Bi Polar Treatment-please help

Hi all
3 weeks ago I was diagnosed with rapid cycling bi polar disorder and depression.
I have been put on a cocktail of drugs and I'm having some horrible side effects. I was wondering if anyone else has had this cocktail(or similar) and if so how long did it take to get back to normal?
The side effects I'm having are extreme tiredness,extreme dry mouth,ultra sensitivity to the cold and some days(not all) I feel dead inside,like Im just an empty,emotionless shell,which I hate because we are human,we are supposed to feel sadness,pain,anger,joy,love etc.

The medications and doses I'm on are
Quetapel/Quetiapine-200mg
Epilim/Sodium Valproate-800mg
Efexor-XR/Venlafaxine-75mg

I started these all on the same day(was weaned on to quetiapine by increasing by 25mg each night) so I dont know which medication causes which side effect. I wont be seeing my psychiatrist for about another week so thought I'd come here and just find out other people's experiences

I surprised to see you are on an antidepressant as well as a mood stabilizer. I have heard many bipolar people say that antidepressants are one of the worst things you could give someone with bipolar.

It took me a month for the side effects of my anti depressant to settle down. By week 3 I was thinking "they should be gone by now" but it did take a full month.

When I was first diagnosed with bipolar 15 months ago I was on Venlafaxine, Lithium, Zopiclone, Lorazepam with different doses. There is a range of side effects and it is hard to pick which comes from what medication. I am now just on Lithium twice a day but there is the possibility that I may need to go on others at some stage.

hi you poor thing what a complex lot of medz you are on im bipolar and like you on a nice mix 700mg tegratol, 200mg quatiapine ,zopplclone, and clanzapam i was on an ad but i found that made me worse i couldnt control my moods and i cycled every three months but once i stopped ad i found i settled much better. I dont know if this helps or not but also a good night sleep and try eat regularly and skills to help you keep anixiety down. I would if you culd get a good dr ho understands how hard it is and get as much information as you can

I'm not bipolar as far as I know. I've had that empty feeling with all the SSRIs I was put on. Venlafaxine worked initially, but ended up with the same empty feeling. Your side should be a lot better after a few weeks.

Jaffa- I've heard that too and for 8 years being diagnosed as depressed and kept getting put on anti depressants which would send me manic and make me believe I didnt need them! My behaviour when Im manic is very dangerous.

mumtothree- Once we have sorted a treatment plan that works my psych will send me to my GP for ongoing observation and management so am hoping if I dont get the info from him,I'll get it from my GP. I also have a close friend with bi polar(her experience helped me raised concerns as all her behaviours matched mine to a tee!)and she is amazing in helping me

Lifey,

Welcome back, firstly, Welcome back indeed.

Its good to see you, and I hope that you and your family are thriving? Didn’t you have our ‘First TBBD’ baby, Lifey?

I don’t know enough to comment really about your meds, though I have used both Epilim and Efexor at some stage or other. But here are the Medsafe Consumer Data Information Sheets for these three meds, which you might find useful to print out and refer to?

The Medsafe Consumer Data Information Sheet for Quetapel is downloadable and printoutable, from

http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/q/quetapel.pdf

And for Epilim
http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/e/Epilim.pdf

And for Efexor,

http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/e/Efexor-xr.pdf

I hope now that a different diagnosis and a change in the help offered to you, makes a good difference for you, hon. It does take time though, damnit all and in the meantime, you still have to cope and be someone not only for you, but for others too.

Remember its OK to feel frustrated and blah sometimes, cos those are natural feelings, just as laughter and smiles are.

Take gentle care, Lifey. Of you as well as others, eh.

Paddy.

Yeah Paddy I joined up I think 2 days before I had her,I thought I was in labour but was a false alarm,that baby is 3 in 3 months time!

I'll be sure to have a look at those sites before my appointment tomorrow,thanks heaps!

I was put straight on Quetapel when I was diagnosed as a rapid cycling type ii - and I had that same dead feeling. Not sad, not happy, just dead. I never gave them a chance to settle in - stopped taking them and have winged it since (I do not recommend this).