Lamictal and cholesterol
Hold my fries while I...
2015.02.20 21:37 foursticks Hold my fries while I...
2014.09.26 00:38 cvcisme Binge Eating Disorder
A supportive group for those who struggle with Binge Eating Disorder and compulsive overeating.
2014.11.09 07:50 interestingsocks tell us about your dreams!
People who are on Lamictal tend to have really fun dreams. If you want to share, we would love to read about them, comment and even help analyze! This is a no judgement zone!
2024.05.08 12:38 BitsNDiodes Progressively getting worse headaches for 4 months
F23 Weight: 130 PMH: Mild Cerebral Palsy Unspecified Type, Hydrocephalus, Nystagmus, Strabismus, Doesn’t Smoke, Doesn’t Drink, GERD, Anxiety, Depression, High Cholesterol, Sinus Tachycardia
Meds: effexor, Lamictal, metoprolol,pravastatin, Flonase, claritin, sumatriptan, topamax, depo provera(going off the shot), miralax, OTC pain killers
So, I have been struggling with a stiff neck, pain in my forehead, top of my head, and back of my head. It is a dull burning type pain. It burns in the neck and also in my ears, eyes, and cheeks. In December, I also had Strep and Scarlet fever but I never had that again. However, I do have tonsil stones and tonsilitis. I am due to get my tonsils removed in June. Since I have been getting these headaches, they did a CT scan of my brain due to my history of hydrocephalus. So, they looked at My VP Shunt and brain and it was fine. However, April 21st, the pain did not respond to pain killers anymore and I got dropped off to the ER. They immediately took my temperature and thought I had meningitis because my fever was 100.4. So they admitted me to Family Medicine. I refused the Spinal Tap admittedly, but the other resident thought I did not have meningitis because there was no kernig sign. However, they gave me Vancomycin anyways. Aside from the allergic reaction I had, I still had to get another CT scan of my brain to check for hydrocephalus again and an xray of My shunt. It was okay. When the neurologist arrived, he gave me topamax and sumatriptan for the night and it seemed to have worked for the first time but it barely worked for the 2nd day. So I ended up getting very scared and suicidal and ended up wanting to go to the psychiatric hospital so they can manage my migraine meds. However things Just did not improve much. FYI: A neurosurgeon is on board now and im going to see a neurologist. It may be a neck issue but I think DEPO is doing this.
submitted by BitsNDiodes to AskDocs [link] [comments]
Meds: effexor, Lamictal, metoprolol,pravastatin, Flonase, claritin, sumatriptan, topamax, depo provera(going off the shot), miralax, OTC pain killers
So, I have been struggling with a stiff neck, pain in my forehead, top of my head, and back of my head. It is a dull burning type pain. It burns in the neck and also in my ears, eyes, and cheeks. In December, I also had Strep and Scarlet fever but I never had that again. However, I do have tonsil stones and tonsilitis. I am due to get my tonsils removed in June. Since I have been getting these headaches, they did a CT scan of my brain due to my history of hydrocephalus. So, they looked at My VP Shunt and brain and it was fine. However, April 21st, the pain did not respond to pain killers anymore and I got dropped off to the ER. They immediately took my temperature and thought I had meningitis because my fever was 100.4. So they admitted me to Family Medicine. I refused the Spinal Tap admittedly, but the other resident thought I did not have meningitis because there was no kernig sign. However, they gave me Vancomycin anyways. Aside from the allergic reaction I had, I still had to get another CT scan of my brain to check for hydrocephalus again and an xray of My shunt. It was okay. When the neurologist arrived, he gave me topamax and sumatriptan for the night and it seemed to have worked for the first time but it barely worked for the 2nd day. So I ended up getting very scared and suicidal and ended up wanting to go to the psychiatric hospital so they can manage my migraine meds. However things Just did not improve much. FYI: A neurosurgeon is on board now and im going to see a neurologist. It may be a neck issue but I think DEPO is doing this.
2024.05.07 03:54 staythruthecredits Connective tissue issues
41F nonsmoker, medical cannabis user (no flame)
I have had chronic pain for years that's only been resolved briefly by a month of steroids, or a month on meloxicam with PT.
I've dealt with TMJ dysfunction after an auto accident age 20, which also broke my femur and it has a rod and nails to this day. By 25 it was no longer mouth guards and muscle relaxers, and I was getting injections in the base of my skull, along my neck, and in my upper back out towards my shoulders. I was told it was saline, and the records are lost. I considered this a drawback of my prior occupation in a call center.
Age 35 my nails were drying out, splitting vertically, and my eyes were beginning to stay irritable. I topped out at 214 pounds and I'm 62 inches tall. I had been taking Saphris and Welbutrin for five years and aside from being sore and exhausted all the time, my lower neck had been consistently tight and burning enough for me to look into CBD. I also switched to Fetzima from Welbutrin, and the muscle cramps were comical.
In 2018 I decided to stop Saphris and use this body. My left hip was always restricted after the auto accident. I didn't understand why and no one suggested additional tests or MRI, or more aggressive PT.
2019 was a big year for me when I took a job on retail, after I hadn't worked for a few years. I had headaches all the time from my eyes and the light, which hadn't been a thing. I had more than 1 migraine per quarter, which was my baseline.
Under the stress of the pandemic I pushed myself. I got my symmetry, ROM, flexibility, balance, and strength back. It was rad, until it wasn't.
I was sweating out my headbands up to twice per shift, drinking 6 bottles of water every day at work. My face was always red. Cold tolerance lowered. My lower back felt awful. I went to see the orthopedic for guidance on do more, do less, do different? 2020 fall I have mild OA of SI joints. 15mg meloxicam and 1 month PT had not only made my back feel really good, but everything else as well that's been sore and irritable for years. We agreed to move to rheumatology.
2021 april: Hypermobility and anti-SSB. My ANA is not clinically positive and has a specked pattern. Long term tolerance to meloxicam is untenable. 18 months on hydroxychloriquine no conclusive relief.
I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy but I'm not clear on 2020 or 21. Constipation, painful and nauseating, passing a concerning amount of mucus, revealed a 10mm single polyp that was benign. No signs of crohns and otherwise unremarkable aside from "senna abuse" and I quit that stuff the next year. The endoscopy was unremarkable, although I had already known that without prilosec for an unknown period of time that either I will be vomiting or at the very least need to vomit to relieve that episode. Baking soda water worked in my 20s and stopped working by my 30s.
2023 I had been through requested reduced hours, reduced duties, and no social life because once I got home and stopped moving it's like a timer that I had 40 minutes before I could barely move. Days off seemed to be more about recovery than catching up. I would find myself unable to stay awake in the middle of the day and the naps are always 4 ½ hours. I called out for those flares but they just kept happening. I felt like I was on fire every time my temp lowered to 97°. To be fair to my coworkers and myself, I quit that job. I tried to work regular hours at a different place that didn't have a 40 lb all day requirement, and within 3 weeks I was done. I couldn't think. I couldn't drive because of my head being so fuzzy. I didn't have access to water all shift and maybe it had something to do with it, but I quit.
The next month I started doing Rick Simpson Oil. It felt like I cleared the junk out of my head finally from all my medications. Now I've been thinking more, taking notes, and seeing how deep this goes. I've lowered so much of my stress with therapy and become more creative, and while all that has helped I am still sick.
December 23 my LDL was 195 and I was put on 10 mg rosuvastatin. I will say I know what happened there. I doubled down on foods I knew I could eat once I confirmed adult onset allergies. Sunflower seeds and undercooked/uncooked eggs are a no go. I also have an allergy to chlorhexadine.
I have tender points in so many places like near the elbows, shoulders, around my head, my neck is awful. My legs have them around the knees, thighs, hips, top and sides of my butt, face in front of the ears.
This year I screwed up my left shoulder with a labral tear. Physical therapy was fixing it, until it wasn't. Everything seemed well with strength and motion but then intense pain down my arm that was hurting my elbow as well. Mri showed biceps tendonotis, and I got a cortisone shot. Life was good. My neck felt better and the two recurrent knots in my left shoulder blade were much looser. Back to physical therapy, and after 1 week it's going to hell again. I have other tendons down that arm feeling like bruises from a car wreck but they are no larger than a thumbprint and no one can see them.
I've left my legs alone before they are too tender. I tried the theragun on them tonight and remembered why I don't. I asked who the pain specialists were in the practice, and now I'm here.
Current medications Lamictal, effexor, adderall D3 5000ui, chelated potassium, garden of life probiotics for colon health and their raw one women vitamin Zyrtec, prilosec twice daily (laryngeal reflux) 10 mg Crestor. As needed 350 mg soma, tessalon 100mg, cannabis Flonase, Astepro (laryngeal reflux) to keep my voice Restasis hurts my eyes for the entire day, not just application, and was discontinued after 5 weeks. My glands aren't dead and we're going to treat them manually at the next visit.
Continued concerns are my toes. I get chilblains in the winter while constantly wearing bombas slippers. The outer edge of my toes next to the pinky randomly numb out and are very uncomfortable. My big toe goes numb halfway down the nail bed randomly. Days where I cannot control my body temperature, I stay under the covers shivering until I pass out as soon as I'm warm... Then it's usually the 4 ½ hour snooze. My limbs are always affected. I have had a shawl in bed the last few years for the on then off with the cold shoulders.
I get zaps through my knuckles when trying to massage my arms with glides. I use Epiderm for a barrier on my face. It's been known to feel on fire and get a rash from my own sweat or tears. I will have some small degree of rash or tiny pinpoint hives here and there throughout the day on my hands unless I diligently moisturize. My cuticles recede the same without care. Wounds heal more slowly because everything seems to itch and I accidentally forget about them and catch them in a scratch. Coconut oil to the groin or the itching starts. Coconut oil in my ear canals as well.
