Bipolar and Steroids?? HELP!!

[FREAKZILLLA]

Here's the situation: for the past year ive been on a medication called "seroquel" for bipolar disorder, (bipolar is best described as dr jecyl and mr hide!). Before i started taking seroquel, life was very different as to where i got in trouble with the law, license trouble, money trouble, family trouble, etc. When i started the medication everything changed and life got way better, but the damage was done. Im now on 2 different anti-***ressents, blood pressure, cholesterol, nexium and the seroquel.

NOW heres the problem im having: before seroquel i was a big dude that worked out 24/7, had done about 5 cycles in 4 years (age 25 thru 29), (im 30 now), with great results and was happy with my physique! Now i havent truely worked out in over a year, lost alot of muscle and grew a big gut! Ive tried to run a cycle during this time and failed miserably. I have lost all my aggression, my get up and go, will power, disaplin, etc. The good part is im a much better person, but the bad part is the fact that i lost my 12 year rein as a gym rat guru dude and traded it in for a fat family man.

THIS IS A BIG F**KING PROBLEM and is unacceptable by my standards!! I believe that even the family man should be a great example to the good side of life and that includes exercising and eating healthy on a regular basis. BUT I CANT SEEM TO HOLD IT TOGETHER! My garage is turned into a mini fitness area, i belong to 2 gyms, i have all the connects i need and yet i cannot even bring myself to complete a single workout.

I NEED HELP BROS!!!!! I am presently 1 week into a test/eq cycle and i just cant put the effort in. Im flirting with the idea of taking t-suspention, halo, metylt, or Cheque Drops prior to when i wanna work out for the aggression. I need help and im asking for advice AND support to getting back my physique!!

P.S.= i dont work so im home all day with my 17 month old son and its very important to me to steer in the right direction towards the gym and karate instead of being the fat guy on the couch!!

[K.Biz]

it sounds like you just have a lack of motivation to me. Congrats on overcomming everything in your past. But you need to foget that part of your life and stop using it as a cruch to lean on when you dont want to go the the gym. If you REALLY want to change yourself for the better, then you will. If you sit your ass on that couch your only going to get fatter, (ecspecially if tyour running a cycle and not working out)

so heres some motivation: Your gonna be a fat old man if you dont get your ass up

also you might want to look into some kind of boost before the gym mabye? like a redline or some kind of energy boost. sounds like you might need a little of that as well.

[bpm1]

its more than lack of motivation, its the scrips u r on.ive been on meds for ocd,bipolar disorder, a chronic anxiety disorder, they had a hard time nailing down my diagnosis to say the least.all i can say is most of the meds ive been on(and ive been on ALOT) have ha a very tranquilizing effect on me.needless to say i lived in a zombie-like state for years.im now free from all the scrip drugs and ive learned to deal with my conditions on a mental level.i still suffer from alot of the symptoms but with age and maturity ive learned to cope with them.im not saying everyone can or should do this its just what i felt i needed to do.im quite sure your motivation issue has more to do with your scrips than your work ethic.it really comes down to what you need to do to make sure ur ok and it sounds to me like that includes your meds for now.GL brother its a hard thing u deal with everyday i do understanda and i wish u the best.shoot me a pm if u ever need to vent or talk about what your going through id be glad to toss it around abit. peace

[lacey231]

Just out of curiosity have you had your testosterone, and estradiol checked latly?

I was always a gym rat as well, started feeling shitty after a cycle once, and a doctor told me I was bipolar after getting into trouble with the law a few times (which wasn't normally like me). Was put on Seroquel, and epival which helped a bit with certain problems, (sleep, ***ression etc) but didn;t help with a lot of others like energy.

Finally got a different doctor that knows what he's taking about with test. I've been off all meds for 10 months, and am getting started with HRT.


Not saying this is your case but it seems similar to mine, and just wondered if it might be low test.

Seroquel can give oyu no energy as well. I know when I took it I wasn't actually awake till noon, after waking up at 7:30.

[frank12391]

One thing at a time bro, Ofcourse your gonna be a little lazy after overcoming all of that. you have been through a lot. I know you are keen to get your life back to where it was but pace yourself. Getting yourself stable is a lot of work in itself and must have taken a lot of motivation and disciplin. What I'm trying to say is don't rush and just make sure you choose the right time. Timming is everything. Plus you need to consider your blood pressure. As far as getting your diet right and working out, by all means get out there but it sounds like you still have a way to go before you go down the path of gear, physically. Gear can alter your state of mind, you want to be sure your up for it. Getting back to the gym and losing some body weight is a good preparation for you mentally and will help your blood pressure. Once you get that down pat then I'd say your well and trully ready again.
Good luck and take care of yourself and congratulations as well.

