I am both ADHD (combined type) and bipolar and have been having manic/mixed episode ever since the end of March (right after a psychotic episode). Anyhow, my psychiatrist gave me a prescription to Xanax to help with the anxiety/frustration I'm suffering and to calm me down.

The first night, I took .5 mg Xanax and I was mentally sort of with it, but got really uncoordinated. Second day, I took .25 mg. with 30 mg. Adderall and was totally messed up-- not at all functional, mentally or physically. Since I walk dogs for a living, I decided there's no way in heck I can do my job safely if I take Xanax before I finish for the day. Basically, till we find something that calms me down and enables me to function at the same time, I just have to suffer through it while I'm working.

Last night, I knew I wasn't going to sleep unless I took something, so I took 100mg. of Seroquel and .25 mg. of Xanax. I calmed down a lot but didn't feel completely drugged and was up for a few hours after I took it, writing, etc. I would take more Seroquel and skip the Xanax (used to take 500mg/day) but I can only take a small amount since it caused elevated prolactin levels at anything but a low dose. I also had to stop taking it because it makes people prone to heat stroke. I spend at least 8 hours a day outside exercising vigourously, every day, so with summer coming, Seroquel is just not a good idea for me.

It just seems strange to me that the combo of Adderall and Xanax mess me up completely, but Seroquel and Xanax or Xanax alone are okay. The only thing I can think of is that if I take 30-40mg of adderall IR in one dose, I yawn for a bit when it takes effect and calm down. Perhaps the combo is too sedating for me? I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

Has your doctor tried you on anything else besides Xanax? Maybe Klonopin or even Ativan might be better for you.

J

I actually went to my psychiatrist last night. He found it strange also that the adderall and Xanax combo was worse than Xanax alone or Xanax & Seroquel. I went on a crazy manic monologue for an hour (I can't believe he puts up with me on a Fri. night-- he is a saint).

We had a huge discussion last weekend about whether I should try Ativan, Klonipin or Xanax. I told him I was nervous about Ativan because it can have the tendency to cause restlessness (akithisia) and since I am prone to this, I told him I didn't want to take it. We thought about Klonipin but since it has a much longer action than Xanax, I was worried about it being stuck in my system for too long and having to suffer for a long period of time if I had an adverse reaction. That's why we chose Xanax. I told him that .25mg at a time was too much for me, so he prescribed .25 mg. pills that I can break in half. This seems to work fairly well so far-- I get a little confused, but I can still function enough to not be a hazard to myself or others. I am still nervous about taking it so I only take it in the evening. During the day, I just suffer through the agitation and restlessness. I am trying to avoid people right now so as to not annoy them with irrepressable, uncontrollable manic monologue.

We also adjusted my other meds, so here's the new combo:
Adderall, Lamictal, Depakote, Seroquel, Xanax

Never in a million years did I imagine being on so many medications. Sad thing is, I'm still manic. The only reason I can sit here and type this is because I took some Xanax and Seroquel earlier. I'll probably be able to get 2-3 hours of sleep from this, but then (if tonight is like last night), I'll wake up insta-manic and the saga will continue. I guess it's better than last week in which I was up the entire week-- that started to suck after a while. I wasn't tired, but I got so gosh darn sick of being awake. I wanted a break from my insanity. Even though I've managed to sleep a little bit, I am starting to do weird things, so I'm just figuring it's only a matter of time until I get severely delusional or have another psychotic episode (I realize now it always starts this way).