No medications have helped my conditions. What's wrong?

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I take Vyvanse. It barely works (I'm on 40mg). I sometimes take 10mgof Adderall in the afternoon. That small dose of Adderall has that concentration and motivation kick I don't get with Vyvanse. Personally, I'm trying to function with lower doses of the drugs in hopes that the day will come when I won't need them. I've been on all the drugs you've mentioned; Lithium and Depakote made me a zombie. Haldol made me sleepy.

I was on 75mg of Vyvanse. It made me extremely manic, but it didn't make me focused. I guess you could say that I feel like a zombie, so maybe it's the medication I'm on now.

I'm considering stopping taking my Zoloft, as I am suffering from Major Depression right now.

Is this a bad idea?

Usually, it's best to ask your doctor before stopping a medication. I always found it odd how antidepressants can cause depression. How long have you been on it? I know that after being on effexxor and welbutrin for about 10 years straight, it really messed me up.

Kind of a side question here. Could sadism be a symptom of something?

That's why I only take stimulants now. If I don't take the drugs, I won't have any nasty side effects/withdrawal symptoms. I was so effed up when I was going through withdrawal from all thode mood stabilizers and antipsychotics. And I don't even have schizophrenia or bipolar.

Sorry if it seems like i'm hijacking your thread Shadewraith im not

I agree, i've been on Zoloft since Nov 2010 and it did help at first, but lately its just making me more depressed and suicidal. Im seeing my doctor on monday so i'll ask him about coming off it.

You could try propranolol, that may help with your anxiety and antisocial behavior.

Sorry to crash your thread, but I'm pretty sure that diagnosis does exist (last time I checked anyway). A lot of people do have symptoms of more than one PD and the diagnosis tends to be given where it is felt that they fit the general PD criteria and their life is sufficiently disrupted that a diagnosis would be beneficial, but they cannot be accurately placed into one particular category e.g. borderline, narcissistic etc. If things have recently changed please feel free to correct me.

I find this interesting coming from a neuroscientist. Isn't the general consensus among professionals that self-diagnosis is bad?

Probably, but then again, most professionals don't have disorders themselves and have no conception of the potential usefulness of self-diagnosis.

this medicines are serious waste of time and harmful in long run
just go for some counselling or theraphy

You folks are really good at triggering a Bloom Response!

I keep thinking I need to change my signature to a disclaimer ... yeesh! Anyway, standard rule applies, please talk to your doctor; open, honest communication is paramount to effective treatment. I'm not your doctor, nor am I giving medical advice, I'm simply giving examples from experience or giving information to which any professional has access. Tada!

I've seen you bring this up before, so let me give you the clearest answer possible: there's nothing inherently wrong with sadism, it's not, on its own, pathological. Asking if sadism is "a symptom of something" (or pathological) is like asking if needing to blow your nose is pathological. I dunno... why are you blowing your nose? What are you doing with the tissue after? Are you even using a tissue?!

If you'd like to explore your thoughts on this subject in more depth, send me a PM and I'll connect you with someone that you can talk to in your local area.



Well... it is. Generally. If a new patient comes into the office and says, "Doc, this is what I have, and this is how I want you to treat it." I'm likely going to say, "Well, then, have a day, and good luck with that." If a patient with whom I have rapport comes in and says, "Doc, I've done some research, and this diagnosis seems to fit me, can we talk about this?" I'm likely going to say, "Oh, wow! Let's have a chat!" Or, on the rare occasion, "Oooo! Let me check this out...!" To that end, if a new patient comes in and says, "Doc, I know you don't know me, but I've been trying to get someone to listen to me..." Or, "Hey doc, I've been doing some research..." See... it's all about presentation. If you come in already self-diagnosed, and already mind-fixed on this diagnosis, what good am I? You don't need ME, you need my prescription pad, and I don't play that game.

The problem with many self-diagnosers is the inability to properly understand the system of diagnosing - which we've seem amply here on WP. Worst case: Oh! I have ALL THESE SYMPTOMS!! I have Purple Monkey Disease! Then they go around telling everyone they have Purple Monkey. They do all sorts of research on Purple Monkey. Pretty soon, they actually start developing "real" Purple Monkey symptoms! Others start believing they have Purple Monkey! Then people start pointing them out as examples of Purple Monkey! We, in the field, call this Interns Disease.

Best case? People pick up a DSM and read the first part of the diagnosis and read, "Oh, I only have to have SOME of these symptoms to fit the criteria..." Then, please see the above scenario...

What people don't do? The don't get the clinical training that teaches them about things like constellations, distress, life functioning, clinical impairments, etc. People can actually talk themselves INTO a pathology... we have a DSM code for THAT

So! Is self-diagnosing A Bad Thing(tm)? Yes. Generally speaking, it is. So is all other non-face-to-face diagnosing (which is why I refuse to give medical/psychological advice here). But, research, education, investigation, collaboration, open discussion? If you have a doctor that discourages THESE things? WALK AWAY.

