Hypomania symptoms and conditions

Hello I am clinically depressed. They doctors said I was "severely depressed." I haven't done these post ever so I apologize if I can't make my side effects clear and easy to understand.

Well to the point I am taking Lamactil and Wellbutrin for over a year now. The side effects I have are acne, laziness, always tired. But the side effect I hate the most is really perverted thoughts. Every waking moment I am always thinking about sex of some sort. I can't enjoy a movie because I am always thinking of sex with the person I am with, be female or male. I am straight but I just can't shake thoughts and hate it to no end. PLEASE let me know if anyone is experiencing these side effects.

I have been taking Lamictal for about 2 months now. Started at 25mg and now at 150mg. I also take 10mg Lexapro and 1 mg of Ativan daily. I was diagnosed with bipolar-2 about 3 months ago. I'm not sure if this is the right combo for me. Most of my problem is with severe irritability followed by moderate anxiety and mild depression. I have never had a Manic episode just Hypomania which the doctor said is my anger and Irritability. I have been on every SSRI (anti-depressant) for the last 12 years, which does help the depression, but it increases the anger and irritability. Another Dr told me I am not bipolar-2, I just have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). Not sure what to do anymore, the Lamictal is giving me bad headaches and dizziness and nausea. So now I take Meclizine for the those symptoms. Is there just one pill to help all these symptoms? Has anyone had any luck with Buspar??

originally posted to Queenie30
(also should mention that in addition to the Geodon, I take Lamictal and Wellbutrin)
I have been on Geodon for just under a week and have already lost 5 lbs! I was on Seroquel, which I loved and depended on for over a year, but could no longer stand by and watch the needle on the scale get higher and higher... 50 lbs total. Talk about depression. The Seroquel was previously the only thing that worked to halt my mania and put me to bed. Since the switch from (50 mg) Seroquel to (20 mg) Geodon I feel all around better than I have in years! I felt an improvement in mood almost immediately. I am clear headed, awake, smiling and laughing, have energy, and my previously (insatiable!) appetite is clearly suppressed. I have a natural nervous/anxious/self-conscious disposition which I attribute to my personality- in addition to the BP, all of my life which limited my eating, but in a healthy way- I was not underweight/overweight. (The Seroquel turned me into a lazy, careless cookie monster to say the least.) I have gone from sleeping 12 hrs a night (and still feeling exhausted) to sleeping 6 hrs a night and waking up feeling well rested, refreshed, and actually wanting to wake up! (That says a lot, I haven't felt like I wanted to wake up since I was a kid and I'm almost 30...) The not-so-fun part- I am extremely nauseous with diarrhea. I have called out of work the last 2 days because of the constant trips to the bathroom and vomiting. I really hope this part ends soon because I want to be able to tolerate this drug and not have to go back to the seroquel. I was in such a fog w/ the Seroquel that I did not see the true zombie effect it has had on me for over a year. I completely stopped doing the things that I loved and enjoyed- including using my creativity and intelligence. I feel 'alive' again on Geodon. I have felt myself when triggered, mind racing into mania which does have me on guard. I stayed awake in bed the first 2 nights til' at least 3am unable to stop the thought train/obsessing about something stupid my husband did 6 years ago :-) This is the part however, I want to learn to control on my own without meds which I why I am aggressively seeking therapy. Though, when my mind is racing/obsessing the geodon does seem to give me that strong sense of reality/insight that what I am doing is not normal or healthy, whereas before, I'd just be extremely angry and blame my husband or whoever 'wronged me' for my obsessing/anger/rage. Now I have a clear sense that I am (or should be) in control of myself/thoughts and feelings. I need to work on that missing link between obsessing about something I can not control or change, and reality- what is healthy for me. A med can not do this for you.
Hope this makes sense! Good Luck :-)

I forgot to mention this site:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20825&name=GEODON

You can read patient reviews on this or any drug and submit your own. I must admit, the page on Geodon is quite scary, but since my experiences have been mostly all good, I am staying extremely hopeful :-)

I was treated with lamictal for bi-polar II . It did help even out my mood which swung to deep depressions and rare (unfortunately) hypomania. After an increase in dose I had so much pain in my back and hip joints that I needed help to sit down, stand up, tie shoes, lift anything. I am only 40!

