Bipolar Support Group

I find it hard to determine the fine line between stability and being over-drugged (quasi-zombie like). I literally don't know if I'm overdrugged right now or not and it's bothersome to say the least. Symptoms: I have no energy and feel quite groggy and regular coffee doesn't seem to give me any pep. Sometimes, I zone out and get lost and wonder if it's the drugs...or maybe it's just me..p.s. I was hypomanic just a month and a half ago so everything would seem slower anyhow I guess.

Any suggestions?

You don't say what medications you are on, or if your pdoc is still trying new meds or making meds adjustments. Without that information, it is hard to address you question with specificity. However, here are some general "rules of thumb" I've learned from experience:

Ask your friends and family if you seem over-medicated or like you behave when you are not sick. Share your concerns with your pdoc and tdoc and ask them to objectively evaluate you for signs of over-medication. You should be able drive a car safely. You should be able to carry out normal activities of daily living safely, like cooking, caring for children, ect. You should not "zone out" at inappropriate times.

Hope this helps.

I definately think you should talk to your pdoc about how you are feeling. Perhaps after being hypomanic your meds were tweaked to sedate you more and that's leading to the drugged feelings. I know that happened to me.

Thanks. I barely got the chance to talk to my doc last time about being drugged because I was focusing so much on other stuff. It's hard to get to everything in the 30 min appts that I have, but I will bring it up again (being over-drugged) and sedated, slow to respond. Thanks again!

I was overmedicated once (I think 12mg haldol was the main culprit along with the other 5 or 6 meds I was on) and I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair - my boyfriend had to help me shower and even help me eat sometimes. I had no control over my bladder, my feet felt like cement blocks, I sat for hours drooling on myself and staring at the wall...

All of this is of course the extreme - I don't know why they let me be so over-medicated, it was my first time on meds and everyone thought I had brain damage or something after my episode, we didn't know I could go back to normal again...

I know the zombie feeling, I hope you feel like yourself soon, make sure you talk to your doctor, being overmedicated is not a good thing at all...

I had a similar response to some meds as Wyndrake had; sorry you had to go through that but glad I am not the only one who was immobile and drooling! It sucked cuz I knew I was doing it but couldn't do anything about it. Ugh!

I agree with what others here have said about feeling overmedicated. If you are sluggish and slowed down it's possible. Then again if you were just manic recently and comparing to that it may feel like you are sluggish when in reality it's just that the high was so intense. I am not a doctor, so good thing you are going to mention this to pdoc.

Sounds like your pdoc needed to bring down this hypmanic phase now you are levelling out, let your pdoc know exactly what you posted here and give thorough details and examples of how you are feeling, he may need to fix dosages or change some meds for you, the pdoc needed to get some stabiity back sounds like, wishing yu well, i'm going thru something similar i have that groggy feeling stoned too, but am still hypomanic and having mixed too daily so i'm not even-keeled yet, still playing with the dosages and med cocktail, not sure how long this will take i'm on all new meds now, normally in the past when i needed treatment for hypomania it was only a med upping, now its a whole new ballpark with new meds, oh well we need patience don't we.

I know all will be ok with yu keep posting let us know how yu aer doing and what pdoc does with you.

Your psychiatrist maybe needed to bring you down and now that you are down, you are over medicated. I would call and talk to him about it. You shouldn't be zoning out all of the time or feeling groggy all of the time. Describe to him how you are feeling and see what he says. Communication is so important in order for your psychiatrist to treat you. I hope you find some relief soon.