I recently had a patient that was with another doc for a YEAR. She had a right nasty infection in her mouth that her ear that her primary care kept giving her antibiotics for. 6 months in, he tried to culture the bugger. Nothing came of it... She KNEW something was wrong, but didn't say anything, despite knowing it wasn't a simple infection. 9 months later, she's LIVID. The pain is terrible, the doc increases the antibiotics, and RXes pain meds. cultures the ear again. Nothing. Didn't even refer to an ENT. 10 months later, the gal goes to an ENT on her own. The doc takes ONE look and says, "That's not an infection, it's skin cancer. Let's get it biopsied, and see if we can figure out what kind." She panicked. The primary care STILL won't talk to her, OR the ENT. 12 months later, she's being treated for cancer. 15 months later, she's lost the ear completely, but the cancer is gone.

This could have been avoided if she had said something. All the blame lies on the doctor, however. She was too old, and too fragile. She didn't think she had the right to say something to the rotter. To tell at doctor, "Hey, I think you're wrong." "Hey, please check again." "Hey, I need a second opinion, please refer me." "HEY LISTEN TO ME." is your RIGHT. Do it!



1. It's good to see another neuro here.
2. I have 2 diagnoses. At least half of the docs I know have a diagnosis of some type.
3. Please see above. Self-diagnosing isn't good, and should be discouraged, even if the diagnoser is a professional in the field. Docs do it All The Time. We know better... Every doc was an intern at some point!



Many of the medicine he mentioned are harmful "in the long run" depending on the body, the amount taken, and how long the medicine is taken. Whether or not they are a waste of time depends on the person. Medicine can help a great number of people when RXed and used correctly. The affects can also be devastating.

Many of the diagnoses brought up in this thread, however, have been successfully treated with therapy. Therapy is always a good option, and many times a better option than medicine, a much better option than long-term medicine, and an amazing option to go along with medicine. GAD is especially responsive to short-term medicine in combonation with therapy.

Also, Seroquel is an antipsychotic (an effective one), as is Haldol. They are not mood stabilizers like Lithium.

Propranolol is a beta blocker best suited to treat cardiac patients. While it was (and, sadly, still is) used for some types of anxiety, it does so by manipulating the cardiac system.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to PM.

First, I am not a medical doctor. I am a scientist. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with self-diagnosis IF you have expert knowledge of the disorder, the disorder is causing you functional impairment, and you seek a professional diagnosis for confirmation and treatment for the functional impairment. I have many problems, most of which I first found out about through self-diagnosis, because my conditions don't manifest themselves as common phenotypes. Again, the ONLY reason I found out I have OCD, the only reason I am now receiving treatment, is because I self-diagnosed myself. Doctors know to look for the common stereotypes of psych disorders, and when you don't match that criteria, you fall through the cracks. I do not overdiagnose myself with things. If I hear about something that I KNOW fits me, I obsessively research it until I am sure, and then, I seek professional diagnosis. Every one of my self-diagnoses has been confirmed by a professional. I do not have "medical student syndrome." You have to be an advocate for your own health, because there are many rare conditions doctors never even bother to screen for. I am very against overdiagnosing, but I am also very against doctors not taking my knowledge seriously.


This is incorrect. Many bipolar patients use atypical anti-psychotics as anti-manic agents. While they are not categorized officially as a mood stabilizer, many bipolar individuals do use atypicals for mood stabilization. It is just like how the anti-convulsants are not made to be mood stabilizers (they are made for epilepsy), but they are commonly used as mood stabilizers. To get really technical, conventional anti-psychotics aren't really anti-psychotics. Thorazine was created as an antihistamine. It just was found to have revolutionary anti-psychotic effects.

I'm not going to get into a debate with you. You've obviously made up your mind, and that's that. I apologize for my fellows, and they seem to have not listened to you in the past, and that is one of the biggest failings of the profession. Unfortunately, as time moves on, this isn't going to improve...

You didn't, however, read what I wrote. There's a difference between self-advocacy and self-diagnosing. The doctor-patient relationship should always be collaborative. People with agendas are very difficult to work with - both patients and doctors.

You know, as a scientist, you certainly did personalize what I said... and you use a lot of absolutes... mayhap you should just re-read the information, and take it for what it's worth. It wasn't about you.



Please don't spread bad information, especially when you're touting expert knowledge. Again, my statement was "Seroquel is an antipsychotic, not a mood stabilizer." I never said "Seroquel is only used to treat psychosis." Here's a link for you (and others) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001030/

Again, as a scientist, I think you need to step back for a moment, and not be so defensive. You've given some good information in this thread, and your willingness to help others advocate for themselves is great.

If, on the other hand, you feel the need to continue debating, please take it to PMs. This thread isn't about you (or me).

Be well.

The only thing I'm going to add, as I do not want to debate either, is that atypical anti-psychotics ARE mood stabilizers in some cases. That is why I said your statement was incorrect. I knew you didn't mean that atypicals are only used for schizophrenia and psychosis. Seroquel and other atypicals belong to the class of anti-psychotics, but they CAN be mood stabilizers. Just like how Depakote and Tegretol are really anti-epileptics, but they are often called mood stabilizers. As for being defensive, I am much more argumentative on this forum than I am in real life, and I think this is just due to the nature of the site.