Bipolar disorder (if you were diagnosed with it by a professional e.g.: psychiatrist) is treated with a combination of an anti-depressant & anti-psychotic (don't worry about the latter, anti-psychotics are perscribed to people w/ severe bipolar disorder to hamper their manic state, however if you've just got a minor form, the anti-D should be enough). The unplesantries you were experiencing could be due to you stopping entirely (even though there is not real withdrawal with MJ, you could just be getting used to not being high on a regular basis). See how you feel after two months without smoking & if you still feel unwell, check with your psych.
from my personal experiences with mental illness weed has always helped. It depends on the person. I know people who feel sucidal when high
Depression is one of those disorders which most people face in there life as some stage for one reason or the other. If it's children the pressure of studies gets over their head and if it's adults the pressure of work attracts depression. People suffering from anxiety, panic, stress and depression should consult a specialist and only then should use the medicine, as there can be various reasons behind the disorder. Medicines used to cure such disorders are habit forming and should be used for small duration. As per my personal experience, I have used Xanax and it helped me in getting over my panic and anxiety disorder. Along with medicine, the concerned person should take a break from his/her regular schedule, go out and take good sleep.
Okay. Im on lamictle too. And Unlike prozac lexapro and all those. Cause i was in the same situation as you. I was treated with anti-depressants for ever then they put me on lamictle and it doesnt work at its full potential for 8-12 weeks. I know how you feel with the anger and stuff. The best thing to do since your on a break from weed is to get a hobby besides smoking to keep your mind off wanting to smoke. Like when I was on it I stated painting and drawing alot to keep it off my mind. Its hard to waiting for it to kick in after being on anti depressants for so long. When you first start lamictle it doesnt even work at all for about 4 weeks or so. I didnt even realize how bad my bi polar was because the anti depressants were keeping the depression part away but not the mania or the anger. It sucks, I know where your coming from. Get a punching bag to punch when your mad and stuff.
I can totally relate to the OP! I have been diagnosed with Clinical Depression and Panic Disorder and Anxiety. Cannabis is the only medication I have found that helps out my depression. My pdoc just put me on Paxil, and man, is this drug making me manic. I have been feeling so HIGH and HAPPY and making bad decisions as well as putting myself in danger as well as others (I am dangerous behind a wheel). Cannabis, again, is the only medication that has brought me back down to a more calm mode when I am getting too manic. I think I have undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. I am going to talk to my pdoc in about a day about switching to a new medication, but I am afraid to tell her about how cannabis has been a lifesaver in my situation. I'm in California and I wish I could find a doctor who would understand my point of view, recommend cannabis, instead of a doctor who prescribes me SSRIs that make me manic. <Sigh>
I'm in your same situation partially. Severe depression since a kid, only thing that really levels me out is smoking a joint. At this point I've gained enough control over the disease to force myself out most of the time with out without pot. I'm sorry your disease(s) are as vicious as they are, but I think right now you really need to force yourself out. I know how impossible this seems when your basically bed ridden, but if you just get to work and slide by, get money and buy bud or drugs, either which is your choice you'll get through it. PS. My old therapist said that being dependent on anything - medication or plant - to alter your mood is dangerous itself simply because it's an addiction (this is where Marijuana and Prozak for example differ greatly.)
There's a lot of bullshit floating around this thread. Pills are a hot topic around here. It seems that you are either for them or against them. Now I understand why many are against them, because they don't help everyone and in fact they hurt some, but I have been taking meds for 13 years, and have known a lot of people on meds for bipolar who are truly helped by them. I am a hard to treat, severe Bipolar with mixed episodes. Mixed episodes means I am manic and depressed at the same time. Sounds like your psychiatrist thinks you have mixed episodes, OP. I have been saved by meds, truly helped in every way by those despised pills and I am truly grateful to all of those doctors prescribing them. And many, many people are helped miraculously by those pills. This is why doctors everywhere are prescribing them, because doctors really want to see their patients well. And it has been said that Lamictal is relatively new and "not well understood". No psych med is ever understood and as was stated it is hit or miss dealing with psych meds because we do not understand the brain. Until we understand the many complexities of the human brain, Lamictal will never be understood. Oh, and you don't get addicted to the pills, either. OP, you should start a thread in the Medical Marijuana forum asking if there are any people in Washington on MMJ for bipolar or other mental illnesses. Then you will see if there is hope for you getting a card, because it is not certain in the law's language if they were going to allow it or not. From the Stickies on the Medical Marijuana Forum Washington SUMMARY: Fifty-nine percent of voters approved Measure 692 on November 3, 1998. The law took effect on that day. It removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess "valid documentation" from