I stopped the med in June, but the pain is still there. Continually, not as bad as it was before, for sure, but I still have to prop myself up for simple lean over tasks, and my hip joints throb. I have to support myself to flip in bed or get out. I was doing yoga, and running as well before I started lamictal. I was extremely flexible!, and now can still barely touch my toes.

has anyone else had this lingering pain?

ok...so i was on yasmin from the age of 17 to about 20 for irregular periods and had no problems. i stopped taking it due to forgetting to take it and my periods had become fine. i'm now 23 and just started taking yaz last month for increasing pain, nausea, and mood swings associate with PMS. i now experience extreme mood swings. i have always had some depression, anxiety, and irritability...but since i have started taking it, i have noticed an increase in these feelings. i am a 4th year pharmacy student and don't have the time or energy to feel like this. i become irritable and angry at the smallest things or no reason at all. i also just feel the urge to cry and do for the same reasons...none. i have done some research on mood disorders and the correct diagnosis of such. since my symptoms were present before and i also have ADD and mild OCD, i'm not sure if it is the yaz causing these feelings or if with all that's going on in my life, a underlying mood disorder has come to surface. for most who don't know...mood disorders are most often genetic and are seen with concominant mood disorders (depression with anxiety, ADD, OCD, etc..). my family suffers from most if not all of these (mom- major depressive disorder, ADHD; dad- anxiety, OCD; brother- ADHD, OCD, mild depression). also, most mood disorders show up during the later teens to late 20's. so my big issue is whether or not my feelings/mood swings are attributed to the "pill" or just a surfaced problem. i have looked into a disorder called cyclothymic disorder. this is when you have depression with hypomania (irritability that doesn't fit the criteria for manic-so not bipolar). i just don't know who to see or what to do. i have a psychologist and i am hoping to get in to seeing him ASAP. anyone got any input or advice?

I too had chest pains!! That is something that they do no tell you.

This medication definitely needs to be re-evaluated by the FDA, to determine what damage it may do to your heart.

I was already seeing a psychiatrist for Panic disorder so I had valium at home. However, I still ended up in the ER for my chest pains after getting no call back from my dr for two weeks telling her that I was having all of the other side effects ( except the hair loss), tingling in the hands and feet, fatigue, moodiness, different tastes of things, especially colas.

Nevertheless, I was diagnosed at the ER with having a panic attack....DUHHHH, how could I possibly be having a panic attack when I had taken about 2 1/2 10 mg valium to try to get my chest to stop hurting. I explained to the ER dr. that I had started taking the topamax 3 weeks prior...There absolutely needs to be better education of this drug and its terrible side effects!!!

To this date, I've had the worst side effects from prednisone I've ever heard of. It started out in a rather subtle manner. I became hypomanic--a term I wasn't familiar with at the time. Later, the hypomania somehow blossomed into a full-blown psychotic state. I was sent to an in-patient acute care psychiatric hospital, where I stomped one woman's head into the ground and hit another one in the back of the head. Never before have I been violent--and as strange as it sounds, this time was no exception. Although many people refuse to believe me, a violent or malevolent attitude didn't cause me to commit these acts of violence. It was a persistent, delusional state of mind that caused them. If prednisone were the only drug on the face of this planet that could stop me from a sudden, painful death, I wouldn't take it.

Butterfly rash on my face...Doctor stopped the drug temporarilly...she CLAIMS ITS OK>>>>>>on lithium also...My vision is terrible now....had perfect vision.. She wants to put me back on Lamictal...I need support from somewhere...it was a fantastic mood improver....the best...now Dr. tells me..there is NOTHING OUT THERE...besides lamectal........ is this true??? she might put me BACK ON IT>>I AM AFRAID>>

A lot of gas, strange yellow stools, very dry skin and the allergies that I have are even worse (sort of like my immune system is in over-drive).

When I first started taking Lamictal, I experienced A LOT of hypomania/mania and irritablity. I occasionally do have problems staying asleep if I do not take Benadryl along with it at night. For some reason I have started chewing the insides of my mouth - no, no sores there and this was a mild habit before the Lamictal that has gotten worse.

All of this being said? This drug is fantastic. I am experiencing a sense of balance and clarity that I haven't had in 25 or 30 years. It's like I don't have any mental health problems at all - I feel normal and it's wonderful. It does, however, take a long long time to ramp up to an effective dosage - hold out, it's worth it!

While on Geodon I am constantly tired yet restless, I have spurts of hypomania here and there, and my jaw is very tight.

There is DEFINATLY a withdrawal from Geodon. After taking it for just a week (80mg twice a day) I missed a dose. Big mistake! I was shaking so much (along with twitching and muscle spasms) and I kept having repeat anxiety attacks. Keep in mind that I had never had an anxiety attack before that. It was terrible.