My husband is Bipolar & on Geodon (120mg) - Nuronten(4000mg). He is depressed and having panic attacts.?

Dr says he is not yet on a high enough dose although symptoms seem to be increasing with increased dosage. She also says that because of stress in his job (he has now eliminated all major responsibilities except for one trip), is over weight and not eating well, he is not getting relief as quickly. His anxiety and agitation are severe and he can often be found crying or will have short burst of intense anger. The psyc says that she cannot change or add meds now because he is leaving for an international business trip in 3 days. He says he has no choice about going. He is overwhelmed and extremely fearful (debilitating) when he thinks about it although he will have minimal responsibility. He will be with people constantly though. Concern: jet lag and sleep issues. Must have good sleep on med. Sees his psyc today regarding taking meds with the time change (nightmare!) and will ask about jet lag. I am fearful of a breakdown or outburst. Any thoughts?

Geodon can aggravate, or even induce mania in bipolars so use with caution in bipolar where mania is a problem. Any medication that makes things worse could be caused by the side effects of that medicine. You need a second opinion. Rivatroll is klonopin which is HIGHLY addictive, as is xanax.

ah honey.... i sympathize with you... my sis is bipolar and every day is a gamble with her. she is on rivatroll. it seems to help with the panic attacks and permanent anxiety.... your husband will be fine.... but you need a support group or a shoulder to cry on because living with someone like that is very emotionally taxing and can be overwhelming at times.... i wish you lots of luck and happiness.... hang in there!

Get him off all his meds, they obviously aren't helping. Make sue he eats well and get him to do lots of exercise when he can. Get him a good counsellor that he can talk to when he gets overwhelmed and hopefully all these combined will help deal with this.

See this site for natural help.

http://www.phifoundation.org/heal.html

Screw that job! His health is a 1000 times more important. If you love him, don't let him go! And get a new doctor - that one is a quack!!!!

I'm also bi-polar, and a man. We take great pride in being able to work. I'm sure he's stressed over his job. The fear of a having another panic attack is just as bad, or worse than the actual attack. The Dr. is right, it takes time, sometimes months for the meds to take full effect and to get the dosages right. People are all different, and so are the meds. Sometimes it is a trial and error process to get the correct med and dosage. I haven't had a panic attack for several months now, but, I've come close. My Dr. gives me 0.5 mg xanax, that I take only when I feel an attack coming. Within about 20 minutes I'm calmed down and can function again. They also help me get to sleep when I've had a tough day.

HELLO, I JUST HAD A 10 DAY MENTAL INSTITUTION STAY AT HAVENWYCK PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL I NEEDED MY MEDS ADJUSTED AND I HAD TO BE MONITORED MY A LICENSED DR 24 HRS A DAY. FINALLY I THINK THEY HAVE THEM RIGHT AGAIN I TAKE TOPAMAX/LY RICA/XANAX/KLONOPIN/GEODON 60MG/CYMBALTA/SEROQUEL 1200MG A DAY NOW THAT IS A VERY HIGH DOSE OF THAT DRUG BUT THAT IS MY MOOD STABILIZER AND I TAKE THE XANAX AND KLONDINPIN BECAUSE I HAVE A AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORAL PROBLEM I ALSO HAVE TO GO ONCE A WEEK FOR BLOOD DRAWS TO MAKE SURE I'M TAKING ALL MY MEDS. SO MAYBE HE IS NOT ON ENOUGH