Exclusionary Cardiovascular okay. Treadmill stress good. Echo good. Ekg good. Cholesterol within normal levels. 25 pound weight loss in 4 months and complete cbc okay from march '24.
If I'm missing anything pertinent lmk. 175 pounds. No oral contraceptive. Regular mentrual cycle. Bursitis 2x left hip. I started screaming after I woke up to either bursitis or tendonitis at the right hip last week, and the follow up from the mri last week will be Wednesday. Xray unremarkable.
Cervical unremarkable, slight bulge and osteophites. Thorasic unremarkable slight curvature and osteophites. Lumbar as presented earlier in post. All have recommended MRI/specialist.
This issue doesn't track for celebrex or tramadol, but the screaming incidents response to tramadol.
submitted by staythruthecredits to AskDocs [link] [comments]
I have had chronic pain for years that's only been resolved briefly by a month of steroids, or a month on meloxicam with PT.
I've dealt with TMJ dysfunction after an auto accident age 20, which also broke my femur and it has a rod and nails to this day. By 25 it was no longer mouth guards and muscle relaxers, and I was getting injections in the base of my skull, along my neck, and in my upper back out towards my shoulders. I was told it was saline, and the records are lost. I considered this a drawback of my prior occupation in a call center.
Age 35 my nails were drying out, splitting vertically, and my eyes were beginning to stay irritable. I topped out at 214 pounds and I'm 62 inches tall. I had been taking Saphris and Welbutrin for five years and aside from being sore and exhausted all the time, my lower neck had been consistently tight and burning enough for me to look into CBD. I also switched to Fetzima from Welbutrin, and the muscle cramps were comical.
In 2018 I decided to stop Saphris and use this body. My left hip was always restricted after the auto accident. I didn't understand why and no one suggested additional tests or MRI, or more aggressive PT.
2019 was a big year for me when I took a job on retail, after I hadn't worked for a few years. I had headaches all the time from my eyes and the light, which hadn't been a thing. I had more than 1 migraine per quarter, which was my baseline.
Under the stress of the pandemic I pushed myself. I got my symmetry, ROM, flexibility, balance, and strength back. It was rad, until it wasn't.
I was sweating out my headbands up to twice per shift, drinking 6 bottles of water every day at work. My face was always red. Cold tolerance lowered. My lower back felt awful. I went to see the orthopedic for guidance on do more, do less, do different? 2020 fall I have mild OA of SI joints. 15mg meloxicam and 1 month PT had not only made my back feel really good, but everything else as well that's been sore and irritable for years. We agreed to move to rheumatology.
2021 april: Hypermobility and anti-SSB. My ANA is not clinically positive and has a specked pattern. Long term tolerance to meloxicam is untenable. 18 months on hydroxychloriquine no conclusive relief.
I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy but I'm not clear on 2020 or 21. Constipation, painful and nauseating, passing a concerning amount of mucus, revealed a 10mm single polyp that was benign. No signs of crohns and otherwise unremarkable aside from "senna abuse" and I quit that stuff the next year. The endoscopy was unremarkable, although I had already known that without prilosec for an unknown period of time that either I will be vomiting or at the very least need to vomit to relieve that episode. Baking soda water worked in my 20s and stopped working by my 30s.
2023 I had been through requested reduced hours, reduced duties, and no social life because once I got home and stopped moving it's like a timer that I had 40 minutes before I could barely move. Days off seemed to be more about recovery than catching up. I would find myself unable to stay awake in the middle of the day and the naps are always 4 ½ hours. I called out for those flares but they just kept happening. I felt like I was on fire every time my temp lowered to 97°. To be fair to my coworkers and myself, I quit that job. I tried to work regular hours at a different place that didn't have a 40 lb all day requirement, and within 3 weeks I was done. I couldn't think. I couldn't drive because of my head being so fuzzy. I didn't have access to water all shift and maybe it had something to do with it, but I quit.
The next month I started doing Rick Simpson Oil. It felt like I cleared the junk out of my head finally from all my medications. Now I've been thinking more, taking notes, and seeing how deep this goes. I've lowered so much of my stress with therapy and become more creative, and while all that has helped I am still sick.
December 23 my LDL was 195 and I was put on 10 mg rosuvastatin. I will say I know what happened there. I doubled down on foods I knew I could eat once I confirmed adult onset allergies. Sunflower seeds and undercooked/uncooked eggs are a no go. I also have an allergy to chlorhexadine.
I have tender points in so many places like near the elbows, shoulders, around my head, my neck is awful. My legs have them around the knees, thighs, hips, top and sides of my butt, face in front of the ears.
This year I screwed up my left shoulder with a labral tear. Physical therapy was fixing it, until it wasn't. Everything seemed well with strength and motion but then intense pain down my arm that was hurting my elbow as well. Mri showed biceps tendonotis, and I got a cortisone shot. Life was good. My neck felt better and the two recurrent knots in my left shoulder blade were much looser. Back to physical therapy, and after 1 week it's going to hell again. I have other tendons down that arm feeling like bruises from a car wreck but they are no larger than a thumbprint and no one can see them.
I've left my legs alone before they are too tender. I tried the theragun on them tonight and remembered why I don't. I asked who the pain specialists were in the practice, and now I'm here.
Current medications Lamictal, effexor, adderall D3 5000ui, chelated potassium, garden of life probiotics for colon health and their raw one women vitamin Zyrtec, prilosec twice daily (laryngeal reflux) 10 mg Crestor. As needed 350 mg soma, tessalon 100mg, cannabis Flonase, Astepro (laryngeal reflux) to keep my voice Restasis hurts my eyes for the entire day, not just application, and was discontinued after 5 weeks. My glands aren't dead and we're going to treat them manually at the next visit.
Continued concerns are my toes. I get chilblains in the winter while constantly wearing bombas slippers. The outer edge of my toes next to the pinky randomly numb out and are very uncomfortable. My big toe goes numb halfway down the nail bed randomly. Days where I cannot control my body temperature, I stay under the covers shivering until I pass out as soon as I'm warm... Then it's usually the 4 ½ hour snooze. My limbs are always affected. I have had a shawl in bed the last few years for the on then off with the cold shoulders.
I get zaps through my knuckles when trying to massage my arms with glides. I use Epiderm for a barrier on my face. It's been known to feel on fire and get a rash from my own sweat or tears. I will have some small degree of rash or tiny pinpoint hives here and there throughout the day on my hands unless I diligently moisturize. My cuticles recede the same without care. Wounds heal more slowly because everything seems to itch and I accidentally forget about them and catch them in a scratch. Coconut oil to the groin or the itching starts. Coconut oil in my ear canals as well.
Exclusionary Cardiovascular okay. Treadmill stress good. Echo good. Ekg good. Cholesterol within normal levels. 25 pound weight loss in 4 months and complete cbc okay from march '24.
If I'm missing anything pertinent lmk. 175 pounds. No oral contraceptive. Regular mentrual cycle. Bursitis 2x left hip. I started screaming after I woke up to either bursitis or tendonitis at the right hip last week, and the follow up from the mri last week will be Wednesday. Xray unremarkable.
Cervical unremarkable, slight bulge and osteophites. Thorasic unremarkable slight curvature and osteophites. Lumbar as presented earlier in post. All have recommended MRI/specialist.
This issue doesn't track for celebrex or tramadol, but the screaming incidents response to tramadol.
2024.04.29 21:58 Sea-Awareness3193 BUN (27)/CREAT (0.75) ratio 36, Albumin 5 (42 F, 135 pounds, 5.7)
What might be causing this sudden elevation?
For context, I had the following done simultaneously:
full metabolic panel CBC with differential thyroid A1C ….all came back NORMAL.
Trace ketones in urine urine gravity slightly elevated at >=1.030 Urine Ph 5.5
Cholesterol: Total 230 Triglycerides 54 HDL 100 LDL LDL 190 Ratio 2.3
Diagnosed with hypermobile EDS.
Get blood draws at least yearly - never had this before.
Take supplements and Tylenol on occasion, on multiple medications:
Lamictal Corlanor Vyvanese Xyzal Chromolyn oral
Thank you so much in advance!!
submitted by Sea-Awareness3193 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
For context, I had the following done simultaneously:
full metabolic panel CBC with differential thyroid A1C ….all came back NORMAL.
Trace ketones in urine urine gravity slightly elevated at >=1.030 Urine Ph 5.5
Cholesterol: Total 230 Triglycerides 54 HDL 100 LDL LDL 190 Ratio 2.3
Diagnosed with hypermobile EDS.
Get blood draws at least yearly - never had this before.
Take supplements and Tylenol on occasion, on multiple medications:
Lamictal Corlanor Vyvanese Xyzal Chromolyn oral
Thank you so much in advance!!
2024.03.10 09:26 Fridotwist Does anyone take psychiatric drugs? I suspect some psychiatric drugs cause SIBO in the long term
I've been taking some anti-depressants over the past few years and currently take lamotrigine. During this period, I developed subclinical hypothyroidism, low stomach acid, and eventually SIBO, which must has led to all sorts of small illnesses (dry eyes, hair loss, dry skin, rash, skin infections).
Can everyone please share more about your health conditions other than SIBO and the medications you take for any other issue?
We may find out some unexpected causes of our SIBO if we share enough information.
Update: after stopping Lamictal for a week, I did a blood test. White blood cells count increased from 2.3 to 4.2. cholesterol health indexes improved two magnitudes, from high cardio risk to low risk. First time to test phosphate and vitamin D3, no clear reason that phosphate is marginally high and D3 is very low.
submitted by Fridotwist to SIBO [link] [comments]
Can everyone please share more about your health conditions other than SIBO and the medications you take for any other issue?
We may find out some unexpected causes of our SIBO if we share enough information.
Update: after stopping Lamictal for a week, I did a blood test. White blood cells count increased from 2.3 to 4.2. cholesterol health indexes improved two magnitudes, from high cardio risk to low risk. First time to test phosphate and vitamin D3, no clear reason that phosphate is marginally high and D3 is very low.
