Bipolar 2, Brain Fog, and the Roller Coaster ride.

I'm Bipolar type 2, Anxiety disorder and some PTSD. Ive had Rny 4.5 years ago. I lost 200lbs and have have a tummy tuck, thigh lift, breast lift and recently August 21 brachioplasty. Total 20lbs of skin. Ive had 20lbs of skin removed. I have a regain of 50lbs. Im 46 and not menopausal, 

Ok here goes. I'm on Wellbutrin Lamictal, klonapin, clonadine, vit d, B12 shots iron and I take emercent c. My lst set of labs were good.

I have problems with vision. Judging distance is a problem. I have brain fog and loss of words, forgetfulness and confusion. My moods are all over the place. My anxiety is high and I'm having a hard time with panic attacks. They say I have sleep apnea and I get violent when I sleep so I take Clonadine and Klonapin at bed to stop me from giving my boyfriend any more bloody noses while I sleep. I don't remember anything about it. 

I need help and my provider is just about at a loss. She is lowering my Wellbutrin and Lamictal. We believe the Lamictal is the problem so that is being lowered. She now is lowering my Wellbutrin and increasing my Klonapin. Anyone have any suggestions? 

I need help

Hi Michelle!

I also have bipolar 2 with some anxiety. I've been on Lamictal for years and took Wellbutrin for quite a while. I'm currently on Lamictal and Lexapro, and also took BuSpar and Geodon before getting pregnant.

A few questions for you:

What type of provider are you seeing? Your GP? A nurse practitioner? A psychiatrist? You may want to shift to a psychiatrist who has a lot of experience treating bipolar.

Have you tried any other antidepressants or mood stabilizers? I've had several medications that have caused SERIOUS brain fog-- Topamax and Seroquel were especially bad. My mom takes klonopin and gets a very bad brain fog/hangover effect from that one. Different people can react to medications differently, so it may be worth trying to switch to a different one. Expect some trial-and-error, which is no fun, but it may get you some relief.

Wellbutrin is known to cause hypomania in folks with bipolar. When my dose was anything above 150 mg, I got VERY anxious and tended to have panic attacks. When I switched to a different antidepressant, that went away completely, so it might be worth trying something different.

Have you had a sleep study done? I've had sleep apnea done, and they were able to tell that it was due to my body as opposed to my meds. I ended up on a CPAP for a while, and it helped a LOT once I got used to it.

Have you lost much weight recently, or was it in years previous? Lamictal is made less effective by the presence of estrogen, so when we have a "hormone dump" after weight loss, the Lamictal can crap out. This can also happen if you start or change birth control, and you might need to adjust the dose.

Feel free to PM if you want to chat mental health, I'm happy to help if I can :)

I have had a recent sleep study and still have Mild very mild sleep apnea. My problem is more that I can't stay still when I sleep and now have become combative. My poor boyfriend god he is a saint has gotten 2 bloody noses and I don't remember giving them to him. Over the last year I have had weight gain. I was in a stressful job, vit D and Iron were low and the sleep apnea has been addressed. Now I just had my brachioplasty. I lost 5lbs of skin and fat from that. I'm healing as well as I can be from that. My Doctor just switched me from Wellbutrin to Latuda. The pharmacist says it needs to be taken with a high fat 350 calorie meal and has side effects of TD. wtf? So many of these doctors dont know how to treat patients with rny or absorbtion issues. yeah 350 calorie high fat meal. I couldn't eat that if I tried without puking. God this sucks 

I haven't been on Latuda, but I've heard good things about it. Wellbutrin made me manic and twitchy though, so hopefully it would be a good change. I haven't heard anything about it being taken with meals, maybe that just means you won't absorb as much?

It might be worth looking into Seroquel, perhaps, because it tends to conk people out REALLY hard at night. My mom has bipolar/PTSD and sleep issues, and I think it knocked her out for the night as well when nothing else would.

Fingers crossed that you get something to work for you.

I tried Latuda and it did not work. Right now I'm going to my gastric dr and hoping thye can help. Ive had my psych and my GP send over my labs. Hopefully an answer to some srt of stability will come soon.