Most effective Anti-D for Bipolars Posted: 03-15-08 14:21pm
Hello friends. Quickly,
I am Bipolar II and have just recently
gone on Lamictal to help stabilize my
mood. It does its job just fine and it
really is nice to have less swinging
during the day. However, although my mood
is not swinging it still feels as though I
am below the threshold of an average mood.
I still am feeling constantly weighted
down except for now, instead of having an
occasional content or happy mood (because
of my swings), it is now almost a
flat-line depression and lethargy.
I know something has to change about these
conditions in which I find myself unable
to maneuver or discern differences between
choice and imposition (from chemicals
mixed inside of the showers of ourselves).
So I am asking for your help to check out
the books in your brain library regarding
your knowledge and personal experiences of
anti-depressants and bipolar disorder.
Specifically I wonder what is the most
effective Anti-D when coupled with a mood
stabilizer? Side effects scare me much.
Thank you
|
antigone
Moderator
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 922 Location: IL
Thanks: 46
Thanked:17
Posted: 03-16-08 15:46pm
Boy, that is a complex question. First,
some psychiatrist are reluctant to use
antidepressants for bpd due to the
propensity to cause manic episodes. I
think it depends upon each doctor's
experiences with using AD medications that
dictate the use of them. All the books I
have read indicate this is not something
that should be done.
The typical cocktail that is prescribed is
an antipsychotic and mood stabilizer. You
are taking a mood stabilizer now,
lamictal. How long have you been taking
it? Mood stabilizers can take some time to
reach theraputic levels. Once you have
achieved that you generally feel better.
Perhaps you need to bring up the dose a
bit. There is no one size fits all formula
for this. Your doctor can guide you with
dosing and what the maximum limit is for
you. If you have been on the lamictal for
3 weeks you may want to let your doctor
know how you are feeling. You can go on
line and find mood charts. There are many
options and some are simple and others go
into great detail. See if you can find one
that will work for you. You can keep track
of the moods and show your doctor. This a
very useful tool to most doctors. It
allows you to track your own progress as
well.
I hope this helped. Post again if you have
more questions. I can always consult my
home library and tell you what the books
say. All the best!
|
CarolDiane
Supporter
Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 2393
Thanks: 111
Thanked:156
Posted: 03-16-08 17:23pm
antigone is right on. I started out on
100mg of Lamictal with the OK from my
doctor to increase it up to 200mg daily if
I felt I needed to. I am now on 150mg
daily. I will wait 3 weeks and see how I
feel. If not increasingly better, I will
go up to the 200mg and let her know. She
gave me enough to go up to 200mg daily if
I needed to. After about 3 weeks I found a
drastic difference in my cycles. Less mood
swings and outbursts. But, I just did not
fell I was where I thought I should be. It
is all in the individual person what works
for them.
I am on Klonopin, Xanax (for major
anxiety), Lamictal and Lexepro. They all
work together fine for me.
|
macindog
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 1
Posted: 03-18-08 01:29am
Hi,
I am on Desipramine (100 mg qd) and use
Invega (6 mg qd) as my mood stabilizer. I
have been rock steady stable for 5 years.
I take other meds to help mitigate some of
the side effects, e.g., a little Provigil
to combat the drowsiness in the AM, and
Aricept (10 mg) to effectively offset the
cognitive impairment of my AD. Before you
turn up your nose at my Desipramine, you
should be aware of the fact that Lamictal
has the worst cognitive impairment of any
psych med out there bar none. It is so
bad, in fact, that my psychiatrist WILL
NOT use it.
Regards,
Bruce
|
Pocketplayer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 4
Posted: 03-25-08 18:32pm
WOW...we are in a similar position.
I was diagnosed with BP II last year and
have been on 8 meds since. Nightmare!!!
Here's the list:
Lamictal
Wellbutrin
Effexor
Seroquel
Ativan
Lexapro
Trazodone
Wellbutrin (for a 2nd time)
I now take Lamictal (this is the one med I
have consistently taken) and have taken up
to 200 mg for a short time. I started
Wellbutrin XL 300mg for almost a month
now.
I have noticed basically nothing on
Lamictal, like taking a vitamin. I have
had bad side affects with
anti-depressants...fall asleep 20 mins
after taking. Wellbutrin seems to not do
this.
However...since starting Wellbutrin, I
have noticed no impact...if anything I am
more depressed. Hard to tell if this is
circumstantial or just the meds.
I tried to get off all meds and detox my
system before starting Wellbutrin. I was
down to 50mg of Lamictal and noticed I
wanted to drink beer again after stopping
for almost a year. This concerned me, so
I stayed at 50 and up's to 75. Now I am
at 100mg.
This med thing is a wild circus act. I
have been greatly UNIMPRESSED with any of
them thus far. I can't imagine doing
this20 years ago. If this is progress,
then there is A LOT of way to go. Then
again, maybe it's just me.
|
noisesnob
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 23 Location: ,
Posted: 03-26-08 00:11am
Hey, I was told that anti-depressants
weren't good for people with bipolar
disorder... I suppose it kind of tips our
manic-depressive scale. However, I have
found that anti-anxiety meds work well
with any mood stabilizer I have been on.
No matter what it was - lithium, depakote,
trileptol, or trileptol and lamictol
(which is now) I always pair it with
zoloft to help me with my anxiety, and it
is wonderful.... especially since I can
increase it when needed without
complications.
Macindog - in regards to lamictal, my doc
said it had little to no cognitive
effects. She actually recommended it to me
because even with depakote, lithium, or
trileptol I have been in a major fog,
suffered memory loss and focus. I also
have a friend who takes it for epilepsy
and she is great. Could I have some more
info? I suppose we can't make
generalizations with these things because
each pill is different for each person.
|
stimbry
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 5
Posted: 03-26-08 09:31am
A little Update for all of you.
The lamictal definitely works for me. It
has no side effects at all for me. It
evens out my mood. I still cycle but no
where near the swinging that was happening
before. I have started zoloft 50mg a day.
Not seeing any effects right now. Still
very depressed and anxious. We'll see what
happenssssssssssss s s s s s
|
antigone
Moderator
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 922 Location: IL
Thanks: 46
Thanked:17
Posted: 03-31-08 08:53am
I am so glad to hear you are feeling
better. How is the zoloft working so far?
It may be too soon for you to feel any
relief yet. If you start feeling manic and
irritable be sure to notify your doctor.
Antidepressants can cause you to swing in
a manic state. Keep us updated on your
progress. Hugs.
