Right now I’m knLithiun, Zyprexa, Trazodone, Wellbutrin and ativan as a prn for anxiety. All seems to be working well. Then this is my stable period. Between October and May I become severely depressed and tend to end up in the hospital at least once, usually twice though.
You will see though that not al medications and medications combinations work for every person. I lost weight and had no appetite. And while Zyprexa has me stabilized, I have gained 70 lbs while taking it. Not fun.

It’s was the seroquel that made me lose my appetite. I could even stomach one meal a day.

It sounds like you might need to consult a different doctor? The point of seeing a psychiatrist is for he or she to help you. They can't do that if they don't listen to you or ignore or minimize your symptoms and how you are coping with them. If you do consult a different doctor, and I really think you should, make it clear that you have seen physicians in the past that have been resistant to hearing what you are saying. Outline your past experiences so that they know how to tailor your treatment to YOU. You need a doctor that knows how to listen and how to take your concerns seriously.

@kisses2016 Are you sure it was Seroquel that made you lose your appetite? Seroquel is a notorious "weight gainer" med, and everyone that i have known that has taken it has gained weight because it makes you hungry at bedtime. Even working out doesn't combat the extreme weight gain of Seroquel. I was just wondering what else is in your cocktail? Didn't mean to hijack your thread, @survivethis!

I’m currently on the meds you’re on....beenon higher doses of seroquel and have tapered Down, but also take an occasional ambien for sleep. You cannot take ambien and Ativan though. I may be tinkering with other meds soon though.

I also think it’s time to get another consultation with a new doctor if your dr isn’t listening to you. I had to switch to someone new after my last pdoc lectured me repeatedly on the medication i was on (Geodon cocktail) and refused to switch me even though it was making me uncomfortably agitated with panic attacks.....

Starting fresh with a dr might be a good idea.

Latuda is great for lifting depression. I tried that and may go back on it. Problem before is when we raised my dosage it began to create hypo mania and anxiety. But it was brilliant in lifting depression and it’s depression fog. For me anyway.

Best wishes. I’m sure others will have suggestions too.

I am 100% sure the seroquel was responsible for my lack of appetite. Remember, just because you gained weight doesn’t mean I will too. We all react differently to the same meds. I took lamotrigin which is notorious for causing a rash, but I never got a rash.

Also back on topic, I have left practitioners who didn’t listen to me. It is important that I not only like my drs and therapists but that I trust them as well idyiu don’t have some level of trust, it’s time to seek another opinion.

Have you ever been in therapy along with your med regime survive?.... A cognitive type of therapy might be a help for you??


I've just come off of Tegretol….. I'm on Seroquel, Restoral and Gabapentin prn for sleep problems

I am on Buspirone, Bupropion XL, Klonopin, and just recently started Rexulti which has been a wonder drug for me. It lifted my depression, helped with my anxiety, and helped me to be more outgoing and just more comfortable with myself and others. It is expensive even with insurance, but worth it to me. It works for me, maybe it would work for you. I agree that maybe you should get a second opinion with someone who will work with you and not against you.

I take trintellix- lamictal- latuda- sublinox- trazadone--- i stopped seroquel recently with pdoc approval--- i agree a second opinion might be useful ((hugs)) polar

I'm on 4mg rexulti and 1800mg trileptal. I was on lamictal also for a while but it increased my anxiety.

My pdoc suggested vraylar for me to try next, if and when I need to. I havent taken it, so I dont know from experience, but the pdoc likes the results he sees in BP1. It's supposed to cause no weight gain and some people even lose weight on it.

I think you should change doctors too -- unless you can get through to your current doctor and convince him that you are not satisfied with how you are doing and need a change in treatment.

I can't get by without Seroquel -- I don't take it, I don't sleep. (It's a weight gainer for me, though.)

I'm one of those people who seem to have a problem finding a medication that keeps working for them; almost all of them seem to poop out on me after a while, so I'm always changing meds. Seroquel is one of the few that has kept on working.

But the amount I need is another story. At times I have needed as much as 600mg at bedtime (I only take it at bedtime) to make me sleep.
Right now, I'm at 75mg and sleep 8 hours. If I take 100mg, I'll sleep 11 hours and be groggy for most of the day.

So you might consider changing dosages rather than medications too, while you're looking for a better way.

I have Panic Disorder too and for that, I am currently taking 2 mg of Alprazolam, 1mg in the morning, 1mg at night. But that's for now.
I seem to have to cycle through the benzos for my anxiety. They work for months and months and then they don't and I have to switch to one of the other ones, Clonazepam, or Lorazepam.

I'm on Topirimate right now, mainly because the Pdoc said it might help me lose weight. I don't notice any effect from it yet.

The last time I had REALLY bad depression, the Pdoc gave me samples of Latuda (because even with my insurance, I couldn't afford it.)
It was WONDERFUL!!!!
I felt better in every way!!!!
That's the closest I felt to feeling like I did before Bipolar hit!!!
It was like a vacation from Bipolar!!
But, like usual, after a matter of month, things went back to the way they were -- but the hideous depression did not come back, so that was okay.
And the Latuda people wouldn't let the Pdoc give me any more samples anyway.
Yeah, I think Latuda is really good for Bipolar Depression!!!

If you can't get your doctor to work with you, you should change doctors.
There has never been a time when my doctor hasn't immediately gone along with a change when I've requested it.
I mean, I don't say 'Put me on so much of this and give me so much of that', but any time I have told him I wanted off of anything that I was on, he took me off of it right away (weaned me off, of course.)
And if I asked to try something, he would either try it or explain to me why it wouldn't be a good idea in my case.

Good luck!!!
You shouldn't have to go on suffering like this without at least trying to find a better way!