Topamax and prozac

Hi all,
I tried many many things to help lesson my anxiety. To keep things simple, SSRIs are not a class I want to go back to four primarily weight gain and the fact that they can worsen dreams – I already have nightmares every night, I don't need to make them even worse.
On Seroquel, Topamax, gabapentin (which I am still on) all at one time, and only increasing gabapentin helped my anxiety. Unfortunately, I had to come off of Seroquel and Topamax because of the side effects. It seems that gabapentin alone is not quite cutting for my anxiety. Prozac, another SSRI, helped me greatly, but the side effects of nightmares among other strange things were too large for me to handle.
I have done 13 ketamine sessions at a clinic, and they have helped my depression a bit, but have not seemed to touch my anxiety or my insomnia. My insomnia is so bad and it is now in this vicious cycle of feeding into my anxiety with my anxiety feeding into my insomnia. Ambien does not work in any forms. 10 mg of it doesn't make me tired. I still have to make a large effort to sleep by clearing my mind, which I cannot really do because of my anxiety.
Klonopin does help me get to sleep and it clears my mind very well, but I hesitate to take it long-term and my body does tend to build up tolerances to the sleepiness affect pretty quickly.
Is there anything any of you would suggest that I could try that is weight neutral or even better, known to cause weight loss or loss of appetite, and can make you sleepy? And is also OK to be on for several months at a time, while I am working out things in therapy so that I hopefully one day do not need to rely on medication so much.
I am open to any and all suggestions. I will comment in response if it is something I have already tried.
* I am working really hard on positive mantras and therapy, but it seems that my issues are so deeply ingrained in me that those things are not gonna cut it.
Thank you,
A sleepless, desperate person with bad anxiety.

I currently live in the Caribbean and there is no Pristiq available. Is anyone else experiencing this? I've been on Pristiq for about 2.5 years now and I am honestly quite dependent on it. I have no choice atm to switch to Prozac and of course I am a bit worried about weening off of Pristiq and starting a new antidepressant. I've tried multiple antidepressants (zoloft, lexapro) and mood stabilisers (tegretol, lamictal, depakote, topamax) but pristiq is the only one so far that is effective. My psychologist recommended Prozac because it is free where I live and my pharmacist mentioned Cymbalta. What medications are similar to Pristiq that I can request to go on?

just collected ROI's and sent all the files of clients this noctor abused with meds to the board of nursing. noctor had several complaints against them in the past years such as (identifying information changed):

• would switch clients meds every 2 weeks from example: olanzapine to topamax to lituda and then call them BPD when they would have extreme mood reactions
• made harsh comments often leaving clients in large distress after their appointments
• would prescribe prozac to bipolar 1 patients and then refuse to prescribe a simple ativan once they stopped sleeping for days
• many clients ending up in 5150 from her prescriptions. one client we actually lost for a few days after they didnt come home from taking their newly prescribed meds (they were stable before). we found them starving and bone thin from being constantly manic under noctor care
• even the director had us pull files and compare the mental health of several clients before and after working with Ms. Noctor, the results were pretty much each client was increasing in deterioration and most lost weight which anyone in the mental health field knows is SUPER rare
• her final excuse for the accusations at the end was she started claiming most of these clients were not mentally ill but entering dementia and having false memories of her abuse -- as well as "not taking their meds properly or remembering to eat"
• she cut the benzodiazepine use of several schizophrenic, bipolar and PTSD clients forcing them to go without or go to the ER where many were denied. at the end case managers were complaining their clients wouldn't meet them outside the homes anymore and deteriorated beyond conversation
• she once cut the ADHD meds from a client who had been on them since a child, and replaced it with welbutrin. Guess what client's only allergy was?

