Mental Health Doc want lithium with no bipolar

[GRchalk]

On .5mg xanax twice a day works great helps me feel a lot better and functional
problems with srris and have mdd and 3 anxiety disorders and insomnia
doc only wants to prescribe me lithium and wants no benzos
seeing again in two weeks got my xanax and serequel for sleep

Want:
Gabapentin
Klonapin
Serequel

Any advice?

 

[CoastTwoCoast]

So you're not bipolar? You only have major depressive disorder? Lithium that is prescribed is a pretty strong drug. You can ask about Gabapentin. I'm bipolar and was never ever prescribed Lithium. I'm on Effexor XR for depression/anxiety. I'm also on Gabapentin because it levels out my moods and it works well for anxiety too.

My new psychiatrist won't prescribe any benzos, but he was willing to prescribe Gabapentin. That's better than nothing for anxiety.

All you can do is ask. I don't understand why your doc wants to put you on something as strong as Lithium.

Seroquel is my favorite for sleep. Better than Trazodone. All I need is 50 mg Seroquel and I'm fast asleep.

 

[GRchalk]

So you're not bipolar? You only have major depressive disorder? Lithium that is prescribed is a pretty strong drug. You can ask about Gabapentin. I'm bipolar and was never ever prescribed Lithium. I'm on Effexor XR for depression/anxiety. I'm also on Gabapentin because it levels out my moods and it works well for anxiety too.

My new psychiatrist won't prescribe any benzos, but he was willing to prescribe Gabapentin. That's better than nothing for anxiety.

All you can do is ask. I don't understand why your doc wants to put you on something as strong as Lithium.

Seroquel is my favorite for sleep. Better than Trazodone. All I need is 50 mg Seroquel and I'm fast asleep.

Just wondering but do you have any experience with phenibut I used it before and it wiped all my social anxiety and was a great gaba agonist sadly its so addictive and tolerance issues
I've heard it feels similar to Gabapentin anxiety wise is there any validity or how does it feel when taken as needed (sufficient dose)

 

[cj]

I was on lithium for awhile. I stopped it because of side effects. I was extremely constipated and I shook like a Parkinson's patient. It did help my mood somewhat but not enough to justify that

 

[CoastTwoCoast]

Just wondering but do you have any experience with phenibut I used it before and it wiped all my social anxiety and was a great gaba agonist sadly its so addictive and tolerance issues
I've heard it feels similar to Gabapentin anxiety wise is there any validity or how does it feel when taken as needed (sufficient dose)

Yes, I was taking phenibut for quite a while. It took away my anxiety and since I'm bipolar, it put me in a happy manic type of mood. It made me really upbeat and I felt a lot smarter on it. I took it for so long, it doesn't work the same anymore. It doesn't give me a boost or anything unless it's combined with something else. I don't take phenibut anymore since I'm on Gabapentin. Gabapentin doesn't make me feel high or manic, it makes me feel normal. Stable.

Phenibut is similar to Gabapentin in ways, but they're not exactly the same. Both are a lifesaver to help benzo withdrawals. Like if you run out of benzos, taking a bit of phenibut or
Gabapentin will prevent acute withdrawals.

I recommend staying away from phenibut. It's too easy to get caught up in taking it more than you're supposed to. Just get the Gabapentin, it's safer and you have exact doses with the pills. My last psychiatrist gave me 100 mg pills which is nothing. My new one was smart enough to start me on 300 mg pills. There are even 600 mg Gabapentin pills. So try to make sure your doc does 300 mg pills at least.

 

[Xorkoth]

Phenibut is similar to gabapentin but in addition to the calcium ion channel blocking of gabapentinoids (gabapentin actually doesn't directly affect any GABA receptors), phenibut is also a GABA-B agonist like GHB or baclofen. I've used both quite a bit and phenibut is definitely stronger and also more addictive. If you keep your usage to once or twice a week you can avoid dependence but if it brings you relief it's so easy to start using it more and more. I've come off of physical dependence on phenibut multiple times, including just recently. I never take it 2 days in a row but even every 2 or 3 days, if you do that pattern long enough, will produce dependence. Gabapentin also produces dependence so it's about weighing the pros and cons, IMO if something improves your life dramatically to be on and is sustainable (ie, prescribed or easily available, not illegal and destructive, etc), it can be worth being dependent on it.

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

phenibut is a terrible substance. tolerance and dependence develop so quickly; it is not suited for consumption.

if i got a new psych that refused to continue my benzo prescription, i would work with them (only because wait times are so long) until i found a new psych. but i’d never go back to a daily benzo prescription. that increases anxiety in the long term. even if the psych says it will level off once you find the right dose, it won’t. daily benzos continue to lose efficacy while increasing dependence at any dose. they are a short term or prn drug.

i just started remeron. it’s not an ssri. you might want to look into it. it’s described as being good for sleep, anxiety, weight gain, and depression. i haven’t been on it long enough to share personal experience beyond it indeed does cause sedation. it also gives very vivid dreams, which i always thought of as a sign of restless sleep. but wiki says it improves “sleep quality.” i’m not sure if that means helping you go through all the stages of sleep appropriately or not.

