Posts by Mark Stewart

Dg: Bipolar disorder, currently in remission
F 25.2, in remission

Th: Seroquel XR 400mg 0,0,3
Risperdal 4mg 1,0,1
Haldol 10mg 0,0,1
Lexapro 10mg 2,0,0
Celexa 45mg 0,0,1
Lamictal 100mg 1,1,1
Concerta 36mg 1,0,0

I was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia.
I’ve been seeing psychiatrists since I was fifteen.
First, they called it an adolescent crisis, then BPD,
and now, it's schizophrenia.
For most of the year, I'm pretty much non-functional because
paranoia and hallucinations tend to hit me frequently,
and when those subside, I'm left dealing with negative symptoms.
I attend psychotherapy sessions every week,
and my current medication regimen includes:

Zyprexa 500mg
Risperdal 4mg
Paxil 45mg
Lamictal 75mg
Depakote 1000mg
Xanax 0.5 mg
Valium 30mg

Best regards.

Haha, if only life were that simple...
Of course Lexapro doesn't cause burst blood vessels or anything nearly that dramatic. You can go ahead and soak up the sun while on it, or any other SSRI, for all I care.

The term "person with a mental disorder" is actually accurate, despite you framing it as some scandalous remark made by a psychiatrist.
It seems to me you’re having a bit of trouble coming to terms with your own reality.
Mental health conditions—whether it's depression, personality disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or ADHD—are simply malfunctions of brain function, essentially pathological neurotransmission. There are medications for it, and there is psychotherapy.
The fact that people in America still view someone attending therapy or, heaven forbid, taking medication, with such judgment is just a symptom of our outdated, provincial, and frankly regressive American mindset.

Accutane, or rather an isotretinoin derivative of Vitamin A, is a profoundly dangerous medication.
Accutane (Roche) is a drug that, in many instances, triggers severe psychiatric issues, ranging from deep endogenous depression and personality disorders to schizophrenia. These effects often surface toward the end of treatment or even one to two years after stopping, as the drug accumulates in fatty tissue due to how difficult Vitamin A derivatives are for the body to flush out. High doses of Vitamin A—and at 0.5mg/kg, Accutane dosages are astronomical—have a devastating impact on brain neurotransmission.
The suicide rate following its use is significantly higher than the standard average.
The damage this drug inflicts on the body is irreversible.
I’m not just fear-mongering here; these are facts confirmed by journals like Science (and several others before them), which you might have seen reported on the news lately.
If you're truly willing to ruin your life just to have a "baby face" by tomorrow, then I honestly feel sorry for you.
Long live Accutane!☕

swiftpanther102 said:Give me a break... I mean, they basically proved your theory wrong already—just look at how it works with kids and animals. If you can even wrap your head around an explanation like that.🙄

Nobody has ever seen those "studies" on kids or animals except for them. Besides, none of that research was conducted under the kind of oversight or control you'd find in actual, legitimate scientific studies.
☕

Homeopathy is nothing more than a common-sense scam currently circulating in medical circles. It lacks any actual efficacy, and comparing it to standard Western medicine is frankly laughable. There isn't a shred of scientific basis or evidence to support it—despite their constant claims of conducting studies. They insist research exists, yet nobody ever sees these results except for the practitioners themselves, which is a blatant lie designed to drain people's bank accounts. Even the New England Journal of Medicine published findings a few years back proving homeopathy is completely ineffective; any small percentage of people who feel better are simply experiencing the placebo effect.
The entire foundation of homeopathy as a self-proclaimed medical discipline collapses once you realize that at certain dilution ratios (I believe it's 1:80), there is no longer any trace of the original substance—whether plant or animal—left in the solution. In other words, there isn't a single atom or molecule of the active ingredient remaining. Desperately, homeopaths claim the solution somehow "remembers" the medicinal properties of the lost substance through extreme dilutions, such as 1:100,000, under the delusion that more dilution equals more potency.
It’s pure idiocy, though unfortunately, many fall for it because:

They prefer fairy tales over the harsh reality of their health.
They want a quick fix without putting in any actual effort.
They are SELFISH and ARROGANT, demanding miracles that homeopathy conveniently promises.