My doc prescribed both Wellbutrin and Topamax to help with my ocd/intrusive thoughts. I should have never read up so much on them bc now I’m scared to take either and I need the help they may provide. Any reviews of these two? I also take a low dose Prozac. Thanks in advance. Keep fighting the good fight. OCD sucks

Hello all!
Just as I've written in the header, I've just been recently diagnosed by my doctor.
I've been dealing with pain and a plethora of medical ailments for so many years and been seen by multiple doctors and specialty providers (from general providers, to GI, podiatry, etc.) and no one has been able to help any of my issues. I'm stuck with treating the symptoms with medication at best and suffering through flare ups at worst. I take days off work every other week.
I've been through a lot these past couple of years and felt like my life was spiraling because all the test I've taken were inconclusive and showed normal, even though everything hurt and nothing fells normal anymore. Actually, it's more like my new normal just feels like pain everyday and it's such a treat on the days all my medication synchronizes and I do not feel pain. My mental health has also been down in the gutters for a couple of years now and the physical pain has not been helping.
Having fibromyalgia never even occurred to me until I saw a new provider one day. I was getting a checked up because I fell a couple of weeks ago (almost 2 months now) and suffered a concussion. I am still having issues that stemmed from the fall, so I have been checking in with my clinic to complete the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) questionnaire to keep an eye on the concussion. The new provider I saw was about to send me on my way when I asked her about what could she do regarding my overall body pain. I described to her how my body was hurting all over (some more than others), then we started going down a rabbit hole of my medical history and after answering some questions, I received the fibromyalgia diagnoses.
She said since I'm already since a pain specialist and psychiatrist and neurologist, she would leave the medication management to them and also gave me a referral to a Neuropsychologist. I honestly can't remember if that is for the fibro or for the concussion.
Anyway, I've already talked with one of my providers and I've gotten the following medication so far:
30mg Cymbalta (for mood and pain) 1 x Day 75mg Lyrica 2 x Day 20mg Prozac (for anxiety/depression so mood) 1 x Day 5mg/325mg Norco (prescribed by pain specialist for other pain) 3 x Day 40mg Omeprazole 2 x Day 100mg Topamax 2 x Day 70mg Aimovig 1 shot x Month (migraine management)
These are what I've currently been prescribed in order to manage my pain. The Cymbalta and Lyrica are mainly for the fibro, and everything else is for all the other issues I have. Even with these, I still have issues on the daily. I hope that since I am just starting these medication and according to my provider said, the Cymbalta won't be at the therapeutical level until 60 mg (which I have to wait to build up to, tapering off the Prozac), these will eventually start to work better on my body and I won't have to use them as much.
This was a lot to read, but I just wanted to share this with someone because it has been such a roller coaster for me and to finally have some possible answers if such a relief. I also don't have a lot of people to talk to about this that can either relate or just talk to in general without feeling awkward. I hope that these medications work and I will be providing updates on here as the time goes. If not for others, for myself since I suck at keeping a dairy and this is easier to update and write my thoughts on.
If you've read till this point, thank you for reading and hope you feel better as well since you're part of this group!
(ᅌᴗᅌ* )

