My bf is a doctor and is on Lithium, Lamictal, Lexapro & alprazolam. How could he be weaned off of at least 1

Question

he's a GP & it's as if he doesn't know where to start. He's tried to stop completely.. a few days after he had an episode, i guess u could say. It was frightening. & i've heard if u take any type of vitamin B (which is a natural mood stabilizer) while on lithium there could be a highly toxic reaction. are they any vitamin supplements he could take at this time while on the medications listed above?

thank you!!

Answer 1

Is your boyfriend self-prescribing/medicating?

It sounds as though he shouldn't be working at all while taking all these drugs.

Answer 2

If they are helping him why does he need to be weaned off of them?

Answer 3

Your question is troubling in several ways, three mentioned above - it sounds as if he has bipolar disorder and doesn't want to treat it, which could lead to serious problems.  It isn't clear from your question, but it also sounds as if he might be prescribing for himself - I hope he has a good psychiatrist doing that.

There is no reason I know of that he should not be able to take normal 100%-daily-allowance vitamin supplements while on these medications, and no reason he shouldn't be able to eat a healthy diet and not take vitamin supplements.

I assume the mood stabilizers and antidepressant are for bipolar disorder or something similar.  I have never heard of someone being on two mood stabilizers - usually they're on lithium OR lamictal, often on lamictal because the side effects are less problematic.  But if this combination is what has worked, I don't know why he'd want to wean off.  Bipolar disorder out of control in the manic phase is very very scary.  Perhaps that's what you mean by an "episode".  Many patients try to stop the mood stabilizers because they don't like the side effects, but being manic is just not OK.

Alprazolam is a tranquilizer that he could wean off of in theory, but it's dangerous to stop suddenly, and if he's been on a high dose for more than a couple of weeks, or any dose long-term, he really would need to withdraw under a doctor's care.

And none of the B vitamins are "natural mood stabilizers".  That sounds like something he might say out of wishful thinking or some kind of psychiatric disturbance.  You can't treat bipolar with vitamins.

Answer 4

If he is on lithium I am assuming he is suffering from bipolar disorder in which case I would be very concerned about weaning him off the medication, due to risk of relapse.  Tell him to consult his psychiatrist.