[frank12391]

its more than lack of motivation, its the scrips u r on.

all i can say is most of the meds ive been on(and ive been on ALOT) have ha a very tranquilizing effect on me

Yes, absolutely, the side affects of these meds can affect you that way. You have to weigh up the pros and cons. It's best to stay on them until you have made positive changes in your life then you can think about tapering off, under medical supervision ofcourse. You don't want to undo all the good work and progress you have made so far. I'v seen too many people spend many months and sometimes years to get their lives on track only to end up where they started in a few short weeks. I admre their determination to get off their meds but you don't want to be going around in circles. Getting off meds takes time and a lot of planning.
My 0.2 worth.

[gymrat1969]

Hey Guys ,

I find this post very inertesting , I my self have been taking one 150mg of wellbutrin at 6am for anxiety and 25mg of seroquel as a sleep aid (not for bipolar) all sleep aids failed for me in the pastthey never lasted longer than 2 hours then im up all night. 25 mgs of seroquel works great and I wake up in the am with lots of energy. when i start my test e and dbol cycle next week i hope the wellbutrin and seroquel agree with it.

[bpm1]

just so im perfectly clear, i dont think u should even consider coming off your meds right now. after reading some of the posts i wanted to make sure that was understood

[peteroy01]

take some halo and go to they gym. grrr, that should put some lead in ur pencil.

[FREAKZILLLA]

Thanks bro's for all the advice so far. Trust me it goes a long way and means A LOT! I knew i had to be right when i said that these anti-***'s lower my ability in the gym routine. It doesnt help that the "lazy gean" is in my blood as well. It also really sucks that my cardio is so low naturally and it is torture to do the cardio, especially when i hate cardio! I will try harder today.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You All !!

[FREAKZILLLA]

take some halo and go to they gym. grrr, that should put some lead in ur pencil.

LMAO when i read that! Some halo sounds great, but sucks cause my source doesnt carry it. Stimulants all hurt my tummy to much, hence the nexium. I have no-shotgun which works well but its the NASTYEST TASTING S**T I EVER TRIED!! Makes me puke.
Halo anyone?

[taiboxa]

i have mild bipolar issues or so the person my doc referred me to said this.. kuz i have some real nice mood swings. honestly when im on low TRT dose of test and tren i do better emotionally than i do off aas or even on high amounts of test.. its weird.. and i dont really know anything about anything ><

[thegodfather]

I'm also on Seroquel bro...as well as Ativan as needed.... I gotta tell you that I know where you're coming from. I take 50mg at night and 25mgs/2x a day.. I have stopped taking it during the day time because I just cannot tolerate the side effects- stuffy nose, headache,shortness of breathe, and lethargy. If I took a dose within even 4 hours of my workout, my muscles feel stiff and like there all going to tear. I've been on it for about a year and still have not built up a tolerance to it.

I will tell you however that the seroquel has helped a ton when on cycle keeping me stable, and I believe its due to the effects it has on dopamine. Anyway, theres pros and cons to each... For me being on it outways the side effects. Add on to the fact that your also on two other anti-***ressents(SSRI & SNRI im guessing?), and I'm sure its tuff for you to do ANYTHING let alone have a good intense workout.

As far as the a-typical antipsychotics seroquel is probably the best one that you can get that has the least likely chance of serious side effects (tardive diskynesia)... Having your test levels checked by the doc sounds like its in due order at this point, and I'd do that before touching anything else. I also agree with what was previously said about not coming off your meds for any reason, after all that it took for you to get your problem under control thatd probably be the worst thing to do... Good luck bro, but its a really tuff situation which I dont think has any easy one answer. You need the meds to maintain a good quality of life mentally, but you want to workout to feel good about your life, which unfortunately your meds are preventing you from doing.

Lastly, whoever stated that this guy just doesnt have the motivation I really dont think thats the case here. Anyone who has ever experienced the effects of some of these psych meds knows what a profound effect they can have on your ability to want to do anything at all. For the first two months I took seroquel all I wanted to do was sleep, for hours and hours. No one wants to workout when they feel like a damn zombie...

