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Bipolar Forums › General & Support › Antidepressants
09/29/2009 04:46 PM
IDoNotKnow
IDoNotKnow
 
Posts: 22309
VIP Member
This is directed to those of you that have been on antidepressants without mood stabilizers...

How long were your okay on antidepressants alone?

I am simply looking for other options because I hate the side effects of mood stabilizers. They are preventing me from doing my job and my pdoc won't listen.

If anyone has just been on an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer I would appreciate feed back. I used to just take an antidepressant when I was young so I may not even need the mood stabilizers.

Thoughts anyone?

Post edited by: IDoNotKnow, at: 09/29/2009 05:19 PM

"If you could read my mind you would be in tears"

"Who cares when I cry"

"A smile just hides the tears we hold inside."
- Me (IDNK)
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09/29/2009 05:32 PM  Top
bagofcandy
bagofcandyPosts: 1259
Senior Member
Recently I had to stop taking lamictal, and was on 300 mg of seroquel and 300 mg of wellbutrin and provigil. Stopping the lamictal made me manic within a week or so after the last dose of lamictal. This resulted in my having to take triple the dose of seroquel and half the dose of wellbutrin and provigil, and now depression. The pdoc said it was because of the high dose of wellbutrin and the loss of a mood stabilizer. I wouldn't recommend it.

What were you trying to tell your pdoc? What's he not hearing?

Post edited by: bagofcandy, at: 09/29/2009 05:33 PM

BP I
What one man can do, another can do - The Edge.

Lithium 900 mg
Seroquel (tapering off)
Ativan 1-2 mg
Propranolol 80 mg for performance anxiety
Ritalin 10-20 mg as needed

09/29/2009 06:32 PM  Top
merryatl
merryatl
 
Posts: 527
Member
I used to take antidepressants when i was younger. I tried them all.. I was too young to really know what was going on in my head but.. they didn't help. After my diagnosis, in disbelief, i told my doctor all i needed was an antidepressant. He warned me of the mania, and low and behold, everyday i took it i was manic. It was a very noticeable difference. i don't believe the use of antidepressants alone is recommended for people with BP. If anything, i would try taking something like lamictal instead of an antidepressant, it doesn't have the magnitude of cognitive side effects that antipsychotics do.
merrin *// ;P
BPii, ultra-rapid cycling/mixed states

adderall 10mg on school days
seroquel 50mg
marijuana

.

09/30/2009 12:06 AM  Top
TheMagician
TheMagician
 
Posts: 28
Member
I can't take them alone, I get tossed into mania fairly quickly. Even at 15 when I started taking Zoloft I'd get tossed into mania, but no one knew I was BP, so that caused more problems. Wouldn't recommend it.

09/30/2009 03:37 AM  Top
Dit
Dit
 
Posts: 12062
Group Leader
I'm an Advocate
I took antidepressants alone for almost 10 yrs. and self medicated (20s), i was "highfunctioning" worked full-time & I self-medicated with alcohol. Then my pdoc added Klonopin due to having high anxiety/panic.

At 32 yrs old my pdoc added a mood stabilizer (Lithium) the week my Mom passed away (1996) due to being hypomanic. Lithium worked very well with the anti-dep i was on and Klonopin. I'm still taking these meds, but i do not take Klonopin daily anymore, only when needed.

Post edited by: Dit, at: 09/30/2009 06:47 AM

Be Still and Know That I Am - Scripture
12-Step Slogans - One Day/Moment at a Time/Just for Today/Let Go & Let God/But By the Grace of God
Live and Let Live/Easy Does It/This Too Shall Pass

"Don't be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts." - Hopi tribe

Bipolar I

Lithium 300 mgs, Lamotrigine 200 mgs, Klonopon (Clonazepam) .05mg more if needed, Clomipramine (Anafranil) 25 mgs, Abilify 5 mgs, Seroquel 25 mgs

Please note that I am not a psychiatrist or psychologist. My opinions are personal only. This site is not intended to be a substitution for professional care, nor is anyone here qualified to make diagnoses.

Previous discussions I participated in:
New and need help
I am really new to forums
hello

09/30/2009 06:33 AM  Top
Marimac
Posts: 340
Member
Antidepressants never worked for me for very long. However, the first few weeks I would feel ggggggrrreat before the big crash, so I kept trying new ones.

I agree, maybe try the mood stabilizer alone?

Breathe deep and take one more step forward.

Lamictal 200
Wellbutrin 300
Celexa 40

09/30/2009 11:17 AM  Top
Lorij523
 
Posts: 106
Member
With BP antidepressants alone can cause manic episodes. As others have said, I wouldn't recommend it.

09/30/2009 11:26 AM  Top
jen0919
I took Zoloft alone for about 2 years before I was diagnosed bipolar. I was hypomanic pretty much all the time. I also self-medicated with alcohol to bring myself down enough to fall asleep at night.
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