Posted by blueboy on April 9, 2010, at 9:52:55

Hi all. I haven't posted in a long time. I've been miserable, suffering from depression, since I last posted.

I have been diagnosed bipolar II and have a spectrum of other disorders such as social anxiety, agoraphobia, a touch of OCD. I have tried many dozens of drugs and was, as of two weeks ago, taking 4x50mg Zoloft, various amounts of Mirapex, and klonopin as needed.

I got hay fever and took some Sudafed (2x30mg pseudoephedrine). The results were miraculous. My only side effects are insomnia, which is actually not as bad as it was on Mirapex at higher dosage; mild hypomania; and weight loss!

My pdoc is actually a team in the Treatment-Resistant Depression department of Emory University. They were fascinated because the sudafed not only treated the chronic depression I have been experiencing, but radically lowered my agoraphobia and social anxiety!

They also gave me an ADHD screening, which was positive, and we discussed the poorly-understood relationship between ADHD and bipolar disorder. Despite a very high IQ, I have had a checkered academic record. I did manage to graduate from an Ivy League college and a decent law school, but my grades were not very good and my LSAT (800) would have indicated a much more selective law school. I did have periodic good grades alternating with bad ones.

The bottom line I wanted to share with you: My psychiatric team was fascinated at the phenomenon -- especially the reduction of anxiety -- and said that, as far as they were concerned, I could take pseudoephedrine for the rest of my life. Of course if I should develop high blood pressure (which is so far unaffected) or any sort of heart problems, or any dangerous degree of mania, we would have to re-evaluate. But from what I have read, pseudoephedrine is easier to tolerate than most stimulants prescribed for ADHD.

I'm now tapering off the Zoloft, which was ineffective, and then will taper off the Mirapex if all is well. The idea being to see whether the effect was from the sudafed alone, or a combinatory effect with the sertraline. The Mirapex was effective but had a lot of side effects.

I really hope this works out. I've put on a lot of weight, which is terrible for my heart and general health, partially due to the effects of various SSRI/MAOI/bipolar medications. The extra weight is pouring off and, even if there is some ill effect to my heart, I need to balance that against the ill effects of the obesity. I am also getting some significant exercise for the first time in over 10 years!

One of my doctors, who is in research, might do a case study, since this is the first treatment in 45 years of bipolar misery that has really truly helped me. I am praying that it continues to be effective and doesn't have deleterious side effects that make me discontinue it.

But anyway, I am taking 4x30mg pseudoephedrine daily (I weigh 255 pounds) with the blessing of a good psychiatric team, and so far it has been startlingly effective to treat on a wide range of mental problems, including Axis I diagnosis of bipolar II. I have been diagnosed bipolar II and have a spectrum of other disorders such as social anxiety, agoraphobia, a touch of OCD. I have tried many dozens of drugs and was, as of two weeks ago, taking 4x50mg Zoloft, various amounts of Mirapex, and klonopin as needed.

I got hay fever and took some Sudafed (2x30mg pseudoephedrine). The results were miraculous. My only side effects are insomnia, which is actually not as bad as it was on Mirapex at higher dosage; mild hypomania; and weight loss!

My pdoc is actually a team in the Treatment-Resistant Depression department of Emory University. They were fascinated because the sudafed not only treated the chronic depression I have been experiencing, but radically lowered my agoraphobia and social anxiety!

They also gave me an ADHD screening, which was positive, and we discussed the poorly-understood relationship between ADHD and bipolar disorder. Despite a very high IQ, I have had a checkered academic record. I did manage to graduate from an Ivy League college and a decent law school, but my grades were not very good and my LSAT (800) would have indicated a much more selective law school. I did have periodic good grades alternating with bad ones.

The bottom line I wanted to share with you: My psychiatric team was fascinated at the phenomenon -- especially the reduction of anxiety -- and said that, as far as they were concerned, I could take pseudoephedrine for the rest of my life. Of course if I should develop high blood pressure (which is so far unaffected) or any sort of heart problems, or any dangerous degree of mania, we would have to re-evaluate. But from what I have read, pseudoephedrine is easier to tolerate than most stimulants prescribed for ADHD.

I'm now tapering off the Zoloft, which was ineffective, and then will taper off the Mirapex if all is well. The idea being to see whether the effect was from the sudafed alone, or a combinatory effect with the sertraline. The Mirapex was effective but had a lot of side effects.

I really hope this works out. I've put on a lot of weight, which is terrible for my heart and general health, partially due to the effects of various SSRI/MAOI/bipolar medications. The extra weight is pouring off and, even if there is some ill effect to my heart, I need to balance that against the ill effects of the obesity. I am also getting some significant exercise for the first time in over 10 years!

One of my doctors, who is in research, might do a case study, since this is the first treatment in 45 years of bipolar misery that has really truly helped me. I am praying that it continues to be effective and doesn't have deleterious side effects that make me discontinue it.

But anyway, I am taking 4x30mg pseudoephedrine daily (I weigh 255 pounds) with the blessing of a good psychiatric team, and so far it has been startlingly effective to treat on a wide range of mental problems, including Axis I diagnosis of bipolar II.