I was diagnosed with bipolar before they changed the diagnosis to sz 3 years ago. I was first diagnosed with bipolar when they thought I was having a mixed episode and the pdoc put me on lamotrigine/lactimal and my diagnosis didn’t change for 8 years and I was on lamotrigine all that time.
Anyway, now I’m diagnosed with sz I technically don’t need a mood stabiliser.I keep trying to come off it, but every time my mood crashes and I get really depressed and get what can only be described as awful withdrawals. It’s so bad that my pdoc said to just stay on it. It seems bad to me as it’s another med on top of the sertraline and abilify.
Has anyone else become addicted or dependent on a med and then found they can’t come off it?
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Clonazepam. But it’s a known issue with benzos. I’m off it now though.
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Good to hear that you’re off it now. I read that the withdrawal from benzos can be worse than herion and can be very dangerous. You’ve done well. 
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Damn so like a med that doesn’t work but you can’t come off it?? That’s odd, all four of my meds I can’t come off but that’s because they’re effective and keep me put together in one piece. It would suck to be stuck on a bad med.
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Yes. I had to wean off it really really slowly.
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Yeah, it’s a med that supposedly doesn’t work that I can’t come off, unless I actually have sza or something?
Good on you for getting off the benzos. I have a friend who takes a lot of diazepam for back pain and I worry about how she’ll manage to come off it eventually.
Could be. When I was diagnosed with bipolar I only ever had mixed episodes, never truely manic ones and I get delusional between them.
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Lamictal withdrawl is hell. Yes, I made one cut in risperidone and was in very bad withdrawl for two years. Gonna be on it for life. On lamictal, one cut lasted about 2 weeks I think.
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Sounds like the med has been keeping your mood stable enough that your new pdoc didn’t even notice a mood disorder until you tried coming off it.
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I’m on a mood stabilizer and I’m not schizoaffective, bipolar,
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It’s weird as my original diagnosis was bipolar and despite being better on lamotrigine my current pdoc still is adamant that I have paranoid sz. He says it can be very difficult to distinguish the two sometimes. Oh well, I’ll just carry on taking it I guess. Thanks for replying all.