2024.03.09 16:31 Fridotwist Every blood test shows I have low white blood cell count. Is there anyone who's white blood cell count has not changed after taking Lamictal for a long period of time?
Update: after stopping Lamictal for a week, I did a blood test. White blood cells count increased from 2.3 to 4.2. cholesterol health indexes improved two magnitudes, from high cardio risk to low risk. First time to test phosphate and vitamin D3, no clear reason that phosphate is marginally high and D3 is very low.
submitted by Fridotwist to lamictal [link] [comments]
2024.03.09 00:04 Different-Club1263 Perfect Liver Enzymes but evidence of Fatty Liver -- Confused!
24M, 190 lbs, 5"9, exercise often (especially strength training).
meds: lamictal, bupriopion, wixells
supplements: fish oil, milk thistle, multi-vitamin, vitamin B6 and B12.
Drink on weekends, occasional recreasional stimulant use, history of nicotene vape.
diagnoses: asthma, BPD and Major Depression
Hello! For stomach related issues, I recently went in to get labs and an abdominal ultrasound done. My blood test came back mostly good. I showed no evidence of organ problems, all liver stuff was good and on the low end of the ranges. My bad cholesterol was elevated and my triglycerides were high (230). I have a history of high triglycerides in my family and cholesterol. While I exercise and do get my vegetables and proten in, I do have an indulgent lifestyle.
I'm working with a doc to get my lipids down, and from the blood I thought I was in tip top shape. But then I got my ultrasound back and it appears there's evidence of fatty liver disease. I'm confused because my liver enzymes are on the low end of the healthy range. Is this common to have fatty liver with good enzymes?
Does the fact that I have good enzymes mean that the fatty liver is mild and that with some lifestyle changes I can reverse it? Thanks! A little concerned about this as I'm trying to get healthier. Years prior I was definitely a lot more wild.
submitted by Different-Club1263 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
meds: lamictal, bupriopion, wixells
supplements: fish oil, milk thistle, multi-vitamin, vitamin B6 and B12.
Drink on weekends, occasional recreasional stimulant use, history of nicotene vape.
diagnoses: asthma, BPD and Major Depression
Hello! For stomach related issues, I recently went in to get labs and an abdominal ultrasound done. My blood test came back mostly good. I showed no evidence of organ problems, all liver stuff was good and on the low end of the ranges. My bad cholesterol was elevated and my triglycerides were high (230). I have a history of high triglycerides in my family and cholesterol. While I exercise and do get my vegetables and proten in, I do have an indulgent lifestyle.
I'm working with a doc to get my lipids down, and from the blood I thought I was in tip top shape. But then I got my ultrasound back and it appears there's evidence of fatty liver disease. I'm confused because my liver enzymes are on the low end of the healthy range. Is this common to have fatty liver with good enzymes?
Does the fact that I have good enzymes mean that the fatty liver is mild and that with some lifestyle changes I can reverse it? Thanks! A little concerned about this as I'm trying to get healthier. Years prior I was definitely a lot more wild.
2024.02.01 15:27 happy-little-puppy Pellets. 4.5-ish Month Update
I'm here to give an update on my experience with T pellets. Most recent previous post here:
https://www.reddit.com/TRT_females/s/H4hioNjQqZ
I'm 45 and still have a menstrual cycle. BioTE pellets. Doing this with my primary care physician of over 10 years, whom I respect and trust.
I had an initial insertion September 2023, a smaller "boost" about 6 weeks later, and a second insertion in December 2023. Five weeks after the initial insertion, my total T was 176.2 ng/dL and free T 2.5 pg/mL. (I started at 8.9 and .7) See previous posts for comments about that time period.
I went for my second insertion in December and got 175 mg of T. About 4 weeks later, my total T was 251.6 ng/dL, and free T remained at 2.5 pg/mL.
I am now 6 weeks post second insertion.
I'm doing great.
As mentioned in previous posts, I've been on an SSRI for my entire adult life. I still am, but I'm dropping the dose under the supervision of my psychiatrist. I already did one step down months ago with no problems. (I also take Lamictal, which we're leaving as-is.) The tentative plan is to get off the SSRI and possibly add wellbutrin. I mention this because SSRIs notoriously crush libido, and it's relevant to what I'm doing with the T.
So, libido, sex drive etc.: I desire sexual stimulation much more than I have since SSRIs killed my libido many years ago; however, I haven't seen the same spontaneous, body-focused arousal that I experienced during the first round of pellets. I am hoping to improve things some more in that department with the med adjustment.
PMDD: As I said previously, it's just gone. I have a generally stable mood throughout my cycle now. This was a total surprise, so I don't imagine it could be a placebo effect. It was like night and day starting with my first cycle post-T.
I remain motivated to complete tasks. I had more of a general sense of wellbeing and chillness when I first started T than I do now, but I'm nowhere near depressed (like I have been even on psych meds). I don't cry randomly over bullshit anymore. I am better about sharing household chores with my partner than I used to be. I just need to get motivated to exercise now. That's always hard for me because I prefer exercise that is competitive, and those opportunities are sparse.
No hair thinning or loss.
Insertion sites heal well and leave a pin-prick sized mark. I was very worried about scarring because I'm vain as f*ck, but it's all good so far.
I am much more confident in my professional life since starting T. A decrease in imposter syndrome, basically. Colleagues are noticing.
I tweeze the hell out of my upper lip and chin every few days. It's the only downside. Not a huge deal.
I have lost 15 pounds, but that's because I changed what I eat. In November, I found out I have high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and am very insulin resistant. (I have a bad family history of heart issues and diabetes.) I stopped eating garbage and started Eaton foods that nourish my body. We'll check those bloods later this year.
It's not much of an update because things are OK and there's not much new.
My doctor assures me we won't do anything that will rocket my T up to, like, 500 or something. (That's just the number I threw out there.) If I notice bad side effects after my next insertion, I'll raise the concern with my doctor and either wait longer or advocate for a lower dose. The challenge with pellets is going to be finding the place between chasing the next dose and stacking doses too close together. I get that. I understand that this can be difficult to get right, but I'm interested in trying. I'm reserving judgment on the whole thing until I'm a year in.
All my other hormone bloods are where they should be. Yay!
I know a lot of people prefer injections, but this is working for me so far, and I am not great at timely taking meds. If things go south, I'll certainly let you know in a future update.
submitted by happy-little-puppy to TRT_females [link] [comments]
https://www.reddit.com/TRT_females/s/H4hioNjQqZ
I'm 45 and still have a menstrual cycle. BioTE pellets. Doing this with my primary care physician of over 10 years, whom I respect and trust.
I had an initial insertion September 2023, a smaller "boost" about 6 weeks later, and a second insertion in December 2023. Five weeks after the initial insertion, my total T was 176.2 ng/dL and free T 2.5 pg/mL. (I started at 8.9 and .7) See previous posts for comments about that time period.
I went for my second insertion in December and got 175 mg of T. About 4 weeks later, my total T was 251.6 ng/dL, and free T remained at 2.5 pg/mL.
I am now 6 weeks post second insertion.
I'm doing great.
As mentioned in previous posts, I've been on an SSRI for my entire adult life. I still am, but I'm dropping the dose under the supervision of my psychiatrist. I already did one step down months ago with no problems. (I also take Lamictal, which we're leaving as-is.) The tentative plan is to get off the SSRI and possibly add wellbutrin. I mention this because SSRIs notoriously crush libido, and it's relevant to what I'm doing with the T.
So, libido, sex drive etc.: I desire sexual stimulation much more than I have since SSRIs killed my libido many years ago; however, I haven't seen the same spontaneous, body-focused arousal that I experienced during the first round of pellets. I am hoping to improve things some more in that department with the med adjustment.
PMDD: As I said previously, it's just gone. I have a generally stable mood throughout my cycle now. This was a total surprise, so I don't imagine it could be a placebo effect. It was like night and day starting with my first cycle post-T.
I remain motivated to complete tasks. I had more of a general sense of wellbeing and chillness when I first started T than I do now, but I'm nowhere near depressed (like I have been even on psych meds). I don't cry randomly over bullshit anymore. I am better about sharing household chores with my partner than I used to be. I just need to get motivated to exercise now. That's always hard for me because I prefer exercise that is competitive, and those opportunities are sparse.
No hair thinning or loss.
Insertion sites heal well and leave a pin-prick sized mark. I was very worried about scarring because I'm vain as f*ck, but it's all good so far.
I am much more confident in my professional life since starting T. A decrease in imposter syndrome, basically. Colleagues are noticing.
I tweeze the hell out of my upper lip and chin every few days. It's the only downside. Not a huge deal.
I have lost 15 pounds, but that's because I changed what I eat. In November, I found out I have high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and am very insulin resistant. (I have a bad family history of heart issues and diabetes.) I stopped eating garbage and started Eaton foods that nourish my body. We'll check those bloods later this year.
It's not much of an update because things are OK and there's not much new.
My doctor assures me we won't do anything that will rocket my T up to, like, 500 or something. (That's just the number I threw out there.) If I notice bad side effects after my next insertion, I'll raise the concern with my doctor and either wait longer or advocate for a lower dose. The challenge with pellets is going to be finding the place between chasing the next dose and stacking doses too close together. I get that. I understand that this can be difficult to get right, but I'm interested in trying. I'm reserving judgment on the whole thing until I'm a year in.
All my other hormone bloods are where they should be. Yay!
I know a lot of people prefer injections, but this is working for me so far, and I am not great at timely taking meds. If things go south, I'll certainly let you know in a future update.
2024.01.30 20:28 invisigoth666 Experiencing symptoms and wondering what tests I should ask my doctor for/what the issue might be so I can find a solution.