For context, I'm 23F and I was started on Zoloft in January. I started with 4 days of 25mg, then bumped up to 50mg nightly.
I have been on various psychiatric medications of various classifications for over a decade. My first psychiatric medication was Prozac at age 11 or 12. At 13, I was started on Risperdal, my first antipsychotic. Over the years, I've taken a LOT of different medications for varying periods of time.
Psychiatric medications I've been prescribed and taken through the years: SSRIs: Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro SNRIs: Cymbalta, Effexor Antipsychotics: Risperdal, Geodon, Ability, Haldol, Saphris, Latuda, Zyprexa, Seroquel Mood stabilizers (of various drug classes): Lithium, Topamax, Lamictal Stimulants: Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse Anti-anxiety (also various classes I believe): Buspar, Gabapentin Benzodiazapines: Klonopin, Ativan, Valium, Librium Sleep-aids (various classes): Trazodone, Restoril
The extensive amount of different medications I've been prescribed throughout the years is due largely to an uncountable amount of psychiatric emergencies I've had throughout the years, as well as providers trying different medications cocktails through trial and error to figure out what works best. Uncertainty in a specific diagnosis was also a large contributing factor through my teenage years, since many of the symptoms that needed immediate treatment were also not commonly diagnosed at the age of my onset. Plus, five 5250 holds ranging from 3 days to 12 days (averaging around no less than 9 days per admittance) tends to be a big factor, since in my experience, physicians tend to prescribe a lot of things as trial and error while you're in a state of emergency whilst also being under the 24/7 supervision that comes with psychiatric hospitalization.
To this day, I'm not entirely certain what my exact issues are, even though I've been seeing the same psychiatrist for over five years routinely and I had only seen one other prior for around 4 years (she was pediatric only, so I switched when I turned 18) but this is my current diagnostic list:
-Schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type -Borderline personality disorder -Generalized anxiety disorder -PTSD -ADHD -Bulimia nervosa (formerly anorexia nervosa, and even more formerly, ARFID) -Substance use disorder (mostly in recovery) -Specific phobia (emetophobia)
While this is my clinical list, my day by day struggle is most heavily with BPD & severe anxiety. I've been diagnosed with GAD since elementary school age.
As you can see, definitely a lot of different factors in what might have caused the reaction I had to Zoloft, so I'm not positive that it was only the Zoloft and that's why I wanted to include all of this background information. I know each case is super different, and I don't want to scare anyone who is taking Zoloft or may soon be prescribed with it by making a generalization about the medication itself. So many factors go into this including genetics, medication and mental health history, reason for use, dosage, other medications of any kind or supplements, etc. It's super different for everyone, and I've clearly got a lot of things to consider as factors, but I wanted to share my experience with Zoloft since I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with the same.
At the time of being prescribed and starting Zoloft, I was taking it in conjunction with my last few days of weening from Valium, along with a medication called benztropine which I've been on for a few years now to control unwanted movements and tics I've developed from other medications I've taken in the past (the term is dystonia).
I took Zoloft for around two months, and at first the side effects were very minimal if any. A few days in, I began having severe panic attacks multiple times per day, which I hadn't dealt with in years. Although, I'm pretty positive this was due to the weening off of Valium. I'd been prescribed daily benzodiazapines for the last few years, and weening off them is extremely difficult, so the return of the symptoms they had originally been prescribed for was expected. I ended up needing an urgent, day-of appointment with my psychiatrist around a week and half or two in because the amount of panic attacks and the severity of them was very quickly causing my mental state and life in general to deteriorate. I wasn't able to attend classes (university student) or even leave my dorm for a short walk or a drive to the grocery store without having a full scale panic attack. I wasn't able to eat much or sleep much and I felt very ill all the time from the amount of anxiety I had. I tried taking CBD gummies for about a week, but they didn't do much of anything. My psychiatrist put me back on my previous dose of Valium and instructed me to continue with Zoloft. The plan is to attempt weening again in the summer when I won't have such a busy academic structure to adhere to. I really dislike being dependent on benzodiazapines and I've tried multiple times throughout the last few years to medically ween and use alternatives like gabapentin and Buspar, but they've never been effective enough for daily functioning unfortunately. It's still something we're working on. It is noteable though that I haven't had any significant dose increases on any of the benzodiazapines I've been prescribed long term, the only times I was ever upped in dosage was for short-term PRN during crisis times. Other than that, I've only been taking the typical starting or maintenance or whatever dose daily.
Upon getting back on Valium, my panic attacks lessened in severity and frequency again fairly quickly and for a week or two it seemed the regimen in general was working for me. That is, until I started experiencing sudden and servere brain fog. I've experienced brain fog many times before, but the level of severity was terrifying, especially because of the sudden onset of it and the very rapid deterioration in the following few days/week or so. Despite all of my anxieties day to day, I'm typically a very clear thinker. I do tend to have attention problems (typical from my ADHD) but aside from that, my brain has been very active at all times for my whole life. I'm always thinking about something, usually a LOT of things at once, actually. Within a few days, I went from that baseline to having so much brain fog I was unable to have a train of thought that lasted longer than maybe a minute at best, and if anything happened around me (i.e. someone else talking, a noise, etc.) it would just completely derail immediately. Then the next moment, I wouldn't even remember remotely what I was thinking about or talking about. I had increasing difficulty following day to day average conversations. My fiance and I live together and we are always chatting about all kinds of different things. It quickly became hard to even follow or hold a basic conversation with him, the person I know best in the world. This caused me terrible fear and anxiety and meltdowns, I was worried I was losing all cognitive ability permanently and I was just terrified that I could no longer hold conversations or keep my thoughts even remotely straight. My paternal grandmother has Alzheimer's, and I begin to panic even more since I realized a lot of what I've heard from family that happened to her as it progressed mirrored what I was going through (even though I'm only 23.)
I attempted to research and find reason for why I was quickly losing my cognitive abilities, but even this proved difficult since id often open Chrome on my phone to look up a question I had just thought of, and by the time I opened the browser I had no idea what I was even going to look up anymore. I eventually thought about googling Zoloft and brain fog, and found a decent amount of people experiencing similar. What scared me was that a lot of them said even if it lessened, it hadn't completely gone away and they were years into treatment.
I was so terrified that I quit Zoloft that night. I never took it again. It's been a few weeks and my mind is back at baseline, which I'm so grateful for. It was extremely terrifying to go through, especially since I'm in college and that requires a lot of clear thinking. I was terrified about not only failing classes this semester and having that drop my GPA and result in losing honors status or scholarships, but also that I may never get my cognitive function back and be able to complete my degree, ever. It was so scary.
I'm sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to share my experience, and see if anyone else has had similar issues and how you've coped with it. And of course, I definitely DO NOT recommend quiting a medication before talking to your care team. I'm well aware there's a lot of risk in that, but at the time i was so terrified and desperate that I did it anyway. I'm very lucky to have not experienced adverse effects from quitting that way. Quitting Prozac on my own that way when I was 12 because I believed I was cured and I was fine caused a huge spiral that lasted months at minimum. Please DO NOT discontinue medications on your own!!!!
Thank you if you've read this. Sorry it's so long.
TDLR: 2 months or so into Zoloft treatment I dealt with extremely heavy and worsening brain fog to the point of being almost completely unable to keep up day to day conversations.