Every antidepressant comes with its own set of baggage. Generally speaking, SSRIs—like Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, Faverin, or Prozac—are known for having a more tolerable side effect profile, which usually means patients don't feel the need to ditch them immediately. On the other hand, MAOIs and tricyclics tend to pack a much harder punch with their side effects, leading to much higher dropout rates.
SSRIs are currently the go-to prescription, with sertraline (found in Zoloft, Luvox, or Yasmin) being the most frequently prescribed among them.

hollowtinker8 said:My psychiatrist actually suggested I try Rivotril, but honestly, I’m a little nervous about taking it—especially since I’m already on Lamictal, which is also an antiepileptic. I'm worried about how they might interact. Plus, as someone who's dealt with panic attacks for a long time now, 🙄I know deep down that the anxiety over taking it would just eat at me. But man, I really could use some relief here. 😳
Some of these seem okay, like Norval.

I'm on Lamictal as well. There aren't any interactions between those two, other than the fact that both raise the seizure threshold.
I was taking Rivotril about six months ago, but I had to taper off all my anxiolytics for a while.
Now I'm on Xanax SR, 1mg three times a day.

hollowtinker8 said:Hey everyone.
So, I’ve been on Xanax for about four years now—and honestly, my body has just gotten so used to it that I don't even feel it anymore, let alone get the same effect I used to.
Because of that, I’m working with my psychiatrist to switch things up and try a different anxiolytic instead.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for something that doesn't come with a ton of nasty side effects, and right now I'm torn between trying Inderal or Paxil. 🤔
Thanks

Tolerance can definitely develop with alprazolam (Xanax, Misar, Helex). After long-term use, you often find yourself needing higher doses just to achieve the initial effect.
Generally, alprazolam doses up to 4mg/day are thought to carry a lower risk of withdrawal symptoms when tapering off or reducing the dose.
In your case, having used it for four years, it sounds like a classic case of diminished efficacy due to tolerance.

-Diazepam (Valium) - a classic, widely used anxiolytic typically prescribed at 5-20mg/day, though inpatient settings may require higher doses.
-Oxazepam (Paxil) - this is weaker than diazepam since it is actually a metabolite of diazepam (the liver breaks diazepam down into oxazepam).
-Bromazepam - offers similar efficacy to diazepam.
-Lorazepam - works quickly to alleviate anxiety, but it has a short duration of action and carries a high likelihood of psychological or physical dependence.

A solid option you might consider is clonazepam—Rivotril. While primarily an antiepileptic, it belongs to the benzodiazepine class and is frequently used for anxiety, social phobias, and other phobic disorders.
Dosages range from 3x0.5mg for milder anxiety up to 3x2mg for more severe cases. It generally tends to be less addictive than standard anxiolytics.

Valerian is typically found in herbal sleep aids due to its muscle-relaxing properties, whereas ginseng tends to boost alertness and energy (as it often contains caffeine).
For certain individuals dealing with anxiety or depression, however, it can actually have the opposite effect and trigger increased anxiety.
Additionally, using ginseng or other stimulants may cause nausea and vomiting in some people.

Luxeta is essentially sertraline—specifically Zoloft—just manufactured by Pfizer.
Common initial side effects tend to include nausea, dizziness, and headaches.
You might also notice some fluctuations in body weight.
Fortunately, these side effects usually taper off once you've settled into a consistent routine.

Effexor comes in 37.5mg and 75mg tablets.
While the standard ceiling is usually 150mg, some people dealing with particularly stubborn, severe depression might need to go all the way up to 375mg a day.

Every psychotropic medication comes with its own set of side effects. There seems to be a running theory that the more intense the side effects, the "better" the drug works.
We see this pattern clearly when comparing modern antipsychotics and antidepressants.
First-generation, or typical, antipsychotics were notorious for severe side effects like EPS or tardive dyskinesia. In contrast, atypical antipsychotics—prototyped by Celexa and including newer options like Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify, and Invega—offer a much milder side effect profile. However, the trade-off is that they are often less potent than the typical ones. This is why clinicians frequently rely on those older, typical drugs during an acute psychotic episode; they suppress symptoms rapidly. Once the crisis passes, the goal is usually to transition to atypicals, which allow for a semblance of normal functioning without unbearable side effects like EPS, even if they lack raw potency. It turns out Risperdal is actually the most potent of the newer generation, though even it can trigger EPS if the dose exceeds 5mg.
The situation with antidepressants follows a similar logic.
My current regimen consists of:
Zyprexa 20mg
Celexa 200mg
Lamictal 200mg
Effexor 150mg
Xanax SR 3x1mg
Prazosin 100mg

About two years ago, I was initially diagnosed with schizophrenia, though they eventually corrected it to BPD (borderline personality disorder). After a period of being prescribed quite a few different medications, my current regimen consists of:

Risperdal 4mg
Verapamil 50mg
Zoloft 100mg
Topamax 100mg
Xanax SR 1mg