was feeling like an empty shell.I coouldnt feel emotionally.I was drained of every emotion there is.I was outside my body looking in. No medication I took was helping me.So when my doctor threw out the words shock treatment I got real curious. I cried to God saying what should I do Lord, I just want to feel normal again.I want to laugh, I want to cry,hell, I want to even feel pain. Its an emotion and I want to feel it.Well, you have to have eight sessions of these treatments. I only had three. They were horrible. Left me with awful headaches,I would urinate all over myself.My face would be a bright red.I was willing to try anything just to feel normal. So I really know how your feeling.I dont know why your medication wont work. Maybe they have to up your xanax, and put you on a different anti-depressant.But diffinitly stay on the lithium.I certainly will be praying for you, because if anybody knows how your feeling its me. Take care hon.

Answer 3

Well I don't know how severe your disorder is, but i would suggest trying to change the Medications again.


All of the medications you have listed are mood enhancers,

meaning the just enhance the mood that your in.

Lithium is in my opinion , addictive and very strong, so if your taking it it kinda zones you out and makes you act like a druggie.

I don't know if you have been to an OBGYN, but many times your mood swings can be controled or regulated by hormone therapy?

which it has been found to be the cause of the ups and downs of and manic depressive episode.

Kinda like menopause.

Here is a link for lithium:
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,391|Lithium,00.html

here is the link for effexor:
http://www.effexorxr.com/

and Xanax:
http://www.xanaxxr.com/


Some time the interaction between too many meds, cancels out the affect of the one or the other medications.


I would suggest talking to your doctor, again,

they have Sarafem:
http://depression.about.com/cs/altmed/a/pmsalternatives.htm

Its very effective. and i have seen people do 360's on it.

Also My mother would always need to get an increase in her meds during the holidays, to help her regulate, because of her increased anxiety, I mean think about it, your breaking the bank to make your kids happy for Christmas, and they are always around and getting into trouble, and not even a school to send them too.

then you get lonely when they go back to school..

All completely normal reactions.

Xanax, kinda brings you down, and mellows you out, but if your already depressed, then it makes no sense to take it,

Zoloft is better:
http://www.zoloft.com/zoloft/zoloft.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=default_home


The problem is the Manic What is the best for controling your outbursts?

http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/sheets/bipolar_disorder.asp

You should speak to you doctor about stress management groups and continue your therapy sessions .

I just would like to tell you that , you do need medication, so please so not stop taking it,

but perhaps there are other medications that will work better for you.

If you ever feel like the medication is not working , its because it isn;t, but sometimes small changes, can make the diffrence.

Talk to your doctor and make some of the suggestions that i noted here.

Good luck and love your kids.

Meg

Answer 4

yes sad to say i think the first few months are very hard trying to learn how to deal with being bipolar. I lost everything job,home ,license.At first it takes time to get on the right meds some work some don't. my meds where changed on a monthly basis till they finally got the right ones for me.now my life is some what coming back to normal (as it can) I find that support groups Have been very helpful for me ,knowing that i am not all alone helps alot.

It will get easier for you it just takes a little time..
Good luck