Hello, I’m a 35 year old female, non-smoker living in the US. I don’t use drugs or drink alcohol.
About a month and a half ago I started having what I thought was a “normal” axial spondyloarthritis flare but it turned out not to be. Currently, I’m experiencing widespread pain, ruddy cheeks, easy bruising, painful joints, severe fatigue, headache, GI distress, and low grade fever that comes and goes. I have previous dx of celiac, AxSpA, PCOS, and POTS. I had blood testing done again today and there was a slight increase in my CRP (from 1 to 5) and my ESR (from 1 to 5) from March 1st. Everything else came back normal on March 1st. I’m an amateur Thai boxer and was in the gym multiple times a week up until this all started, now my doctor and I are at a loss. I’m seeing a new rheumatologist next month and I’ve been referred to a hematologist for elevated RBCs. Can’t help but feel anxious about all this. Thank you in advance.
Medications I’m currently on: Humira subcutaneous injection 40mg biweekly, Prozac 60mg daily, low dose naltrexone 2mg daily, Gabapentin 1,200mg in the evening for sleep, Aldactone 50mg twice daily, Topamax 100mg twice daily

I’m taking trintellix 10mg in the morning and prozac 10mg in the night for depression, anxiety and eating disorder. I take every dose with topamax and 1/4 of an anxiety med that I don’t know the name of. It’s making me eat endlessly, I’m feeling so bad about myself, and even though I feel like the meds are working, there is no way I’m taking them if they are going to make me gain weight this rapidly. Since taking the meds I became a lot more impulsive with self harming and as I have a long history with eating disorders the impulsive endless eating is making me feel so bad about myself. I’m socially distancing and I can’t go to social events anymore. I can’t take any of this med anymore.

