Stress factors symptoms and conditions

Hi. I went on Lamictal April 2007 after being diagnosed w/ BiPolar. The key issue that brought me to the psychiatrist to begin with was acute depression following a divorce, move cross country, losing my job and my only son going off to college. All the big stress factors - short of death in family. Nonetheless, I was nervous that one year after all these crises that I was, if anything, feeling worse. I had been able to handle all the changes during them, but now that they were over all I wanted to do was sleep all day.... Anyway, I had been on Paxil for years re anxiety, and my psychiatrist decided to keep my on the Paxil till I tolerated the Lamictal, then get me off the Paxil..... Well, the 20 mg of Paxil and the 100 mg of Lamictal worked great, I thought; the Lamictal really raised the bottom.... BUT, apparently Paxil fuels mania, so after a few months, I was taken off the Paxil completely and my Lamictal went up to 200 mg. Almost IMMEDIATELY upon going to 200 mg Lamictal my ankles / feet / legs got enormously swollen. Plus, I noticed that my hair started to fall out // thin out.... Plus -- and I don't know if this is the Lamictal or the absence of the Paxil, but I sob uncontrollably almost 24/7. The sobbing and anxiety and sense of dread and sadnessness has persisted even when the Lamictal was dropped to 100 mg and the shrink added first Clonazepam .5 mg, then when that wasn't calming me, changed me to 1mg Xanax -- each as needed. The Xanax isn't helping me either, and now I also feel paranoid. So, in short: Lamictal at 200 mg makes my feet / ankles / legs swell or suffer edema; Lamcital as low as 100 mg makes my hair thin out; and either the Lamictal or the loss of the Paxil or these anti-anxieity meds (Clonazepam or Xanax) are making me paranoid, profoundly sad and depressed, panicked, anxious, stressed out and, most urgently, make me sob uncontrollably 24/7... My shrink says that we should use anti-depressants with bipolar, and that Paxil fuels the mania, but I tell you, I'd rather be manic and screaming at everyone than so depressed that I'm fearful and sobbing constantly.... Any answers out there: Any anti-depressants for your bipolar?

I have a tendency for high blood pressure, and due to several major stress factors, I knew my pressure was high & I was having anxiety attacks & not sleeping & migraines. It was my pressure. It was like 137/100. My heart rate was fast. I'm 41. I started ToprolXL 25 mg & really felt better for a couple months. No more headaches. I did, however, always think I'm hypoglycemic or perhaps diabetic. I feel like I need to eat sugar with this med. My scary problem is that I decided to lose weight & started working out at a much higher intensity than my normal walking. I feel REALLY weird. It's like this med is fighting your heart rate when you work out & I feel like I need major sugar. I feel like my heart is swishy in its beats. I'm calling dr tomorrow to get in. The warnings do say that when you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, this med could mask it, but I feel like my blood sugar feels lower taking this med. I also feel like I still have racing heart, but I was under terrible stress & running around when these symptoms started like 2 or 3 days ago.

Rare but occasional leg cramps. Acid reflux due also in part to inherited condition. I have been taking advair for about 6 years. It has saved my life. I can breathe well and be active like never before.

Normal weight gain due to stress factors, probably only in part to advair --folks, weight gain doesn't come solely from advair--you have to put the food in your mouth in order to gain weight--so you are over-eating and advair is only part of the problem. A good solution to weight gain is to read up on nutrition, for example, MACROBIOTICS, a food philosophy relying on lots of whole gains, natural fiber is good fo filling you up, beans, etc. --and try to improve what you are eating. Avoid sugar, it is the coccaine of the food world and SUGAR CAUSES HEADACHES (migraines).

Also, it is NORMAL to gain weight as you age. Especially for women, because the added weight pulls on your bones, causing a good kind of stress that causes the bones to bulk up just as you are approaching menopause.

Learn to be happy eating foods that are good for you, and you will weigh less and feel better.

Although advair may have some problems and may not be for everyone, its benefits enable me to live a normal life and it works well for me, the benefits outweighing the negatives. A hundred years ago, or even maybe only 40 years ago, someone like me would have had little chance of living to be 50.