Mental Health & Meds

Hi all

A couple of people has asked about my disorders and medications so I thought I would write a post about it.

So, mental health wise I have the following diagnosis:

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), sometimes called Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (which I HATE)
• Recurrent Depressive Disorder
• Panic Disorder with Anxiety
• Agoraphobia
• Insomnia

It is debated whether I have bipolar 2 and PTSD as well, some think yes others think no. 

Alongside these I also suffer from:

• Thyroid & Pituitary problems which I am having many tests for and is likely to be caused by the mental health meds
• VERY high cholesterol. Linked to the Thyroid problems
• Knees that randomly dislocate because they never formed properly
• Arthritis in toes and hips

And then, on top of all that I get quite a few side effects from my meds! So here is my meds and the side effects:

• Venlafaxine 225mg. This is my longest standing med, been on it about 8 or 9 years. I have no idea any more if its doing any good! They are talking about highering the dose, I would prefer to come off it. The side effects I get from this are hot sweats and constipation.
  
• Lithium 700mg. I have been on this for about 18 months. Its likely that it is causing the problems with my thyroid. For those that don't know it is a dangerous drug and not used that often anymore. I have blood tests every 3 months to make sure it is not doing any damage .... that was how to thyroid problems were noticed.  Side effects is weight gain, bad tremors and feeling faint if not eating or drinking enough.
  
• Mirtazapine 15 / 30mg. This is my love / hate drug. For my mental health it is by far the best thing I have ever taken but its main side effect made me stop taking it. I spent 3 months off of it but my mental health got so bad that yesterday I was given the choice .... go back on it or get referred to crisis team. I am now back on it. On the plus side, it helps with the hot sweats and the shaking. It also lifts my mood and sometimes helps me sleep. However it is renound for weight gain. When I started taking it 18 months ago I was a size 12, I am now a size 20 and its all down to the Mirtazapine. I was putting on 1lb a week. Dieting made no difference .... my OH lost 1.5 stone and I gained 3lb's by eating the same thing!! The problem I have now is that the weight gain is really making me low so its counteracting all the good the drug is doing. I am only back on it for a few weeks until they decide a different way forward.
  
• Diazapam 5mg. I am only allowed to take this twice a week if/when I go out. I love this stuff. Just makes everything seem better for a little while.
  
• Statins 40mg. Can't remember the name, its the one for more severe cases. Am meant to be on 60mg but doctor refuses to give me it!
  
• Max strength Senna. Still makes no difference!

I also take extra vitamin D, B12 and a multi vit. Not really sure they do anything!! 

So thats a brief run down. I will post in more detail about how my disorders affect me sometime soon. Please share your details with me? I would love to compare meds etc.

TTFN

K