I’m taking trintellix 10mg in the morning and prozac 10mg in the night for depression, anxiety and eating disorder. I take every dose with topamax and 1/4 of an anxiety med that I don’t know the name of. It’s making me eat endlessly, I’m feeling so bad about myself, and even though I feel like the meds are working, there is no way I’m taking them if they are going to make me gain weight this rapidly. Since taking the meds I became a lot more impulsive with self harming and as I have a long history with eating disorders the impulsive endless eating is making me feel so bad about myself. I’m socially distancing and I can’t go to social events anymore. I can’t take any of this med anymore.

Long story short I stopped taking my antidepressant and other meds a few months ago cold turkey because I would forget. On top of that, I was on a extremely heavy dose of Seroquel & Topamax that we are working on tapering me off. I got a new psych and we decided to start a new antidepressant.
The seroquel made me gain a lot of weight very very fast. I know Wellbutrin is known it help lose weight so that’s one of the reasons I’m on it, but obviously not the main one. I’ve been on lots of medications for various different things, but after being on the Prozac for so long even after stopping it cold turkey I genuinely didn’t feel the difference (potentially due to over medication).
Anyways, what I came to ask is what are some of the potential mental side effects that people on Wellbutrin have had. I started about a week ago and I’m feeling relatively antsy particularly at night and even more of a numbness than before I started the new med. Any insight would be beneficial. Thanks.

Has anyone tried the Ozempic/Wellbutrin combo? I started with Prozac & Topamax but experienced adverse side effects to the Topamax. Still on the Prozac (at least until we see how the Wellbutrin does) and I started on Ozempic a month or so ago. I noticed I’d start bingeing toward the end of the week when the Ozempic would start to wear off and I just started seeing a new doc today who wants to try adding Wellbutrin. From everything I’ve read, it seems like more people have had bad experiences with Wellbutrin.

I am on several meds — Vyvanse, Prozac, Topamax, Wellbutrin, and Rexulti. I got sick recently and stopped taking them while sick so I could better sleep things off and noticed that I wasn’t craving nicotine or alcohol anymore when I stopped taking my medication. But, I began taking my medication again today and the cravings started once more. Does anyone know which medication(s) might be the cause?

I wanted to post this in case folks search this sub like I have many times, so that there’s a positive story about Topamax out there. I know a lot of folks have had extremely negative experiences on it, and I’m not discounting that at all. But for me, this drug has been quite literally a life saver.
Like, two years ago I was planning to unalive myself if my migraines didn’t improve. I was getting 10+ a month, plus headaches nearly every day. Was contemplating if I’d have to quit work & go on disability, could only work & sleep, felt like I was on survival mode all the time.
Plus, NO other meds seemed to be working — including abortives. I had heard the horror stories about Topamax so it was honestly my last resort. Here’s some of the meds I tried before going on it that didn’t work for me:
Nortryptaline, amlodipine, gabapentin, lamotrigine, indomethacin, memantine, Prozac, Cymbalta, propranolol, Aimovig, emgality, Vyepti, Botox, Qulipta, occipital nerve blocks, TENs units, sumatriptan, rizatriptan, all the other triptans, fioricet, acupuncture, massage, and probably some stuff I’m forgetting.
So anyway, topamax really felt like my last resort. And it took a while to adjust, and I had to adjust very, very slowly. I only took 50mg for a while, and when I got up to 75mg I got bad mood side effects including depersonalization and depression. I had to fight with my doctor to get the extended release version, which is now generic, and I’m now up to taking 75mg Topamax XR every night. No side effects except sometimes tingling in my hands, and last month I had ZERO MIGRAINES for the first time in five years. I cried. Then I went outside and walked around and saw some friends and had a drink because I can do that now!! (Although I can only have like 2 drinks max, so that may be another side effect).
The only other thing that’s been key is taking a muscle relaxer every night as well; tizanidine 2mg. Taking these two - topamax + tizanidine, seems to be the winning combo for me. I hope it lasts, but for now I’m just very very grateful for this medicine.
Also, happy to answer questions about any of the other meds I tried, since I’ve been on a bunch of them!

