Saturday, January 5, 2013

Pre-pregnancy and Bipolar

I recently got married. Prior to the wedding, due to a lapse likely due to family and work pressures I started back on medication after 4 or 5 years off.  Now I am back on meds after catching myself on a downward spiral and am very very happily married and working 6-8 hours a day at my job instead of 12-18+ with the support of all around me.

 The doctor had put me on Lexapro for anxiety, Abilify for bipolar, Klonopin to help me sleep through the night, another hormonal sleep regulation med (similar to melatonin but more focused and better for you, he says) I forget the name of, and Biperiden to deal with the restless side effects of Abilify. Also some herbal supplements for anxiety.

 I was afraid to get on drugs again but found myself amazed at Abilify for the stability it brought me with minimal mental side effects (I had taken Depakene before and felt like a zombie).

As my husband and I are trying to conceive we've now weaned off the Abilify and Biperiden, and the plan is to eventually stop all drugs altogether except for the herbal supplements as they are safe during pregnancy.

So I am back on track to eventually treating this without meds but slightly afraid. I've become a bit moodier but am trying to control any ups and downs on my own. Still have a ways to go but I'm hoping I can do it. We're not certain yet whether I'll be able to wean off all although that is the ideal situation, but I am gonna try! I hope I can do it.

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