25F, 140 lbs, 5 foot 5 inches, never smoker, I take gabapentin (600 mg 3x a day for anxiety), Prozac (20 mg every morning for anxiety/depression), and lamictal (150 mg twice a day for mood), and my medical history/issues are listed with my symptoms. Thanks!
Symptoms: Fatigue, anxiety, depression, GI issues (acid reflux), itchy skin all over, rash from sun exposure when hot outside, shaky, naturally high heart rate, high cholesterol (prob just hereditary), chronic pain (most noticeable in back), congestion (could be allergies), anemia, very heavy periods that are regular but little to no cramps, bloated most of time, possible psoriasis/seborrheic dermatitis on scalp, night sweats, PMDD, get hives when stressed, brain fog, ischemic stroke/blood clot history (had several but none in about 10 years), easy shortness of breath even at rest.
For extra info, I’ve had Covid 4 times (while vaccinated). I’ve had my blood tested but I think just the basic tests.
What tests do you recommend I request? I was thinking ANA, full thyroid panel, and all my hormones at the very least.
submitted by invisigoth666 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
Symptoms: Fatigue, anxiety, depression, GI issues (acid reflux), itchy skin all over, rash from sun exposure when hot outside, shaky, naturally high heart rate, high cholesterol (prob just hereditary), chronic pain (most noticeable in back), congestion (could be allergies), anemia, very heavy periods that are regular but little to no cramps, bloated most of time, possible psoriasis/seborrheic dermatitis on scalp, night sweats, PMDD, get hives when stressed, brain fog, ischemic stroke/blood clot history (had several but none in about 10 years), easy shortness of breath even at rest.
For extra info, I’ve had Covid 4 times (while vaccinated). I’ve had my blood tested but I think just the basic tests.
What tests do you recommend I request? I was thinking ANA, full thyroid panel, and all my hormones at the very least.
2024.01.29 15:08 BeanSprout_7007 It’s been 2 weeks
Female 28, 5’9” 180 lbs, non smoker, casual drinker (twice a month), no recreational drug use, to my knowledge no family history of GI issues
currently taking Lamictal 50 mg BID, Magnesium, probiotic, daily vitamin, vitamin D, junel fe birth control
history of ovarian cysts and a removal of ganglion cyst from my ovary, mild high cholesterol and it seems to be more hereditary related than diet related, no major medical history otherwise
I am so desperate for relief I have not had a BM in two weeks and this has become my norm over time (last 3 years at least). I constantly feel full and when I do go it is painful and it feels like not enough has come out compared to what has come in. Colonoscopy and EGD were normal, I take 4x the magnesium supplements meant for a single dose (both citrate and glycinate), Metamucil, and I don’t eat terrible (not great but not terrible). I am a nurse and am on my feet a bit and even go to the gym outside of that so I feel like my activity level is good. I could definitely drink more water but with my job it’s hard. Usually finish at least my 750 mL water bottle once a day. The only thing I can think of that can give any clue is that stress immediately makes me go, like the second the clock would start for an exam in school I would feel the urge or when a video game was getting stressful and I was in the top 2 lol. I’m at a loss I need any and all advice.
submitted by BeanSprout_7007 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
currently taking Lamictal 50 mg BID, Magnesium, probiotic, daily vitamin, vitamin D, junel fe birth control
history of ovarian cysts and a removal of ganglion cyst from my ovary, mild high cholesterol and it seems to be more hereditary related than diet related, no major medical history otherwise
I am so desperate for relief I have not had a BM in two weeks and this has become my norm over time (last 3 years at least). I constantly feel full and when I do go it is painful and it feels like not enough has come out compared to what has come in. Colonoscopy and EGD were normal, I take 4x the magnesium supplements meant for a single dose (both citrate and glycinate), Metamucil, and I don’t eat terrible (not great but not terrible). I am a nurse and am on my feet a bit and even go to the gym outside of that so I feel like my activity level is good. I could definitely drink more water but with my job it’s hard. Usually finish at least my 750 mL water bottle once a day. The only thing I can think of that can give any clue is that stress immediately makes me go, like the second the clock would start for an exam in school I would feel the urge or when a video game was getting stressful and I was in the top 2 lol. I’m at a loss I need any and all advice.
2024.01.29 14:58 BeanSprout_7007 It’s been 2 weeks
Female 28, currently taking Lamictal 50 mg BID, Magnesium, probiotic, daily vitamin, vitamin D, history of ovarian cysts and a removal of ganglion cyst from my ovary, mild high cholesterol and it seems to be more hereditary related than diet related, no major medical history otherwise
I am so desperate for relief I have not had a BM in two weeks and this has become my norm over time (last 3 years at least). I constantly feel full and when I do go it is painful and it feels like not enough has come out compared to what has come in. Colonoscopy and EGD were normal, I take 4x the magnesium supplements meant for a single dose (both citrate and glycinate), Metamucil, and I don’t eat terrible (not great but not terrible). I am a nurse and am on my feet a bit and even go to the gym outside of that so I feel like my activity level is good. I could definitely drink more water but with my job it’s hard. Usually finish at least my 750 mL water bottle once a day. The only thing I can think of that can give any clue is that stress immediately makes me go, like the second the clock would start for an exam in school I would feel the urge or when a video game was getting stressful and I was in the top 2 lol. I’m at a loss I need any and all advice.
submitted by BeanSprout_7007 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
I am so desperate for relief I have not had a BM in two weeks and this has become my norm over time (last 3 years at least). I constantly feel full and when I do go it is painful and it feels like not enough has come out compared to what has come in. Colonoscopy and EGD were normal, I take 4x the magnesium supplements meant for a single dose (both citrate and glycinate), Metamucil, and I don’t eat terrible (not great but not terrible). I am a nurse and am on my feet a bit and even go to the gym outside of that so I feel like my activity level is good. I could definitely drink more water but with my job it’s hard. Usually finish at least my 750 mL water bottle once a day. The only thing I can think of that can give any clue is that stress immediately makes me go, like the second the clock would start for an exam in school I would feel the urge or when a video game was getting stressful and I was in the top 2 lol. I’m at a loss I need any and all advice.
2024.01.13 09:54 wbfrog Traumatic experience with doctors
I’ve been having experiences with the healthcare system that I can only describe as traumatic. The stress and trauma of trying and failing to get health care in this country is making me feel like I want to fall apart despite my best efforts to get my life together. Right before I turned 30 I quit drinking, quit smoking, started exercising a lot. I had just moved to California and spent a lot of time outside being active. Skateboarding and shit. I was optimistic that because this state has free health care for low income people, that I would be able to get proper treatment for my mental health that had been spiraling out of control my entire life. In high school I was like half productive, would have insomnia and skipped school and was insanely depressed but had nerd friends and would study sometimes and basically was seen as a productive, successful student. In college I completely unraveled, had a drinking problem, was sexually assaulted, had an eating disorder and struggled so hard financially that I didn’t have time to focus on school. I didn’t have friends. Then for my entire 20s I was an extreme mess and committed a series of life-ruining offenses mostly involving dating men and having a bad experience on birth control.
So in like 2020 I had an extreme meltdown. Or a series of meltdowns really. Was suicidal. In January of 2021 I finally was able to see a psychiatrist and was put on Abilify. I was still working out every day and was active and went hiking and shit and read a lot, I was on pandemic unemployment which was great. Then that ended and I had to get a job at a grocery store. I slipped and fell on my back at a movie theater and forgot that it even happened because it didn’t hurt that much. At some point in summer of 2021 I started having leg cramps whenever I worked out. I would just stop and stretch and go back to working out. The cramping got progressively worse and more debilitating. I stopped working out. By April of 2022 I had gained 40 lbs from the combination of being on Abilify and not working out. I would still walk to work as I lived in a walkable neighborhood but by May of 2022, I would start limping 10 minutes into my walk and have leg cramps and have to stop walking. My muscles felt very stiff. At that point I had gained 50 lbs. Unfortunately I hadn’t been to the doctor regularly, like, since I was a child. I started seeing a primary care physician who took Medi-Cal. She didn’t seem concerned about my leg cramping or really ask me any questions about it at all. I actually went to the ER in May of 2022. They did an x-ray on both my legs, an ultrasound, found nothing, and sent me home and told me to follow up with my regular doctor. My regular doctor didn’t seem concerned. Had no suggestions or anything. I kept gaining weight and my cholesterol shot up. I had low back pain and any time I laid on my back to do yoga or an exercises I would feel pain and a bulge in my lower back. I stopped taking Abilify cold turkey which was stupid obviously but my dad died at 43 of a heart attack and I wanted to stop gaining weight and for my cholesterol to go back down. By September of 2022 I weighed 200 lbs and started having blood in my stool. Like, a lot of blood. This became the focus of my primary care doctor’s efforts. She couldn’t gaslight me about it because they took a stool sample and there was blood in it. I was also having extreme constipation and painful bowel movements. She referred me to a GI doctor. They told me I needed a colonoscopy which I wasn’t able to get until January of 2024 because their office was backed up with appointments and also unprofessional to a negligent degree. In December of 2022 I started having this feeling like bugs were crawling all over me. Some days I would have pain in my arms or legs and would lay in bed and not move for the entire day. In January of 2023 I got Covid and then a subsequent ear infection. I got fired from my job because I told them I had Covid the day before New Year’s and left early, which they claimed I did without permission even though they gave me permission bc I was at work with a fever of 101. After that I started having the feeling like bugs were crawling on me all the time. I was itchy all over my body. I had genital itching. I didn’t know what was happening. I started to become convinced I had bedbugs or crabs or body lice. I wondered if I was hallucinating the feeling. I had numbness in my hands and feet. I would feel lightning bolts of pain in my shins. Pain in my jaw. A weird tingly feeling like lightning bolts in my anus. Numbness in my vagina. The feeling like my vagina was falling asleep when I sat down. I became convinced I had crabs and my pcp gave me Permethrin without even examining me to confirm I had them. I had just broken up with my boyfriend so I figured he cheated on me and I got crabs. It didn’t seem that far fetched. I thought I had bedbugs and I threw like 60 percent of my clothing away along with my bed. I thought I had diabetes so I got my A1c tested and it was like 5.1. Not even prediabetic. Eventually my dermatologist told me that the itching and bug crawling feeling was caused by a nerve issue. I told my pcp that and she reluctantly gave me a referral to a neurologist. The neurologist gave me an EMG (after asking me about 6 times if I had diabetes. I don’t know why me saying no once wasn’t enough). It was normal. While getting the EMG I mentioned the bug crawling symptoms to the doctor and he offhandedly said “Sounds like restless leg syndrome,” but I was not diagnosed with that and there was never any follow up. I kept complaining about the leg pain and cramping to my pcp and she said “You have to stretch” and “You’re probably dehydrated.” I pointed out to her that I used to take yoga classes and I would still have the same pain but she didn’t give a shit. Six months went by and I got a new job working on my feet. I got a new psychiatrist who put me on Latuda. It made my feet swell up. So then they put me on Lamictal. I lost 25 pounds on Lamictal and my leg pain wasn’t bothering me as much day to day. I still didn’t exercise. I attempted to but I was too freaked out by the back pain and the bulge in my back and I worried about exacerbating an issue. I asked my pcp for a referral for physical therapy so I could learn to work out without exacerbating my back or leg issue. She reluctantly gave it to me and I finally went in December of 2023. I explained to the physical therapist my issues and he recommended I get an MRI for my back but told me he was only allowed to treat what was on the referral, which was “Peripheral neuropathy.” The exercises they told me to do made my back hurt insanely bad. I told my pcp and she reluctantly gave me a referral for an x-ray. The radiologist said I have “minimal narrowing” of the L5-S1 discs. I have an MRI for my lumbar spine tomorrow morning. I just want to be able to exercise again so I can feel good and be healthy. I’ve been insanely depressed not exercising. I don’t like being around people. The main reason I want to lose weight is that I feel like it matters for my career, and whether or not I have a good job matters a great deal because it dictates what kind of health care I can receive and my quality of life. I wish health care in this country wasn’t tied to your employer. I wish I didn’t have to go to a shitty HMO who doesn’t care about me as a patient or have any empathy.