So I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia yesterday, and my doctor prescribed an iron supplement.
I just picked up my prescription and it's for 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate, and the instructions say take one by mouth twice daily.
I know you're supposed to take it on an empty stomach hours apart from other food/medication, and I'm on so much other stuff too.
Is this like calcium where the body can only absorb so much at once, or can I take both doses first thing in the morning before breakfast, so I don't need to worry about the timing of my other meds?
I'm a 32 year old female, 5'5", and underweight. Non-smoker. Currently take Wellbutrin, Prozac, Buspirone, Topamax, prescription high dose potassium, and high dose calcium+vitamin D. No photo/location/duration of complaint.

I'm on 200 mg topamax, 300 xl Wellbutrin and 40 prozac daily. I'm bipolar 2, substance abuse and binge eating issues. I'm hoping to know if this combo will help me as I sort of went off them for a while when I was struggling this summer. Haven't consistently used Prozac with the others. Is this a promising cocktail or concerning ? Lol I'm so exhausted by the moods thank you all

My email to my psychiatrist:
"Dr. [redacted],
Every time I've consistently taken my Paxil/paroxetine, I have had a supercharged appetite and less energy for being active, which has resulted in disastrous weight gain for me over the past 4 years of taking it.
Admittedly I was not a slender person when I was first hospitalized and prescribed Paxil in 2019, however I do remember that my appetite significantly increased a few months into me taking it-it's just that until the COVID shutdowns started in March 2020, I didn't have noticeable weight gain because I was constantly walking up and down stairs at school.
However, during the COVID shutdowns. during which I got COVID and long COVID twice, I started lacking the motivation and energy to be active, but I've still been constantly hungry even when nothing remotely justifies me being hungry. I've gained 80 lbs since March 2020.
I have read a variety of sources online and learned that Long COVID or not, gaining weight is super-common on Paxil/paroxetine.
[TheFreshWenis]"
​
His response:
"Thank you for reaching out, [TheFreshWenis]. Unfortunately, weight gain is not an uncommon side effect with many psychiatric medications, including paxil and abilify.
The best way to mitigate weight gain is through a healthy diet and routine exercise. If this is not possible, we can consider lowering the doses of these medications or switching to medications that may be less likely to cause weight gain such as prozac, wellbutrin, buspar, and lamictal. One last option is to start a medication that can help with weight loss such as metformin or topamax.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Best,
Dr. [redacted]"

TLDR: I’ve completed two rounds of botox and they had no impact on me. What do I do now?
I suffer from headaches almost daily (28/30 days in the month). I’ve tried every medication under the sun and have now gone through two rounds of botox. I plan on continuing Botox treatment, since it can take multiple rounds before it starts working. However:
Nothing works. Nothing i’ve tried has had any impact or improvement on my headaches, nor do I get any side effects from anything.
What do I do now? What is the next step after Botox? Doing research seems like Botox is the last resort. Am I screwed?
I’ve tried: - Botox - CT/MRI Scans (showed nothing) - Acupuncture - OTC meds - Triptans (Imitrex, Sumacel, Zomig) - NSAIDS (Indocin) - CGRP (Ubrelvy, Ajovy) - Beta-Blockers (Propranolol) - Antidepressants (Amitriptyline, Prozac, Trazodone) - Anticonvulsants (Topamax)
I’ve also tried some lifestyle changes/allergy tests - Extensive allergy exam showed no allergies - Limited food/diet with no impact - Lost weight - Started drinking a ton of water - Both drinking caffeine and not drinking caffeine has no impact - Taking vitamins (Iron, Magnesium, Multi-vitamins, Fiber) - I’ve recently started taking Buspirone for Stress/Anxiety and am waiting to see if that has any impact, but I’m not hopeful.
Do you have any suggestions?
Edit: Here are my symptoms https://reddit.com/migraine/s/mMbsfkxfoi

