Meds, (no) work, and debt. - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

BrownCore · 07-08-2009, 10:32 PM

Am I the only one who struggles to keep most jobs they get/go months in between jobs, and has at least a small amount of debt that they can't pay off because of restricted income?

On another side note, I told my doctor about my insomnia, even though I take 600 mg Seroquel at night. He prescribed Trazodone. I take 200 mg of it at bedtime, along with the Seroquel. It doesn't seem to knock me out any faster, but I think that I sleep a little harder/longer than usual. This is unwanted, seeing as I sleep enough without the Trazodone. I also think it makes me groggy the day following popping the 200 mg's, which is of no use to me at all.

Homeboy doesn't want to give me any benzo's, even though I believe my symptoms may be severe enough to warrant a script for some type.

It almost feels that my treatment isn't as effective as it could be because of all this nonsense surrounding the writing of prescriptions for this class of drug.

It's frustrating.

I look at people who have some sort of Benzodiazepine prescription, and I see myself and I wonder why I don't have any.

irishwriter · 07-09-2009, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrownCore

Am I the only one who struggles to keep most jobs they get/go months in between jobs, and has at least a small amount of debt that they can't pay off because of restricted income?

On another side note, I told my doctor about my insomnia, even though I take 600 mg Seroquel at night. He prescribed Trazodone. I take 200 mg of it at bedtime, along with the Seroquel. It doesn't seem to knock me out any faster, but I think that I sleep a little harder/longer than usual. This is unwanted, seeing as I sleep enough without the Trazodone. I also think it makes me groggy the day following popping the 200 mg's, which is of no use to me at all.

Homeboy doesn't want to give me any benzo's, even though I believe my symptoms may be severe enough to warrant a script for some type.

It almost feels that my treatment isn't as effective as it could be because of all this nonsense surrounding the writing of prescriptions for this class of drug.

It's frustrating.

I look at people who have some sort of Benzodiazepine prescription, and I see myself and I wonder why I don't have any.

hi browncore,

yes i have lost income particularly during the last two years because of the simply fact of being unable to face it. i am lucky in that i can do some work from home but not enough to clear my debts (which adds to depression and anxiety!) and i can't see much of a light at the end of the tunnel. i have applied for government housing either a rental/purchase scheme or affordable housing which should at least decrease the amount i am paying for housing and also decrease the amount of money i have to give my daughter (16) to get to where all her friends are as that is where i hope to move to. it is a constant worry and is one of the things that keeps me awake at night.

i get xanax prescription from pdoc and pay for it privately (it is v. cheap) as my gp will not prescribe it at all. he is one of those with the stupid belief that it is addictive. i only take it prn and can do without it if i don't need it. this has been the case for over fifteen years with a couple of years in between when i didn't take it at all with no difficulty getting off it. i think it is like any other drug and some people get addicted and others don't. i also think one would hve to be on a fairly high regular dose to worry about addiction. my dose is only .5 as needed which is a small dose. it boosts seroquel and klonopin in relieving the absolute anxiety.

hope this is of help to you.

iw

dreams in neon · 07-09-2009, 07:47 AM

I can relate to you on both counts.

I racked up quite a bit of debt due to several manic episodes and am now on a low income. I'm currently trying to explore options to finally deal with this now that my moods are level. I've been putting it off and it's time to finally take the bull by the horns so to speak and take care of my responsibilities.

As for benzos, many pdocs are reluctant to prescribe them. Even when my pdoc renewed my prescription for Klonopin to help control my rapid cycling, I was given a lecture about how addicting they can be. Once I explained that I always took the lowest dose possible at all times, he trusted me enough to give me a PRN dose for manic episodes (as well as the fact that it would be pointless for me to continually contact him or the on-call pdoc every single time I'm manic since I have problems with mania and hypomania during the spring/summer).

My prescription calls for 1 Klonopin 2x/day when I feel level and 2 Klonopin 3x/day when I'm rapid cycling or manic.

However, I've found that I've been able to decrease my dose to 1 Klonopin/day when my moods are stable. As my pdoc said, it seems to give me the extra boost of stability I need in order to remain level.

If you feel you need a benzo for anxiety, etc. I would let your pdoc know. I've already told mine that I've discovered Klonopin not only helps my rapid cycling, but it also helps anxiety related to PTSD. Because of that, we are killing 3 birds (rapid cycling, mania, anxiety) with one stone.

Bunnylover · 07-09-2009, 09:45 AM

Trazadone is particularly effective at inducing "real" sleep, with all the stages including the deepest one--that's why it's so effective for fibromalangia which is partially about not entering the deeper phases of sleep (mom has it is why I know.)

So how long have you been taking it? It's just a shot in the dark, but I wonder if your body needs time to adjust to really sleeping? That was my experience when I started taking seroquel after years of poorly managed or untreated insomnia, I was groggy at first, but it passed relatively quickly. Or you could be taking too much, when I took trazadone I was started at 50 mg, although I don't know how common that is.

dreams in neon · 07-09-2009, 10:37 AM

I take Trazodone for sleep and it has been a great med for me in this regard. When I feel level, I take 100mg and when I'm manic, I take 200mg. Trazodone caused me to feel groggy for the first few days I started taking it, but this gradually improved. You may want to ask your pdoc if you can decrease your dose by 50mg or 100mg to see if that helps. From what my pdoc told me, the starting dose of Trazodone is 50mg, but most people take 100mg or 150mg and some take 200mg.