submitted by wbfrog to BipolarReddit [link] [comments]
So in like 2020 I had an extreme meltdown. Or a series of meltdowns really. Was suicidal. In January of 2021 I finally was able to see a psychiatrist and was put on Abilify. I was still working out every day and was active and went hiking and shit and read a lot, I was on pandemic unemployment which was great. Then that ended and I had to get a job at a grocery store. I slipped and fell on my back at a movie theater and forgot that it even happened because it didn’t hurt that much. At some point in summer of 2021 I started having leg cramps whenever I worked out. I would just stop and stretch and go back to working out. The cramping got progressively worse and more debilitating. I stopped working out. By April of 2022 I had gained 40 lbs from the combination of being on Abilify and not working out. I would still walk to work as I lived in a walkable neighborhood but by May of 2022, I would start limping 10 minutes into my walk and have leg cramps and have to stop walking. My muscles felt very stiff. At that point I had gained 50 lbs. Unfortunately I hadn’t been to the doctor regularly, like, since I was a child. I started seeing a primary care physician who took Medi-Cal. She didn’t seem concerned about my leg cramping or really ask me any questions about it at all. I actually went to the ER in May of 2022. They did an x-ray on both my legs, an ultrasound, found nothing, and sent me home and told me to follow up with my regular doctor. My regular doctor didn’t seem concerned. Had no suggestions or anything. I kept gaining weight and my cholesterol shot up. I had low back pain and any time I laid on my back to do yoga or an exercises I would feel pain and a bulge in my lower back. I stopped taking Abilify cold turkey which was stupid obviously but my dad died at 43 of a heart attack and I wanted to stop gaining weight and for my cholesterol to go back down. By September of 2022 I weighed 200 lbs and started having blood in my stool. Like, a lot of blood. This became the focus of my primary care doctor’s efforts. She couldn’t gaslight me about it because they took a stool sample and there was blood in it. I was also having extreme constipation and painful bowel movements. She referred me to a GI doctor. They told me I needed a colonoscopy which I wasn’t able to get until January of 2024 because their office was backed up with appointments and also unprofessional to a negligent degree. In December of 2022 I started having this feeling like bugs were crawling all over me. Some days I would have pain in my arms or legs and would lay in bed and not move for the entire day. In January of 2023 I got Covid and then a subsequent ear infection. I got fired from my job because I told them I had Covid the day before New Year’s and left early, which they claimed I did without permission even though they gave me permission bc I was at work with a fever of 101. After that I started having the feeling like bugs were crawling on me all the time. I was itchy all over my body. I had genital itching. I didn’t know what was happening. I started to become convinced I had bedbugs or crabs or body lice. I wondered if I was hallucinating the feeling. I had numbness in my hands and feet. I would feel lightning bolts of pain in my shins. Pain in my jaw. A weird tingly feeling like lightning bolts in my anus. Numbness in my vagina. The feeling like my vagina was falling asleep when I sat down. I became convinced I had crabs and my pcp gave me Permethrin without even examining me to confirm I had them. I had just broken up with my boyfriend so I figured he cheated on me and I got crabs. It didn’t seem that far fetched. I thought I had bedbugs and I threw like 60 percent of my clothing away along with my bed. I thought I had diabetes so I got my A1c tested and it was like 5.1. Not even prediabetic. Eventually my dermatologist told me that the itching and bug crawling feeling was caused by a nerve issue. I told my pcp that and she reluctantly gave me a referral to a neurologist. The neurologist gave me an EMG (after asking me about 6 times if I had diabetes. I don’t know why me saying no once wasn’t enough). It was normal. While getting the EMG I mentioned the bug crawling symptoms to the doctor and he offhandedly said “Sounds like restless leg syndrome,” but I was not diagnosed with that and there was never any follow up. I kept complaining about the leg pain and cramping to my pcp and she said “You have to stretch” and “You’re probably dehydrated.” I pointed out to her that I used to take yoga classes and I would still have the same pain but she didn’t give a shit. Six months went by and I got a new job working on my feet. I got a new psychiatrist who put me on Latuda. It made my feet swell up. So then they put me on Lamictal. I lost 25 pounds on Lamictal and my leg pain wasn’t bothering me as much day to day. I still didn’t exercise. I attempted to but I was too freaked out by the back pain and the bulge in my back and I worried about exacerbating an issue. I asked my pcp for a referral for physical therapy so I could learn to work out without exacerbating my back or leg issue. She reluctantly gave it to me and I finally went in December of 2023. I explained to the physical therapist my issues and he recommended I get an MRI for my back but told me he was only allowed to treat what was on the referral, which was “Peripheral neuropathy.” The exercises they told me to do made my back hurt insanely bad. I told my pcp and she reluctantly gave me a referral for an x-ray. The radiologist said I have “minimal narrowing” of the L5-S1 discs. I have an MRI for my lumbar spine tomorrow morning. I just want to be able to exercise again so I can feel good and be healthy. I’ve been insanely depressed not exercising. I don’t like being around people. The main reason I want to lose weight is that I feel like it matters for my career, and whether or not I have a good job matters a great deal because it dictates what kind of health care I can receive and my quality of life. I wish health care in this country wasn’t tied to your employer. I wish I didn’t have to go to a shitty HMO who doesn’t care about me as a patient or have any empathy.
2024.01.07 13:51 Sinnedangel8027 "Arbitrarily" fluctuating blood pressure
Just a one-off question about an issue I noticed/found recently.
My gal bought me a smart watch over the holidays and I was wearing it last week while working at my desk when it notified me that my heart rate was over 120 for the past 10 minutes while not exercising. That's a nifty feature. I keep some basic medical stuff at home like an oximeter, electronic blood pressure cuff, etc.. at home. So, I decided to take my blood pressure out of curiosity, and it was 152/86 124bpm. I felt no anxiety, heart palpitations, difficult breathing, no pain anywhere, etc. I thought that was weird, so I waited 5 minutes, took it again, and got a similar reading. I figured maybe it was a busted device since my gal (who actually has very low blood pressure) took it and got a high reading. So, we bought a new one for the arm instead of the wrist and I got a similar reading whereas she got a reading in her normal range. I kept monitoring every few hours over the next 2 days, and it stayed somewhere at or above 150/80.
Well, I know it's not good to have your blood pressure be that high, so I went to the ER. They did an EKG and all that jazz, found nothing wrong, told me it was anxiety, and sent me on my way. My final reading at the ER was 117/72 76bpm. I figured I would keep monitoring my blood pressure for a few days for sanity. What I've noticed since the ER visit is that my blood pressure seems to be all over the place. For example, this morning, when I first took it, it was 145/82 76bpm, then literally a minute later, it was 122/73 75bpm. 5 minutes later, it was 126/79 75bpm.
It's done similiar things throughout the day and doesn't appear to be affected by anything. It would make sense to be high if I'm having an anxiety attack, or stress, etc. But I'm not having any of those sorts of things happen.
Any ideas as to what's going on? I do have an appointment this coming friday and was asked to keep a log of my readings, what I was doing before, etc.
Age: 33 male
Weight: 181.5 kg
Height: 181 cm
Medications: lamictal (bipolar disorder) and claritin (allergies)
Lifestyle: semi-active (I go to the gym for an hour 3x a week over the last year)
Other: I smoked for 13 years but quit 2 years ago. All blood pressure readings have been in a healthy range since I quit.
