Bipolar treatment : why is Dr. mixing medications ? Posted: 05-30-07 04:48am
I have been on depakote for three and a
half months. After two months of being on
it, my doctor started me on prozac. After
being on the prozac for a month, I felt
completely lifeless, and I had no energy.
After telling my doctor this, he took me
off prozac, and then decided to start me
on wellbutrin after a two week wait. So,
ive begun taking the wellbutrin just
recently and I have a few questions...
My doctor told me to take 75 mg's a day,
but everywhere I look on the internet says
that 300-400 mg's a day is required for
depression, and there never seems to be
any mention of it being a gradual process
to get to that level. Does the fact that
i'm mixing this with depakote mean that I
should be taking less? Isnt taking 75 mg
of something that usually starts out at
300 mg kind of pointless?
Bipolar disorder is also known as
manic-depression or manic-depressive
illness. During this condition, a person
goes from manic behavior at one extreme to
depression at the other. Bipolar disorder
can be managed by using several group of
medications, such as: medications for
regulating the mood (Lithium),
anti-seizures medications such as
Depakote, Lamictal, Topamax, and
antidepressant medications as Wellbutrin
(bupropion), fluoxetine ,paroxetine
etc..Your doctor has combined anti-seizure
medicine( Depakote) and antidepressant
medication (Wellbutrin) as the best
possible match for your body. It may take
several weeks before the medications reach
their full effect... that's why probably
he began with lower doses of the
Wellbutrin.
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