[bpm1]

Lastly, whoever stated that this guy just doesnt have the motivation I really dont think thats the case here. Anyone who has ever experienced the effects of some of these psych meds knows what a profound effect they can have on your ability to want to do anything at all. For the first two months I took seroquel all I wanted to do was sleep, for hours and hours. No one wants to workout when they feel like a damn zombie...

its very easy for those that have never suffered from these types of issues to point a finger and say;your lazy, no work ethic,stop making excuses,etc... all i can say is dealing with these issues can be utterly exausting and taxing leaving a person with little or no energy to do anything else.now throw into that mix meds that tranquilize a persons emotions, receptors,and more u r left w/very little in the ways of motivation or energy.as stated i am drug free yet i struggle with chronic fatigue every moment of every day and i am convinced it is because of the emotional and mental struggle i face every day.if youve never been there dont throw out your uneducated bullshit about something u r very ignorant about.lord knows i wouldnt want anyone to go through what i go through in a day but sometimes i wish others could experience it for a day or so just to open there eyes a little, i guarantee all criticism would cease, peace bros

[Igifuno]

the main issue here is your health and wellbeing... not only for yourself but for your 17 month old as well. Same with me, i lost every bit of motivation and drive when i went on anti-***ressents and didn't get it back til I learned to cope without them.

Take into consideration that jumping on a cycle after being out of the gym for a long period of time can do more harm then good. You'll start lifting heavy before your ligaments are ready and it could result in injury so be carefull there. i know what it feels like to want to jump on a cycle and it takes a lot of will power not to if its not the right point in time. My advice would be to get back in there slow, alter your diet, make yourself do cardio 3-4 times a week until you're happy with your bf%, lift light for the first few weeks and when you drop 6-8% and look in the mirror..... that, my friend, will be enough motivation for your ass to get back in there like the freak you f'n are. oh ya, then jump on a nasty cycle

all the best bro - go do it, we're here for you.

IG

[getpumped24]

i also have bi polar disorder. i take risperdal daily. i know what you are going thru. i went thru a rough couple months. quit lifting for several months. working out and bodybuilding is 50% mental. once you get thru a few good days at the gym you will get into it again. it took me 2-3 wks. to get the motivation and love back. you probably should have waited a while before cycling again. good luck

[FREAKZILLLA]

Well i gotta say that it is quite a site for you bros to come out like this for support! I am truely taken back! I thought i was the lone ranger of someone who has bipolar and uses AS.

[highrise]

I was diagnosed with bipolar II back in 2003. I now take Lamictal to even out my mood and Trazodone for sleep. I had been doing cycles on and off for 10 years before being diagnosed. The problem now is two-fold: First, its difficult to accept a new, lower standard of working out without steroids. Second, taking steroids now will without a doubt, unquestionably, and with all certainty overpower the bipolar medication. I know this because I have been taking steroids, notably Dianabol which is a great mood elevator. I had decided to take the risk. I have been doing better this time around because I am back on track with my career. I am so busy with work that I don't have time to sit around and think of new exciting ways to get in trouble, or fester over something until I break-out into a rage on someone.

I have a 3 yo. son now, so I think I understand you state of mind as far as wanting to get in shape goes.

[Igifuno]

Well i gotta say that it is quite a site for you bros to come out like this for support! I am truely taken back! I thought i was the lone ranger of someone who has bipolar and uses AS.

hell ya bro - that's what it's all about. keep us posted with progress as well. sometimes, if i hold myself "accountable" to something and take it day by day i find better discepline. we're all in this together -

peace,

IG

[Serotonin]

Seroquel's most common side effect is sedation so having a lack of motivation is going to be something that is always there. I can't fully understand how it feels but I've had my fair share of SSRI' and SSNRI's and most of those made me want to do nothing but play video games all day.

I think you need to focus on the types of things that motivate you. I read magazines, forums, look at pics of Pro BB's and watch my favorite MMA fights almost DAILY because I enjoy it, and it motivates me! So, since the Seroquel can have you mentally sedated and feeling lethargic, focus on psychological stimulus to get yourself moving.

Good luck!

[nalbano34]

I just have to commend you guys for going on here and stateing all this....some good info and I am sure it will help a few people out in the future. Is there anyone that has any good links to some documentation on anabolics and the effects on ***ression medication?

[thegodfather]

edit for safety***

[chess]

Im bipolar also and have taken seroquel it messed me up bad and I became addicted to it also its nearly impossible to fight the lack of give a shit that seroquel makes you have I also got fat started smoking and everything while on seroquel but if your married and have A good life I would not jepordize that you could honestly proably make pretty good gains just half assing your workouts I see people at the gym do it all the time seroquel causes bad bodyfat gain and does lower natural test and raises estrogen it also screws with youre insulin I here so its not a good drug that being said i could bench over 300 pounds while on it with out ever touching a steroid. mabey if you planned your taking time out like take it all at night then workout late the next evening also I find full body routines or abbreviated workouts might be youre best bet.

[Igifuno]

are they're any other alternatives for bi-polar disorder that don't have the negative "motivation" effect that Seroquel does? Maybe you should talk to your doc and explore the subject...

[gymrat1969]

no known side effects and ive bee ntaking seroquel for sleep. I love it