Edit: I should also add that I recently had a metabolic and lipid panel done, I get them once a year. My cholesterol isn't the greatest, but it used to be worse. Currently, my cholesterol is 186. Triglycerides at 141, HDL 38, Non-HDL at 148. Outside of that, everything else is marked as within a healthy range.
submitted by Sinnedangel8027 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
My gal bought me a smart watch over the holidays and I was wearing it last week while working at my desk when it notified me that my heart rate was over 120 for the past 10 minutes while not exercising. That's a nifty feature. I keep some basic medical stuff at home like an oximeter, electronic blood pressure cuff, etc.. at home. So, I decided to take my blood pressure out of curiosity, and it was 152/86 124bpm. I felt no anxiety, heart palpitations, difficult breathing, no pain anywhere, etc. I thought that was weird, so I waited 5 minutes, took it again, and got a similar reading. I figured maybe it was a busted device since my gal (who actually has very low blood pressure) took it and got a high reading. So, we bought a new one for the arm instead of the wrist and I got a similar reading whereas she got a reading in her normal range. I kept monitoring every few hours over the next 2 days, and it stayed somewhere at or above 150/80.
Well, I know it's not good to have your blood pressure be that high, so I went to the ER. They did an EKG and all that jazz, found nothing wrong, told me it was anxiety, and sent me on my way. My final reading at the ER was 117/72 76bpm. I figured I would keep monitoring my blood pressure for a few days for sanity. What I've noticed since the ER visit is that my blood pressure seems to be all over the place. For example, this morning, when I first took it, it was 145/82 76bpm, then literally a minute later, it was 122/73 75bpm. 5 minutes later, it was 126/79 75bpm.
It's done similiar things throughout the day and doesn't appear to be affected by anything. It would make sense to be high if I'm having an anxiety attack, or stress, etc. But I'm not having any of those sorts of things happen.
Any ideas as to what's going on? I do have an appointment this coming friday and was asked to keep a log of my readings, what I was doing before, etc.
Age: 33 male
Weight: 181.5 kg
Height: 181 cm
Medications: lamictal (bipolar disorder) and claritin (allergies)
Lifestyle: semi-active (I go to the gym for an hour 3x a week over the last year)
Other: I smoked for 13 years but quit 2 years ago. All blood pressure readings have been in a healthy range since I quit.
Edit: I should also add that I recently had a metabolic and lipid panel done, I get them once a year. My cholesterol isn't the greatest, but it used to be worse. Currently, my cholesterol is 186. Triglycerides at 141, HDL 38, Non-HDL at 148. Outside of that, everything else is marked as within a healthy range.
2023.12.28 21:56 NebulaImmediate6202 Optometrist or regular doctor?
25F 190lbs 100mg Lamictal 80mg Cymbalta, nicotine smoker, high cholesterol (263) since oct 3, history of migraines untreated/undiagnosed. I've had lights in the upper left corner of my vision since october. I thought it'd just go away since stubborn flashes in my eyes have persisted for a few weeks before. But three months is a little strange. What doctor do I even see for this? I had a general checkup on October 3rd and all was well. I didn't mention the vision thing on that day.
submitted by NebulaImmediate6202 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
2023.12.21 21:15 emizzledrizzle Cholesterol Help
29F ht/wt: 5’4” 140lbs hx: Thrombocytopenia, Bipolar 2, Chronic Sinusitis Meds: Lamictal 300mg, Contrave 8-90 x2 tabs BID, Junel FE
I had some blood work done yesterday and am confused about my cholesterol reading.
Total Cholesterol : 243
LDL : 130
Non-HDL : 147
I am mostly confused about the non-HDL? Why is it so high? What do they mean by non HDL vs HDL? And how do you lower it without raising the LDL?
submitted by emizzledrizzle to AskDocs [link] [comments]
I had some blood work done yesterday and am confused about my cholesterol reading.
Total Cholesterol : 243
LDL : 130
Non-HDL : 147
I am mostly confused about the non-HDL? Why is it so high? What do they mean by non HDL vs HDL? And how do you lower it without raising the LDL?
2023.11.30 17:03 Realistic-Lettuce157 Terrible experience with first Psychiatrist. 1 month of Lithium which resulted in my body getting destroyed, chronically fatigued but yay not depressed.....
Got diagnosed with bp2 after a severe depression that lasted months and my psychiatrist recommends two options and to never again take adderall as she called it pure poison. So Lithium or Lamictal. She says lithium can have bad side effects but works quickly while lamictal takes about 5 weeks to work. I insist lamictal but she is confident lithium is can work better for me. Now my blood results show THS doubled to 5.02, cholesterol in the red, lithium dropped to .3. This was all in a month of using that poison. I have talked to my new psychiatrist getting back on adderall and taking lamictal.
submitted by Realistic-Lettuce157 to bipolar2 [link] [comments]
2023.10.30 18:05 O-ringblowout Reduced kidney function - advice needed
Hi,
I just started to take lamictal for bipolar disorder 2. I have been on 100mg and will up it to 200mg soon.
My psychiatrist did blood work and the results came back with high cholesterol and reduced kidney function. They looked at kreatinin for that. He wants me to go and take new blood tests. And suggested I might have been dehydrated.
I'm male and 38 years old. Never had any physical problems earlier.
I forgot to tell him that I have had some symptoms lately, maybe a few weeks to a month or two:
I am freaking out a bit now. Is it warranted, or should I calm down?
I appreciate every response. Thank you.
submitted by O-ringblowout to AskDocs [link] [comments]
I just started to take lamictal for bipolar disorder 2. I have been on 100mg and will up it to 200mg soon.
My psychiatrist did blood work and the results came back with high cholesterol and reduced kidney function. They looked at kreatinin for that. He wants me to go and take new blood tests. And suggested I might have been dehydrated.
I'm male and 38 years old. Never had any physical problems earlier.
I forgot to tell him that I have had some symptoms lately, maybe a few weeks to a month or two:
- Nighttime sweating. A lot. Whole bed is wet.
- Much stronger scent from armpits.
- Dull, low level pain in the middle of my chest. 2 - 3 inches above solar plexus.
- Pain between shoulder blades which I attributed to weightlifting and thus muscular.
- Reduced appetite.
- Low level nausea. Vomited 2 times in the last couple of weeks.
I am freaking out a bit now. Is it warranted, or should I calm down?
I appreciate every response. Thank you.
2023.10.11 21:32 ReportUnhappy Syncope Mystery
Hi doctors of reddit! I know I can’t ask for much of a diagnosis but I am looking to be pointed in the right direction of what to pursue next!
I have a history of both epileptic and pseudo seizures but these syncope episodes haven’t been seizure related. I just suddenly feel like I’ve been punched with a tranquilizer dart. Mostly happens when I’m eating before I can even finish my meal. I’ve done a 2 week heart monitor, blood pressure, echo, even tilt table testing. My heart rate/BP does go up before I conk out but my doctors are just like welp buddy idk what to tell you. My only other symptoms are I’m in chronic pain and feel fluish randomly even with no fever or virus. I’m 30, of Irish descent, and on Lamictal and Seroquel. I take these at night so I sleep off the side effects. Blood work is normal besides high cholesterol from the lamictal. I’m at such a loss because I’m in a state where medical care is just… abysmal. If you’re not over the age of 60 then your symptoms aren’t anyone else’s problem until you are 60. I just want to get better so I can get back to work. I used to be super active working out routinely, always outside, and now I spend most of my days in bed simply because I cannot be upright. I had a car accident in December and it’s the only thing I can think of that was different but no doctor will see me for it. Please help!
submitted by ReportUnhappy to DiagnoseMe [link] [comments]
I have a history of both epileptic and pseudo seizures but these syncope episodes haven’t been seizure related. I just suddenly feel like I’ve been punched with a tranquilizer dart. Mostly happens when I’m eating before I can even finish my meal. I’ve done a 2 week heart monitor, blood pressure, echo, even tilt table testing. My heart rate/BP does go up before I conk out but my doctors are just like welp buddy idk what to tell you. My only other symptoms are I’m in chronic pain and feel fluish randomly even with no fever or virus. I’m 30, of Irish descent, and on Lamictal and Seroquel. I take these at night so I sleep off the side effects. Blood work is normal besides high cholesterol from the lamictal. I’m at such a loss because I’m in a state where medical care is just… abysmal. If you’re not over the age of 60 then your symptoms aren’t anyone else’s problem until you are 60. I just want to get better so I can get back to work. I used to be super active working out routinely, always outside, and now I spend most of my days in bed simply because I cannot be upright. I had a car accident in December and it’s the only thing I can think of that was different but no doctor will see me for it. Please help!
2023.10.08 04:43 peachforthestars Treatment Resistant Depression in 17 Year Old Child
TW: Mention of Suici*l Ideation, Disordered Eating
Hello, I am new to the TMS world. I have a child, age 17, autistic, who has struggled mightily with severe depression for years now. They have had a small amount of success with EMDR a few years ago, but this depression is so heavy and thick, that EMDR is hard for them to engage.
My child has been on several medications, partial hospitalization for SI in 2021, had the Genesight test to determine what medicines work well with their DNA profile (there are only 2). These few meds have failed. We are seeing a psychiatrist, therapist, and many other doctors to treat various physical conditions in relation to fibromyalgia, being severely underweight, and high cholesterol (genetic).
The psychiatrist has now suggested a consultation for TMS therapy because Jay's depression is worsening, they are rapidly losing weight, and all the medication we have tried over the years is not helping them.
My child is suffering, and I am desperate to help them feel better. I am worried, scared, and feel so helpless. They can no longer attend public school, as they struggle to get out of bed and to do any self care without lots and lots of support, and this is their last year of high school. They are falling behind in their home studies. They only have a couple of friends online in other states or countries. They can't leave the house very often, and struggle with changes in environment and sensory overload. They are able to drive from time to time, but they only have a learner's permit and the anxiety overload of driving makes them only agree to do it on rare occasions.