Long story short, I’ve trialed a ton of medications and most of the antidepressants that work on serotonin (Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac, Pristiq) have given me tremors. My doctor really doesn’t know how to help me after my current depressive episode isn’t going away and is suggesting Cymbalta. I had really good response to Pristiq but eventually got the tremors after 6 months of being on it. All the SSRIs gave me tremors almost immediately. I also had tremors with Seroquel.
Below is other medications I trialed that were ineffective (didn’t give me tremors, just didn’t help):
Abilify- gave me suicidal thoughts
Seroquel- was almost like it was too effective as I was sleeping 18+ hours on 6.25mg
Clonidine
Vistaril
Gabapentin
Propranolol- we trialed it to treat the tremors and it made me pass out several times
Topamax/Trokendi XR
Buspar
Lamictal
Trintellix- gave me suicidal thoughts
Amitriptyline- made me manic (no history of bipolar disorder- I’ve never been manic before)
Trazodone- worsened my insomnia to the point I didn’t sleep for 2 days after 1 dose
Remeron- worsened insomnia
Vraylar- worked until 3mg pooped out and 4.5mg gave me tremors
Wellbutrin XL
Vyvanse- gave me relief of my depression and anxiety for 3 days, than just stopped working and dosage increases didn’t help, just worsened side effects
If it’s felt Cymbalta isn’t worth a try because of the tremors, what else can I try? My psychiatrist is pretty much willing try anything at this point. Won’t prescribe MAOIs though.

So I was first diagnosed with bipolar 14 year ago. (Long time 😬). I have gone on meds, off meds, hospitalized, off the rails, drugs addiction, crazy relationships. I’m pretty stereotypical. When I was younger I was on the usual stuff, but my parents never put me on any mood stabilizers for fear of side affects. My Mom is a nurse who has seen things go sideways(foreshadowing). As I got older and matured I started to realize I can’t maintain like this forever. Mania feels great, everyone loves me, I can’t work long ass hours, keep a clean house, and my husband never complains about our love life 🥴😉. Then the low comes and I can’t get out of bed. Screaming, crying, and paranoid. I lived like this. Medicine free for 10 years. Then I had my daughter (yes I procreated…I know…it’s my life). I realized quickly that I NEED to be medicated so I don’t give her anxiety and trauma from my mood swings. That is when I dipped my toe in ✨mood stabilizers✨. They started me on lithium and topamax first and guess what?! Lithium sickness in 3 weeks. I felt like I was living outside my body. Couldn’t move or speak. It has been 6 months since my lithium adventures and now I am back on meds for, what? I’m sure is obvious to you all, a manic episode. This time the meds are 🥁depakote, Prozac, buspirone, trazadone (I don’t sleep), aaaaand hydroxyzine ( I don’t sleep sometimes because I’m afraid my kid will die). So, I feel myself stabilizing (my old brain needs a lot of help). Feeling normal….also gain a large amount of weight in a short amount of weeks 😬. Has anyone been on depakote and maintained or lost weight. It is affecting my health Long story, I know. Please help.

So - tbh I’m not even sure what my correct diagnosis is at this point in my life, I’ve had so many. I’ve seen 6 or so psychiatrists in the last 13 years - I’m 36 now. My biggest issue (to me at least) is my debilitating anxiety, panic, and OCD/intrusive thoughts. I do have some bad ADHD-like symptoms as well as occasional depression caused by PMDD. Here is a list of what I have taken in the past, before coming off of all medication (the trazodone, cymbalta and topamax that is) over the course of 7 months:
Celexa Klonopin Depakote Trazodone Topiramate Zoloft Lexapro Duloxetine Fluoxetine Wellbutrin Propanolol
Out of everything I had the best experience with Topamax, which almost completely quiets the constant, panicked intrusive thoughts I get when I’m having bad bouts of anxiety. Prozac also did the most for my mood, but I think I had a side effect maybe, idk why I stopped that one.
If there is anyone out there who feels like me, and has found a medication or combo of meds that works, please tell me. I’ve been off my medication for 3 months now (lost health insurance, couldn’t afford it) and am having a really hard time.

