Yes! I’m on 400mg of Lamictal and 30mg of Prozac (any higher triggers mania). Unfortunately, I was never able to find an antipsychotic that didn’t have intolerable side effects, so I do have to keep a really close eye on it, but as far as mood stabilization, I got that figured out. Thank you for your kind words 
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Great to hear. I’m glad you got that part figured out!
Catatonia seems to be very complicated. I’ve learned that it can be present with a number of different brain and mood disorders or it can also have organic causes (which should be ruled out). Depending on these and other factors, the suggested treatment can vary. I’m sure those times when you could not move were scary. It could be good to have a backup plan in case that ever happens again. I hope that it doesn’t! It can be a singular or infrequent event in some people. I don’t what causes it with our son. He declines ever being depressed, but some of his doctors think it could be tied to mood. The best way I know to describe this is that there are a number of symptoms that can indicate catatonia, but as a true movement disorder, the person is unable to move (or to talk), etc. Our son can actually move (and talk) but his brain is telling him not to. He has made some reference in the past to “knowing” that he wasn’t supposed to get out of bed, or that he wasn’t supposed to leave the room, for example.
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Hi Hope4us. Do you think there’s a chance your son was possibly saying voices were telling him not to move? I’ve wondered if that was happening to my son.
My son’s psychiatric said he believed my son’s catatonic-looking behavior was due to “extreme anxiety that caused him to shut down, as a defense mechanism.”
How is your son now? Is he eating on his own?
Well, this is still baffling. Our son is slowly improving with resumed ECT treatments plus started on low-dose risperidone and clonazepam a few weeks ago. He is eating and drinking fine and talking some but I would say still has alogia (poverty of speech and difficulty choosing words). I am reading every medical article I can find about catatonic mutism, whether it be schizophrenic or associated with a mood disorder, or non-catatonic mutism. He also has h/o occasional extreme negativism (resisting all attempts to be moved). He denies that anyone told him not to talk. He has never described hearing voices, although he has previously described “knowing” he was not supposed to do something. He is soon to be discharged from the hospital. He is still a long way from being functional. We are hopeful that continued ECT will provide results like we saw in the recent past. The good news is that he hugs us and tells us that he loves us. We’re trying to get him in a residential care/treatment setting while he continues to get ECT but he may have to come home for a period of time. We worry that at home he will refuse further treatment/meds. For some reason, I have a sense of peace tonight.
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Hope4us, I’m so glad you can feel a momentary sense of peace, and I really hope your son is able to transition to a residential treatment program.
I’m sure it’s such a relief that your son is eating on his own again.
This catatonia/mutism thing is so frightening and mysterious. I’m so afraid my son will slip back into it.
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