I want to make the best, informed decisions with my child as they transition to adulthood, and I wonder if TMS could help us on this journey. I know it's not a magic potion, but if we could just help my child have some of the heaviness of the fog lifted, they could have a chance to thrive and just feel good.
The most concerning and immediate issue that we have to tackle is disordered eating. Has anyone used TMS for appetite stimulation or if you were underweight, did TMS help you gain weight? My child is so fatigued, and all the doctors keep really encouraging them to eat and gain weight but they have no appetite. Any food has to be really, really encouraged, otherwise they won't eat or drink. We are trying to create a positive relationship to eating and nutrition but the immediate need of weight gain makes it really difficult to do as a parent.
Their current treatment is: Pristiq, Lamictal with Psychiatrist Talk, Art, EMDR Therapy (EMDR only when cognitive function is well) with Therapist Rheumatologist for fibromyalgia and hypermobility (no meds given, just encouraged to eat, drink, exercise) Weight/Nutrition: Dietician conclusion was no food restrictions based on variety, but solely based on calorie restriction and poor appetite. Pediatrician does weight check ins once a month. Weight has remained steady but still really really low, and child is weak and fatigued.
We have tried at least 10 different medications since 2020, all of which made symptoms worse or did not help at all. I am really worried they are going to suggest Lithium as a last resort but the psychiatrist really is encouraging us to look into TMS.
Could this be the missing piece? Has anyone used this therapy at about 17-18 years old?
submitted by peachforthestars to TMSTherapy [link] [comments]
Hello, I am new to the TMS world. I have a child, age 17, autistic, who has struggled mightily with severe depression for years now. They have had a small amount of success with EMDR a few years ago, but this depression is so heavy and thick, that EMDR is hard for them to engage.
My child has been on several medications, partial hospitalization for SI in 2021, had the Genesight test to determine what medicines work well with their DNA profile (there are only 2). These few meds have failed. We are seeing a psychiatrist, therapist, and many other doctors to treat various physical conditions in relation to fibromyalgia, being severely underweight, and high cholesterol (genetic).
The psychiatrist has now suggested a consultation for TMS therapy because Jay's depression is worsening, they are rapidly losing weight, and all the medication we have tried over the years is not helping them.
My child is suffering, and I am desperate to help them feel better. I am worried, scared, and feel so helpless. They can no longer attend public school, as they struggle to get out of bed and to do any self care without lots and lots of support, and this is their last year of high school. They are falling behind in their home studies. They only have a couple of friends online in other states or countries. They can't leave the house very often, and struggle with changes in environment and sensory overload. They are able to drive from time to time, but they only have a learner's permit and the anxiety overload of driving makes them only agree to do it on rare occasions.
I want to make the best, informed decisions with my child as they transition to adulthood, and I wonder if TMS could help us on this journey. I know it's not a magic potion, but if we could just help my child have some of the heaviness of the fog lifted, they could have a chance to thrive and just feel good.
The most concerning and immediate issue that we have to tackle is disordered eating. Has anyone used TMS for appetite stimulation or if you were underweight, did TMS help you gain weight? My child is so fatigued, and all the doctors keep really encouraging them to eat and gain weight but they have no appetite. Any food has to be really, really encouraged, otherwise they won't eat or drink. We are trying to create a positive relationship to eating and nutrition but the immediate need of weight gain makes it really difficult to do as a parent.
Their current treatment is: Pristiq, Lamictal with Psychiatrist Talk, Art, EMDR Therapy (EMDR only when cognitive function is well) with Therapist Rheumatologist for fibromyalgia and hypermobility (no meds given, just encouraged to eat, drink, exercise) Weight/Nutrition: Dietician conclusion was no food restrictions based on variety, but solely based on calorie restriction and poor appetite. Pediatrician does weight check ins once a month. Weight has remained steady but still really really low, and child is weak and fatigued.
We have tried at least 10 different medications since 2020, all of which made symptoms worse or did not help at all. I am really worried they are going to suggest Lithium as a last resort but the psychiatrist really is encouraging us to look into TMS.
Could this be the missing piece? Has anyone used this therapy at about 17-18 years old?
2023.09.14 22:39 lemontvs I am fat with low test, can I revert it?
Good evening, everyone,
I would appreciate your insights so I would know where to start and be prepared in a discussion with a doctor.
I have bipolar and anxiety disorders, so recurring depressions disturb things. I currently take Lithium (can decrease testosterone) and Lamictal (previously took more drugs, like Zyprexa, which is super fattening). Abused alcohol for the past year (4 days sober), poor nutrition, stress, etc.
Apart from that I have high cholesterol (mostly genetic) and insulin resistance.
Stress is low to none for the past half year, I am also physically active for the past 5 months and eating well for the past week.
6 feet, 240 pounds, high BF, but I have some muscle as I have been weighlifting for a long time.
Total: 375 ng/dL (328 from another lab, 2 days difference) Free test: 2.43% Estradiol: 19.67 pg/mL SHBG: 18.63 nmol/l Prolactin: 230.6 miU/l FSH: 20.64 IU/l LH: 4.56 IU/l Albumin: 50 g/l
What might be the cause of my low test? What are my options? Does high FSH mean infertility only or erection/ejaculation problems too? I don't have latter problems at all.
I am not considering TRT until I deal with cholesterol, IR and lifestyle issues.
submitted by lemontvs to trt [link] [comments]
I would appreciate your insights so I would know where to start and be prepared in a discussion with a doctor.
I have bipolar and anxiety disorders, so recurring depressions disturb things. I currently take Lithium (can decrease testosterone) and Lamictal (previously took more drugs, like Zyprexa, which is super fattening). Abused alcohol for the past year (4 days sober), poor nutrition, stress, etc.
Apart from that I have high cholesterol (mostly genetic) and insulin resistance.
Stress is low to none for the past half year, I am also physically active for the past 5 months and eating well for the past week.
6 feet, 240 pounds, high BF, but I have some muscle as I have been weighlifting for a long time.
Total: 375 ng/dL (328 from another lab, 2 days difference) Free test: 2.43% Estradiol: 19.67 pg/mL SHBG: 18.63 nmol/l Prolactin: 230.6 miU/l FSH: 20.64 IU/l LH: 4.56 IU/l Albumin: 50 g/l
What might be the cause of my low test? What are my options? Does high FSH mean infertility only or erection/ejaculation problems too? I don't have latter problems at all.
I am not considering TRT until I deal with cholesterol, IR and lifestyle issues.
2023.09.03 14:28 algorthin My cholesterol is high and I don’t understand why
Warning: I ramble. Last 3 paragraphs get to the point, the rest is background and details.
28 FTM, 5’9” 180lbs
Medical diagnoses: Gastroparesis; GERD; IBS-C; POTS/dysautonomia; migraines; TMJ
Psych diagnoses: Bipolar I; OCD; PTSD; specific phobia (fire); ASD; ADHD; Eating disorder that has been diagnosed as AN B/P or BN (plus pica as a child and most recently bulimia - in recovery, haven’t purged for about a month); alcoholic (10 months sober)
Medical medications: Scheduled: Reglan 10mg TID; Protonix 40mg BID; Ibsrela 50mg BID; Corlanor 7.5mg BID; Florinef 0.1mg QAM; Truvada 200-300mg QAM (prep); Testosterone gel 2 pumps QD; PRN: Zofran 4mg; Flexeril 10mg; Extra strength Tylenol (doesn’t touch my pain); Dulcolax
Psych medications: Lithium 750mg QPM (Level 0.82 as of 8/29); Seroquel 300mg QPM; Lamictal 100mg QPM (In process of titrating higher); Effexor 225mg QAM; Prazosin 4mg QAM; Vyvanse 50mg QAM
Surgeries: Bilateral mastectomy (Jan 2017) and total hysterectomy with oophorectomy (Nov 2017)
I’ve also been having a lot of thus far unexplained symptoms: Widespread, sometimes severe pain - joint pain and popping, muscle tightness; tremor of extremities - Fine motor is a struggle. Shaky handwriting, I spill everything. I tried to do a lego set recently and I couldn’t get any of the pieces together. I walk with a cane because I get this shaky leg situation that has caused quite a few falls (Plus fainting from POTS and pain); Lack of sensation from bladder until it’s an emergency situation plus needing to push so hard that I’ve fainted trying to pee; Vision issues (Difficulty seeing at night, on and off double vision - I often feel like my eyes don’t track together). I’m badly nearsighted, -7.5 in one eye, -8.0 in the other; General muscle weakness such that it’s extremely difficult for me to use the handle on my front door (sometimes impossible. I have to wait for my sister to open the door from the inside in these cases); High and low blood sugars and reactive hypoglycemic episodes (A1C 5.0 as of 8/29); Troublesome memory issues - I lose a sentence midway through, have no chance of remembering responsibilities if not written down, etc. I’m getting a voice recorder for important things because I cannot remember. I tried to get gas but had to go back home because I couldn’t remember my zip code (lived in this zip code for the better part of 6 years). Didn’t think to look at my ID; Total inability to focus beyond my most severe ADHD moments; Difficulty thinking/processing - I start to panic or freeze making decisions like which route to take home, which vegetable to serve with dinner, or which way to walk in a busy store. This is so not me. Some have said I’m too decisive
So I had labs drawn on the 29th. I’m anemic, Vit B12 deficient (121 pg/mL 8/29), Vit D deficient (7 ng/mL 8/29). I’ve had those issues for ages. What I’m confused about came from my Lipid profile: Cholesterol 236 mg/mL; LDL Cholesterol 153mg/mL. HDL and Triglycerides normal
My understanding of cholesterol is that it’s found in animal products. I eat about four servings of meat per week and I have a dairy allergy. I eat up to two eggs per week. I very rarely (a few times per year I get a frozen vegan pizza) eat processed vegan proteins. I usually just do tofu or beans because I’m a broke bitch. Vegan cheese is nasty so I don’t eat that. I do maintain a high sodium diet to help with POTS, but I’m never able to get as much as my doctor told me to have (10,000mg/day… I usually get 50-70% of that).
