tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79861699919631405.post8364015371543832326..comments2023-04-27T07:10:29.869-04:00Comments on Bipolar and the City: Another blah day, and question about medsJean Greyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13826037279061710386noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79861699919631405.post-2134677640557965592013-09-26T00:16:41.503-04:002013-09-26T00:16:41.503-04:00The thing is that the clinical trials don't sh...The thing is that the clinical trials don't show much that is relevant to us really. A trial of Zyprexa is meaningless when you are on Zyprexa and lithium. Dr. Calabrese at Case Western at least used to do multi-drug trials; I was in one with 3 drugs when I was newly diagnosed. First it was done with lithium and depakote and then I was in it when Lamictal was added. They were pretty stringent about who would benefit from triple therapy.<br /><br />I've been discovering this anew as my tiny dose (25 mg) of Topamax is working incredibly well. Oh shoot I did not take that. Oops. But really, I'm on a subtherapeutic dose of gabapentin and now a subtherapeutic dose of topamax and really my lithium level is kept just below therapeutic when we are achieving our goal (it's been higher lately, I'd guess more like .8) and then a huge dose of Seroquel and that's what is working for me--a combination nobody would ever have rationally given me.<br /><br />The studies just aren't real world and I don't think they can be, no matter who sponsers them, because cocktails are so different. Even the clinical trial I was in, which really was designed well, didn't require all other meds to be stopped (or I couldn't have done it). So I was on ativan throughout it and then propanolol because I had such tremors from lithium (I was maintaining at 1.1 as a goal back then. I did not like it).<br /><br /><br />Must.Take.Topamax.<br />:)Just Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01085642883987294862noreply@blogger.com