their physician affirming that he or she suffers from a debilitating condition and that the "potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks." Patients diagnosed with the following illnesses are afforded legal protection under this act: cachexia; cancer; HIV or AIDS; epilepsy; glaucoma; intractable pain (defined as pain unrelieved by standard treatment or medications); and multiple sclerosis. Other conditions are subject to approval by the Washington Board of Health. Patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess or cultivate no more than a 60-day supply of marijuana. The law does not establish a state-run patient registry. AMENDMENTS: Yes. Senate Bill 6032, mandated the Department of Health to "adopt rules defining the quantity of marijuana that could reasonably be presumed to be a sixty-day supply for qualifying patients." In October 2008, the department finalized guidelines allowing patients to cultivate up to 15 cannabis plants and/or possess up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana. The new limits took effect on November 2, 2008. Patients who possess larger quantities of cannabis than those approved by the Department will continue to receive legal protection under the law if they present evidence indicating that they require such amounts to adequately treat their qualifying medical condition. Senate Bill 6032 also affirmed changes previously recommended by the state's Medical Quality Assurance Commission to expand the state's list of qualifying conditions to include Crohn's disease, hepatitis c, and any "diseases, including anorexia, which results in nausea, vomiting, wasting, appetite loss, cramping, seizures, muscle spasms, and/or spasticity, when these symptoms are unrelieved by standard treatments or medications." It also limits the ability of police to seize medicinal cannabis that is "determined ... [to be] possessed lawfully [by an authorized patients] under the ... law." MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATUTES: Medical Use of Marijuana Act, Wash. Rev. Code §69.51A.005 and Wash. Rev. Code §69.51A.010 through Wash. Rev. Code 69.51A.008 and Washington Rev. Code §69.51A.900 Through §6951A.902 (2007). BIPOLAR DISORDER From Granny Storm Crow's Studies and News articles List in the stickies in the MMJ forum The Use of Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder: Anecdotal Evidence and the Need for Clinical Research (full -1998) http://www.ukcia.org/research/TheUse...rDisorder.html Recipe For Trouble (anecdotal/ news - 2002 ) Recipe For Trouble - 48 Hours - CBS News Cannabinoids in bipolar affective disorder: a review and discussion of their therapeutic potential. (full - 2005) http://www.ukcia.org/research/Cannab...veDisorder.pdf Cannabis in bipolar (abst - 2005) Bipolar Disorder Daily News Blog: Cannabis in bipolar Cannabis Spray for Bipolar (news - 2005) Cannabis Spray for Bipolar Marijuana Could Provide Mental Health Treatments (news - 2005) Marijuana Could Provide Mental Health Treatments Chemicals in Cannabis may help mentally ill (news - 2005) Chemicals in Cannabis may help mentally ill The effect of extreme marijuana use on the long-term course of bipolar I illness: a single case study. (abst - 2007) Clinical Studies and Case Reports Opposite relationships between cannabis use and neurocognitive functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. (abst - 2009) Unbound MEDLINE | Opposite relationships between cannabis use and neurocognitive functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Journal article
i take 100 mg of lamictal and its very effective! but the real drug that works for me is wellbutrin xl 300 mg. that drug does wonders for my mood
i havent been diagnosed with anything yet because ive never been to a phsycologist since i was 12, but i was forced to go there after i was "attemting" to beat somekid with a pole i had brought to school. since then i have to have a bunch of things, seeming like the worst being bi polar. i will flip the fuck out if im not high and someone pisses me off. if ur gonna piss me off, give me some bong rips first lol
You just described the way I feel... Even though I still have no appetite even if I smoke. I'm going to the psychiatrist at like 9am tomorrow to hopefully get something figured out :/
Numerous patients report significant improvement and stabilization with their bipolar disorder when they utilize adjunctive therapy with medical cannabis. While some mental health professionals worry about the impact of cannabis on aggravating manic states, most bipolar patients trying cannabis find they 'cycle' less often and find significant improvement in overall mood. Bipolar disorders vary tremendously in the time spent in the depressive versus manic states. Those who experience extended depressive episodes are more likely to be helped with cannabis. Patients who use cannabis to 'relax' may be treating the anxiousness sometimes associated with depression. Cannabis aids the insomnia sometimes present in depression and can improve appetite. Better pain control with cannabis can reduce chronic pain related depression. While cannabis cannot yet be considered a primary treatment of major depression it may improve mood when used under physician's supervision and in combination with therapy and/or SSRI's.
i am a severe bi polar and schizophrenic with anxiety problemsand i won't lie weed has done nothing but good for me it stabilizes my mood, helps with my sleep problems, gives me an appetite, and it doesn't give any side effects unlike my 5 medications. Hell it helps me in any social situation where i'd usually have problems, i can speak more fludly and such. and to be honest i was prescribed prozac and zoloft one of which almost killed me in a fatal reaction and the other made me a homocidal freek. i would have to say this is probably due to the meds your on. and why the fuc k does he have you on 2 different SSRI's??