So… what the fuck? I’m kind of assuming that there’s something about cholesterol I don’t know. I’d love to know what’s ging
submitted by algorthin to AskDocs [link] [comments]
28 FTM, 5’9” 180lbs
Medical diagnoses: Gastroparesis; GERD; IBS-C; POTS/dysautonomia; migraines; TMJ
Psych diagnoses: Bipolar I; OCD; PTSD; specific phobia (fire); ASD; ADHD; Eating disorder that has been diagnosed as AN B/P or BN (plus pica as a child and most recently bulimia - in recovery, haven’t purged for about a month); alcoholic (10 months sober)
Medical medications: Scheduled: Reglan 10mg TID; Protonix 40mg BID; Ibsrela 50mg BID; Corlanor 7.5mg BID; Florinef 0.1mg QAM; Truvada 200-300mg QAM (prep); Testosterone gel 2 pumps QD; PRN: Zofran 4mg; Flexeril 10mg; Extra strength Tylenol (doesn’t touch my pain); Dulcolax
Psych medications: Lithium 750mg QPM (Level 0.82 as of 8/29); Seroquel 300mg QPM; Lamictal 100mg QPM (In process of titrating higher); Effexor 225mg QAM; Prazosin 4mg QAM; Vyvanse 50mg QAM
Surgeries: Bilateral mastectomy (Jan 2017) and total hysterectomy with oophorectomy (Nov 2017)
I’ve also been having a lot of thus far unexplained symptoms: Widespread, sometimes severe pain - joint pain and popping, muscle tightness; tremor of extremities - Fine motor is a struggle. Shaky handwriting, I spill everything. I tried to do a lego set recently and I couldn’t get any of the pieces together. I walk with a cane because I get this shaky leg situation that has caused quite a few falls (Plus fainting from POTS and pain); Lack of sensation from bladder until it’s an emergency situation plus needing to push so hard that I’ve fainted trying to pee; Vision issues (Difficulty seeing at night, on and off double vision - I often feel like my eyes don’t track together). I’m badly nearsighted, -7.5 in one eye, -8.0 in the other; General muscle weakness such that it’s extremely difficult for me to use the handle on my front door (sometimes impossible. I have to wait for my sister to open the door from the inside in these cases); High and low blood sugars and reactive hypoglycemic episodes (A1C 5.0 as of 8/29); Troublesome memory issues - I lose a sentence midway through, have no chance of remembering responsibilities if not written down, etc. I’m getting a voice recorder for important things because I cannot remember. I tried to get gas but had to go back home because I couldn’t remember my zip code (lived in this zip code for the better part of 6 years). Didn’t think to look at my ID; Total inability to focus beyond my most severe ADHD moments; Difficulty thinking/processing - I start to panic or freeze making decisions like which route to take home, which vegetable to serve with dinner, or which way to walk in a busy store. This is so not me. Some have said I’m too decisive
So I had labs drawn on the 29th. I’m anemic, Vit B12 deficient (121 pg/mL 8/29), Vit D deficient (7 ng/mL 8/29). I’ve had those issues for ages. What I’m confused about came from my Lipid profile: Cholesterol 236 mg/mL; LDL Cholesterol 153mg/mL. HDL and Triglycerides normal
My understanding of cholesterol is that it’s found in animal products. I eat about four servings of meat per week and I have a dairy allergy. I eat up to two eggs per week. I very rarely (a few times per year I get a frozen vegan pizza) eat processed vegan proteins. I usually just do tofu or beans because I’m a broke bitch. Vegan cheese is nasty so I don’t eat that. I do maintain a high sodium diet to help with POTS, but I’m never able to get as much as my doctor told me to have (10,000mg/day… I usually get 50-70% of that).
So… what the fuck? I’m kind of assuming that there’s something about cholesterol I don’t know. I’d love to know what’s ging
2023.08.23 19:10 Artistic_Broccoli_64 Concerning lab results: high cholesterol, low CO2, high red blood cell count, high MCH, ketones, occult blood
Hello! I just got my lab results back and have some concerns-- maybe they're unfounded. For context, I've had persistent/intermittent higher cholesterol since I was in high school (pre-veg days) and was underweight (95lbs) running cross country. See results below and thank you for your time in advance. It means a lot.
36F, 5'3", 123lbs
Diagnoses: bipolar disorder II, anxiety disorder, ADHD.
Meds: lamictal, gabapentin, xanax as needed.
I'm a non-smoker and have been vegetarian for over 15 years. I'm active and work out 4x a week and eat pretty healthy.
submitted by Artistic_Broccoli_64 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
36F, 5'3", 123lbs
Diagnoses: bipolar disorder II, anxiety disorder, ADHD.
Meds: lamictal, gabapentin, xanax as needed.
I'm a non-smoker and have been vegetarian for over 15 years. I'm active and work out 4x a week and eat pretty healthy.
- LDL- 118 (pref levels are <100)
- Non HDL- 133 (pref levels are <130)
- CO2- 18 (pref levels 20-32). I did take a hefty dose of xanax before the appointment to stay calm. I don't know if this has an influence?
- Red blood cell count- 3.7 (pref levels are 3.8-5.1)
- MCHC- 36.2 (pref levels 32-36)
- MCH- 34.6 (pref levels are 27-33)
- Ketones- 1+ (pref level is 0)
- Occult blood- 1+ (pref level is 0)
2023.08.16 15:16 grapesodabb any unmedicated success stories?
I’m a 20 y/o female, diagnosed with type 1 at 12 almost 13, and psychotic features was added to my rap sheet at 17. Adhd diagnosed at 19. During the onset of all of this, after a couple months in therapy and psychiatry they started to suspect it, and confirmed it after mania induced by an SSRI, I think it was lexapro. They quickly put me on lamictal, as needed hydroxyzine too, and when that wasn’t doing the job they added lithium. I was on that combination until I was 16, it didn’t really do it’s job, but mind you it was kind of hard to distinguish from all the external chaos in my life at the time. At 16 I struggled to maintain services and went unmedicated. I swung back and forth a lot, but as per usual, I was constantly surrounded by high stress triggers. After I turned 17, I was kicked out and spent some time couch surfing, and eventually all the way homeless. I was drinking and smoking weed, that plus the high intensity stressors of survival mode, and two years of being unmedicated led to my first (and thankfully last) psychotic episode in 2020. It was one of the only times I was distinctly aware of my ascent into mania, and I maintained that up until my reality function broke. I was in hard core psychosis for somewhere around 90 days. I was hospitalized on April 13th, and didn’t start regaining my grip on reality til like two or three weeks before I left on August 4th. While I was in long term, they put me on remeron briefly, nothing more than some hydroxyzine and trazadone for sleep, didn’t really do much, and eventually they got me on geadon, 40 mg in the morning and 60 in the afternoon. It worked wonders. I was released a few months before turning 18, and maintained that regimen until I was 19 almost 20, when a psychiatrist and I decided to swap the afternoon dose for seroquel at night to iron out my sleep issues that weren’t ever really fully absolved. As of this month, I’ll have been on the geadon for 3 years and the seroquel for 1. They are by far the most effective medication I have ever taken. Since starting the geadon, I can confidently say I haven’t experienced a single manic episode, I would venture to say no break through symptoms either. It is not lost on me how miraculous and beneficial this is for me. Depression is kind of my baseline state, so Im not terribly upset that this combo doesn’t have a positive effect on it. My definitive depressive episodes have always been kind of hard to distinguish from my usual depressive state anyways. And when it has gotten bad I’ve either used my support system or hospitalized as needed. We identified pretty early on that I had a manic episode about once every three months, like clockwork. All of that being said, since starting these I have become progressively more lethargic, I feel like my brain is operating at a fraction of the capacity it used to. If left you my own devices, I’ll sleep 16 hours straight after taking my seroquel. A lot of the time I can push through enough to meet the bare minimum requirements of my life now, work, chores, etc, but not some days I couldn’t get up if I tried, and if I did I’d be falling asleep on my feet. Oh by the way I take 300 mg of seroquel, we started with 100, it stopped working after a few weeks, then 200, same thing, and 300 since mid september of 2022 has been consistently effective. It induces somewhat of a panic attack almost every time I take it, but Ive picked my battles and pushed through it for the sake of being able to sleep at night. Now, I recently had some blood work done, and my cholesterol levels have raised to the point of putting my risk of heart attack at 22%, at 20 years old. I’m 5’2, 145 lbs (remeron brought me up 35 of those lbs, seroquel the other 10) and I’d like to think I eat a fairly balanced diet, aside from the occasional seroquel munchies. I suspect this is from the anti psychotics, due to some studies I read. More emphasis on the fact that I feel as a person, as a soul, my being is ridiculously muted and sedated. Despite how comfortable, grateful, and consistent i’ve been of this combo for as long as I have, I’m considering finding a facility to detox from them in. I’m starting to question if the pros still outweigh the cons. That may seem stupid, believe me I realize that, but I just need to know if it’s possible for me to live without them, I don’t want to deal with physical health issues now and in my future brought on my long term use of these. And I really, really do not want to, nor have the luxury of experimenting with new medications and coping with that process. I would talk to my psychiatrist about this, but since october I’ve been having my new primary prescribe them, It’s been absolutely impossible to get set up with proper services in the area I moved to. I know bipolar is progressive, I know that I didn’t have any success going unmedicated before. I know how vital of a role these medications have played in my life moving forward. Idk, I guess listening to other peoples success stories shouldn’t give me hope, as we all have different chemistry, but if you have anything to share here, please do. Both sides of the coin are welcome, just please don’t be an asshole.
submitted by grapesodabb to bipolar [link] [comments]