I've struggled most of my life battling mental health. I dealt with it with drugs and alcohol most of my life . I didn't seek professional help till I was around 26. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder and depression. I was on Xanax and Prozac. It helped me at first. Than I started to drink again on the daily. Mixing alcohol with the medications regularly was not doing me any favors. Although I felt good at the time it wasn't making me feel good in the long run. I kept doing it anyways. I was in a on and off relationship with the love of my life over drinking. I always thought he was too good for me. I guess I just figured I didn't deserve someone as perfect as him. I always found a way to ruion it. So that I did. He broke up with me and I moved back home to my parents house. I was heartbroken. I felt pain that I can't even describe and wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. And knowing he also felt that way and I am the reason why made it even more painful.Also my two bestfeiends wanted nothing to do with me anymore. oh I forgot to mention, the day before the break up, my dog of 15 years had passed away. I felt alone. I was drinking alone in my room one Saturday staring at my bottle of Xanax. There were probably about 60 to 70 pills give or take. I tried calling a handful of people. Nobody answered. I don't really remember a whole lot because I was drinking. I just remember getting really upset and the next thing I knew the pills were in my hand, I was texting the word bye and I was swallowing the pills. I woke up in the ER. I stayed 2 nights in the ER and was Baker acted into a mental facility as a impatient for 8 days. I was put on Topamax which is prescribed to help treat bi polar disorder. I also was prescribed Lexapro for depression and minipres for PTSD. They all seem to be helping so far! When I got discharged from the inpatient, I voluntarily signed up for their outpatient program. It where you meet 3 times a week for group therapy from 9 to 12 on Mon, wed & Fridays. It really helps when you can talk to people who are going through the same things you are. If anyone needs to share there struggle or talk about mental health I am here to listen!

I've struggled most of my life battling mental health. I dealt with it with drugs and alcohol most of my life . I didn't seek professional help till I was around 26. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder and depression. I was on Xanax and Prozac. It helped me at first. Than I started to drink again on the daily. Mixing alcohol with the medications regularly was not doing me any favors. Although I felt good at the time it wasn't making me feel good in the long run. I kept doing it anyways. I was in a on and off relationship with the love of my life over drinking. I always thought he was too good for me. I guess I just figured I didn't deserve someone as perfect as him. I always found a way to ruion it. So that I did. He broke up with me and I moved back home to my parents house. I was heartbroken. I felt pain that I can't even describe and wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. And knowing he also felt that way and I am the reason why made it even more painful.Also my two bestfeiends wanted nothing to do with me anymore. oh I forgot to mention, the day before the break up, my dog of 15 years had passed away. I felt alone. I was drinking alone in my room one Saturday staring at my bottle of Xanax. There were probably about 60 to 70 pills give or take. I tried calling a handful of people. Nobody answered. I don't really remember a whole lot because I was drinking. I just remember getting really upset and the next thing I knew the pills were in my hand, I was texting the word bye and I was swallowing the pills. I woke up in the ER. I stayed 2 nights in the ER and was Baker acted into a mental facility as a impatient for 8 days. I was put on Topamax which is prescribed to help treat bi polar disorder. I also was prescribed Lexapro for depression and minipres for PTSD. They all seem to be helping so far! When I got discharged from the inpatient, I voluntarily signed up for their outpatient program. It where you meet 3 times a week for group therapy from 9 to 12 on Mon, wed & Fridays. It really helps when you can talk to people who are going through the same things you are. If anyone needs to share there struggle or talk about mental health I am here to listen!