Mirtazapine

It’s a heavy arsenal of Psych Meds I have accumulated wouldn’t you say? But this is the thing that you have to accept. Bipolar Disorder is an absolute Tyrant that has to be silenced. I’m lucky to have found a balance now it seems. I had to persist with my psychiatrist and justify to him why I wanted to be prescribed Lithium as well as the other meds. I was functioning before the lithium was introduced. I wasn’t showing any cause for concern so to speak so my psychiatrist was happy with my condition. However, I knew something wasn’t quite right with me. So I spoke to the Psychiatric Pharmacist at Mountcroft and explained to her about how things were and my thoughts. I’d done my research and put together my notes to show what the problem was, my hypothesis on the next step and then my justification for it and my conclusion. I wasn’t telling anyone how to do their job, I was just giving them the best explanation of how I felt. The pharmacist concurred with my proposal so it went back to my psychiatrist and he authorised my prescription. I’m also on Ramipril so there’s concerns for that raising lithium levels in the blood and causing toxicity. However, as I was already on the ramipril, the introduction of lithium could be boosted by it meaning that I may only need a lower dose than usual to hit the therapeutic zone.

I makes you wonder though doesn’t it. Before the medication, before the psychiatric appointments, before the self harming, before the psychosis, before the mania, before the depression, when you are yourself and not labelled or diagnosed with this or that, you didn’t feel comfortable and felt that you weren’t like the other people around you. So you don’t know what to do. Social pressures and society can then push you further down the rabbit hole. After you break and go to the doctor, they don’t put you back together as you were. You are remodelled, your brain chemistry altered by drug after drug after drug to become someone that looks like you, but isn’t really you?!? #BipolarDisorder #lithium #Depakote #Quetiapine #Mirtazapine

I started Quetiapine along with the Depakote and Mirtazapine I am currently taking.

Hopefully it will be the missing piece to the puzzle regarding the controlling the severity of the bipolar swings. The Mirtazapine I’m on already is an antidepressant that obviously gives you a lift.

With bipolar however, that alone exaggerates the episodes of bipolar you have, so you introduce a mood stabiliser to put the brakes on, which for me is the Depakote.

The exact mode of action isn’t yet known as to why Sodium Valproate works for Bipolar patients. The most plausible explanation is that by slowing down the GABA receptors in the brain, the episodes become less intense and manageable. From my personal experience, I felt no different in myself and I didn’t notice that I had any improvement in the clarity of my thoughts. What I can say about the effect is that when I was looking back at my mood diary I had kept for the psychiatrist, my entries and effort to explain myself in the writings deteriorated until I stopped writing anything at all. This was over a period of 6 months. So it had slowly calmed my erratic behaviour but also stifled my expression.

Finally, I get to the point where I am now. When you are in a manic phase, you need a sedative to bring you back down. The high is either brought down by something pulling it down or by it’s expiration of energy and the crash landing from the free fall. Neither one of these methods is that pleasant. As your brain is going slower due to the mood stabiliser, the climbing in to mania is for me, more like a creeping on your tip toes than a climb. You can feel that you are on the peripheral and as this knot of anxiety/worry/shame/guilt et al is just gathering energy bit by bit. This is a major cause of agitation and irritability, poor sleep etc. for me. This is where the introduction of Quetiapine will come in to play by keeping the manic phases in check. Keeping me in the safe zone just as Mirtazapine is doing in a “Bipolar” 😜 kinda way 👌
#Quetiapine #Mirtazapine #Depakote

Today, after an appointment with my GP, it’s been agreed that I start Quetiapine along with the Depakote and Mirtazapine I am currently taking.

Hopefully it will be the missing piece to the puzzle regarding the controlling the severity of the bipolar swings. The Mirtazapine I’m on already is an antidepressant that obviously gives you a lift. With bipolar however, that alone exaggerates the episodes of bipolar you have m, so you introduce a mood stabiliser to put the brakes on, which for me is the Depakote. By slowing down the GABA receptors this makes the episodes less intense. Finally, you then get to the point where when you are in a manic phase, you need a sedative to bring you back down. As your brain is going slower due to the mood stabiliser, this can cause agitation and irritability, poor sleep etc. This is where the introduction of Quetiapine will come in to play by restricting the levels of mania you reach.

This is my understanding of the problem anyway. I hope I’m right
#RapidCyclingBipolarDisorder #Depakote #Mirtazapine #Quetiapine

This is a weekly ritual that I used to loath. Hated it. Was ashamed of it. I’m not anymore. Even though I have been prescribed more medication, I’ve found belief in myself that if I can function with the aid of these little pills, my chemical composition isn’t too far away from being in equilibrium 🤞 These daily dose boxes are a god send too as I was always unsure if I had/hadn’t taken my meds 💊 #MentalIllnessStigma #BipolarDepression #Depakote #Mirtazapine #ramipril