weight gain from drugs for bipolar/psychotic/mood disorders?

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I have trouble with horrendous mood swings. I am a 47 year old female. They had diagnosed me as bipolar, but lithium, depacote, nothing worked, but I gained weight like crazy. I didn't really fit the profile for bipolar other than mood swings (no spending sprees, no promiscuity, etc.). The doctor tried Risperdal and it worked! I felt normal for the first time in years. Then they took a prolactin test, it was 37.7, and normal is 1-20, so he took me off and put me on Seroquel. I am on a therapeutic dose, no relief, still mood swings like crazy and MORE weight gain. Some days I eat nothing at all, and I still gain (and still act crazy). I would like to go back to Risperdal if that number is not completely out of the question. At least if I have to be 30 pounds heavier, I don't have mood swings with the Risperdal. Anyone have any luck with these or other drugs for mood swings, and what did you do about the weight gain? I feel HORRIBLE!
I take the seroqual and they gave me Tofranil Pm, Its a mood stabilizer. I have had great results with them. unfortunatley, most antipsycotics/antidepressants cause weight gain. It sucks. I haven't gained much weight but then again I don't get hungry either. But NOT eating can actually make you gain weight. Talk to your doctor about your concerns at your next visit. As far as loosing the weight I drink alot of ice tea (its a natural diuretic- loose water weight) and I try to eat small meals through out the day, even if i'm not really hungry.... Good Luck!  (+ info)

Can someone help me with Schizo-affective disorder and Bipolar disorder with psychotic features?

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I believe I was given the ability to hear voices for a reason. Something big is going to happen. This was done to me on purpose but I think it backfired on them. Do any of you hear voices? Could I and people like me be on to something? Is this the next stage of evolution or a horrible turn of fate?
  (+ info)

I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder but I dont have any psychotic features?

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I dont hear voices or have hallucinations. Could there be another reason why I was diagnosed with this disorder?
You might be very depressed:S. If their anything going on in yor life that is depressing you, try to ignore it and think about happy moments  (+ info)

How to tell my spouse he is suffering from paranoid personality disorder with psychotic features.?

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He feels that he is perfectly alright and is a very un co-operative patient. Help please. Thanks
If he is paranoid then you don't need to tell him anything. he will just see you as part of the problem. the fact that he has psychotic features can make him very dangerous. If he has actually been seen by a mental health professional and received the above stated diagnosis and is being uncooperative or medication non-compliant then you need to contact that mental health professional right away. If you agitate a paranoid person and he reaches an acutely psychotic state you have a serious problem on your hands. If he is not taking his meds contact a mental health professional.  (+ info)

Positive and negative symptoms for schizophrenia or any psychotic disorder?

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My question is can people who have schizophrenia be completely relieved of positive symptoms due to taking anti psychotics, but still have negative symptoms linger? In all my reading I haven't found the answer. So if someone who knows could help me out it would be appreciated.


Thanks.
Yes, absolutely. Residual Schizophrenia is designed as exactly that -- absence of hallucinations and other positive symptoms, with some emotional withdrawal.  (+ info)

What is the difference between bipolar with psychotic features and schizoaffective disorder?

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I always found this question tough, from the way it was explained to me is that schizoaffective disorder has components of a psychotic disorder and a mood disorder, whereas bipolar with psychotic features is predominantly bipolar disorder, with psychotic features that are distinct from acute mania.

Unfortunately in real life, it takes a long observation of a patient (or a really good history) to really place them into one category or another. Ultimately they also may be treated fairly similar as well.  (+ info)

What does this mean? Primary psychotic disorder with psychotic symptoms?

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I know WHAT the words mean, but how would a person act with this type of diagnosis? I don't think I've ever known anyone with this illness, I'm sure I have, but not extrememly close to them. How would you know if someone had this issue?
This is a "catchall" diagnosis that is used by mental health professionals when they have assessed a patient, have clear evidence that the patient has psychosis, but the patient is so psychotic that they are unable to determine the cause of the psychosis.

There can be many causes for psychosis including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, drug intoxication or drug withdrawal, and many others. Doctors need to be able to collect history information about the whys and whens of the patient's psychosis before being able to be more specific with their diagnosis.

aj  (+ info)

What does it mean to have psychotic episodes with bi polar disorder?

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bi polar disorder with psychotic episodes is the diagnoses
Not everyone who is bi polar has psychotic episodes. Some people are bi polar only which means they have mood swings between depression and euphoria.

Psychosis, on the other hand, means a loss of contact with reality, usually including false ideas about what is taking place. It is a severe mental condition in an of itself.

Therefore the diagnosis bi polar disorder with psychotic episodes means the person has the depressive and euphoric mood swings in addition to being out of contact with reality.

If you want more information try this link:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001553.htm  (+ info)

Spiritual, or alternative explanations for psychotic disorders like schizophrenia?

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After starting to read One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, I'm very interested in the idea that the mentally ill are not really ill, but just perceiving reality differently. The idea that LSD replicates the schizophrenic mindset fascinates me, and personally think schizophrenics are perceiving reality in the intense way you do while under the influence of LSD, all the time, and alot of their madness comes from trying to relate to the rest of us, who aren't.

Can anyone lead me to information on this topic? Even information that refutes this. Maybe you just want to tell me I'm full of crap. Just please give me something more to go on.
I read a bunch of stuff for you but I accidentally deleted it :(

Anyway, the short version:
Try Thomas Szasz: He believed that psychiatric illness is a myth. You can find videos of him on Youtube before reading his stuff.

Also R. D. Laing: he believed that the "ill" person's family and the doctors are parts of a conspiracy determined to keep them in the "ill" category and believed that the "psychotic" are actually just like us but with weaker socialising capabilities. His ideas were a bit more complex than Thomas's.

Aldous Huxley (a writier) believed that "scizphrenic" people are like people on psychedelic drugs (like LSD) with only differerence that they don't know when the trip will be over, which causes them immense fear that can cause what would otherwise be a heavenly experience into a hellish one. I think one of the books where he wrote about this was "Heaven and Hell" which is quite small and relatively easy to read.  (+ info)

In bipolar disorder, why do people become psychotic when they are manic?

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I know that if I don't take my meds, I become manic with a psychosis. Why?
I don't know, but that can happen with me, too.  (+ info)

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