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Q: Should I Mention to My Doctor...
DR.PHELPS,
I AM A 33 YR. OLD WOMAN WHO WAS DIAGNOSED AS BIPOLAR AT THE AGE OF 20. hAVE
TAKEN MYSELF OFF MEDS SEVERAL TIMES.DUE TO THINKING I FELT BETTER SO IWAS CURED.
CURRENTLY TAKING LAMICTAL,ZOLOFT,KLONOPIN AND SEROQEUL FOR SLEEP.I HAVE BEEN IN
A PHASE OF MANIA FOR A WEEK NOW. FEELING INVINCIBLE, SHOPPING EVERYDAY, AND
BASICALLY FEELING LIKE IM ON SPEED(CONSTANT LEG SHAKING). I USUALLY TOP MY MANIA
OFF WITH EXTREME NASTINESS AND RUDENESS. THIS ONLY SKIMS THE SURFACE. MY
QUESTION TO YOU IS SHOULD I MENTION TO MY DOCTOR ABOUT THE FACT THAT ON OCCASION
I SEE GHOST AND AM PARANOID THAT PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT ME ,AND I ALSO
HAVE TRIED TO PERFORM TELEKENESIS WITH MY MIND. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR
YEARS, BUT DONT KNOW HOW TO BRING THIS UP TO MY PDOC. I DO HAVE LUCID MOMENTS
WHEN I THINK IM JUST CRAZY. THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE ME ON THESE
MATTERS
Dear Christa --
Well, I'm arriving late, I fear, after two weeks, to address your question in a
timely way. Perhaps I could just encourage you, yes, to tell the doc' about the
ghost and the paranoia and the telekinesis: not because these will radically
change your treatment, but because they might serve as handy markers for how the
treatment is working. We can't assume that these are part of your bipolar
disorder, but statistically that would be likely, especially if they show up
along with other manic-side symptoms (such as those you describe). And they
might be easier for you to spot, as markers for emerging manic phases. While
you're at it, ask your doc' if she/he thinks the Zoloft could possibly be
influencing your stability and if perhaps you might try slowly tapering that one
off to see if you have fewer manic phases. DON'T do that on your own, please.
You might be one of the people who needs to have an antidepressant on board all
the time. But you could ask, anyway, especially if lamotrigine came into your
collection after Zoloft (leaving the possibility that the antidepressant
effects of lamotrigine might be enough to prevent future depressions, without
the Zoloft).
Dr. Phelps
Published June, 2006
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