 

[CoastTwoCoast]

Yeah, I told my psychiatrist I would only take klonopin as needed. He knows I have anxiety, even to the point of being agoraphobic, but he just doesn't prescribe benzos.

I was thinking about getting another psychiatrist, but I'm afraid it would be exactly the same situation. I already went out of my way to go to a new clinic. Lately, it's been really tough to find someone who prescribes it. I'm sick of going to new doctors. Gabapentin is fine for now. Fuck it. Haha You just get sick and tired of the runaround.

Forgot to mention, I just got started on Concerta for ADHD. It's like a 24 hour Ritalin. So far, so good. I asked him if I could try it and he agreed so that was cool. At least he's open to me trying different things. He knows I don't want any amphetamines ever again.

 

[Xorkoth]

I think phenibut affects people differently. My rule is, never multiple days in a row, but on an as-needed basis (I use it for playing shows and occasionally to lay a good base for a trip or if I have something to do socially that I'm really nervous about). I've been using it for 13 years off and on, mostly on, and it still works for me, in fact pretty much exactly the same. I've read of other people with the same sentiment as you, but my friend sometimes gets a 100 gram tub and does it every day until it's gone and has never had any withdrawal. Of course I've gotten dependent on it a couple of times but I also find it pretty easy to get off compared to most other things because the withdrawal is not severe if you're doing it only every 2-3 days, it's just annoying, and a taper works well.

 

[CoastTwoCoast]

^ Your friend is in the minority because I've read horror stories about phenibut withdrawal. I also experienced a bit of it myself. I was hearing things that weren't there, like voices, full-on conversations and different sounds. I finally realized it was a part of phenibut withdrawal and it was scary. It's called auditory hallucinations. It's never wise to go cold turkey off of phenibut, it's as dangerous as going cold turkey off of benzos. People end up in the hospital.

I'm just emphasizing that phenibut is nothing to mess around with. When someone is inquiring about it, it's not a good idea to mention your friend who happens to never get withdrawals. We're trying to keep people safe here. A majority of people get withdrawals and most people can't just keep it to a couple of times a week. That's why it's best to stay away from it, especially when there's the safer option of getting Gabapentin from a doctor.

 

[Xorkoth]

Yes, good points, you're right. I guess I was just responding to hydro up above saying it's unfit for taking because I do think it has its place and can be a beneficial drug. In Russia it's a prescripion medication mostly used to treat PTSD, quite successfully. But it's certainly a better idea to work with your doctor, and yes it definitely does produce withdrawals.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

phenibut is a terrible substance. tolerance and dependence develop so quickly; it is not suited for consumption.

if i got a new psych that refused to continue my benzo prescription, i would work with them (only because wait times are so long) until i found a new psych. but i’d never go back to a daily benzo prescription. that increases anxiety in the long term. even if the psych says it will level off once you find the right dose, it won’t. daily benzos continue to lose efficacy while increasing dependence at any dose. they are a short term or prn drug.

i just started remeron. it’s not an ssri. you might want to look into it. it’s described as being good for sleep, anxiety, weight gain, and depression. i haven’t been on it long enough to share personal experience beyond it indeed does cause sedation. it also gives very vivid dreams, which i always thought of as a sign of restless sleep. but wiki says it improves “sleep quality.” i’m not sure if that means helping you go through all the stages of sleep appropriately or not.

Well this opinion has its data. So does that of the other side. I think there's good reason to think that they may not lose efficacy, but will lose the magical, or, comprehensive and very noticeable benefits. Like adderall, it's not meant to write the paper for you. It's meant to allow you to focus when you want to focus. Benzos aren't meant to do away with one's worries, but to round the corners so that therapy can work on the heart of the issues.

People stay on the same dose of benzos for decades. You won't feel it making you extra comfy, but it can work in the background. I understand there are those who assert that even the therapeutic effects fade. For some, this may be true. Not by me, though.

Withdrawal is much more manageable if one doesn't abuse their meds, and doesn't abuse drugs overall. Any medication one has been on for a while will be hard to get off. It seems that this is the case of benzos in particular, but I didn't have an issue basically jumping off 2-3 mg klonopin after six months. I made sure I wasn't going to seize, taking precautions. A few days I was agitated and cranky and didn't sleep well, but overall, it wasn't a very hard discontinuation.

 

[Flynnal]

It can be used to treat PTSD? I doubt Phenibut would work for that. Oh and the withdrawals from that are just heinous. Best to stay away from it. Governments around the world are starting to enact bans against it.

I can vouch that it is a horrible substance and I would never go near it. Even 250mg a day is hard to kick. It's a world full of panic attacks and various emotional distress that I'd never experienced before. Suicide looked like an attractive proposition in the worst part of the withdrawals.