Stabiliser change - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

jakerleen · 10-11-2005, 06:03 PM

Hi i wonder if anyone here can help.

We are in the UK, my partner David has BP I and has rapid cycling, he hallucinates and has voices and has always been a more manic patient. His meds are:

1200mgs Tegretol (stabiliser)
1200mgs Solian (anti-psychotic)
600mgs chlorpromazine (anti-psychotic)
5mg cupralex

the doc is thinking of changing his stabilsier, the problem is Dave is worried sick about doing this. He has gained a lot of weight since becoming ill which he is fighting to lose as he developed diabetes and high cholesterol and high blood pressure over the last 12 months. Is there a stabiliser out there which the doc might consider that does not make him put loads of weight on? he has lost a stone in the last 6 weeks and we are hoping it helps his diabetes dramatically, he is only 35 and the consequences of being diabetic at this age are none too pretty.

any advice / help will be so much appreciated

Jackie x

Toby706 · 10-12-2005, 09:00 AM

jakerleen-
Hello, I am also BP type 1 with psychotic presentation. I found that Cipralex-to you, Lexapro to me(i'm in the states) made me more manic and agitated. As far as weight gain goes I have lost weight and my blood sugars have decreased on a drug called Abilify-I don't know if they have it in UK. It is an antipsychotic, some people get "restless leg" type activity-but my doc combined it with Seroquel recently and I am finally calming down after a summer of hypomanic behavior. I am also on other meds for my Bp.

shining_star · 10-12-2005, 03:56 PM

hi there I am on Quetiapine{Seroquel brand-name} and is a very good stabilizer and doesn't have weight-gain....trust me i am bulimic and there is no way i was going to take something that puts on loads of weight....
Good Luck,

bipolarjon · 10-13-2005, 12:43 PM

lithium 450 and wellbutrin 150 in the morning, and lithium 450 and seroquel 200 at night works for me.

jakerleen · 12-05-2005, 07:49 PM

UPDATE

Dave used to take seroquel but can't take it any more as it was the drug that tipped him from pre-diabetic to full blown diabetic. That is why the new stabiliser was so important to us to be one that didn't cause weight gain.

Well it's been a while since I posted and his new med is "depakote"

he's been taking 750mg for 2 weeks now and says he feels a little better, not so much racing of the mind as he did etc, which is great news.

Now for the but ................... there's always a but isn't there?

on his liver function test he had before starting the med (he'd had 2 already because of the diabetes) he had a GAMMA GT test of 45 and 47. I'm hoping this doesn't mean he will have to be taken off the med as for the first time in years he's told me he feel smore "himself". He is also a lot more laid back and less aggressive than he was.

his meds are now :

Carbamazepine 400mg x 3 a day
Depakote 250mg x 3 a day
Chlorpromazine 50mg x 9 a day

he also takes pain relief meds as he has psoraitic arthropathy.

Jackie