Posted by JohnL on January 10, 2000, at 16:08:06
In reply to depression "cycling" while on medication?, posted by Mike on January 10, 2000, at 9:22:31
> He has been on many different "mixtures". He has also undergone ECT. As he observes, there must be a biological reason as to why he seems to get occasional temporary and or cyclic relief.
>
> Thanks for any insights.
> MikeI wonder if one or more of his drugs is a mood stabilizer? If he is cycling, he should be on one or two. A lot of times an antidepressant actually aggravates the cycling. It's better sometimes to treat the person with just mood stabilizers, and no antidepressants at all. The mood stabilizers can stop the cycling and treat the depression simultaneously.
I know there are some doctors who absolutely refuse to treat someone with an antidepressant if they show any signs of bipolar (cycling). They will use mood stabilizers instead with good results.
I think I have very mild bipolar cycling. Very mild. But when I was on Serzone it was incredible. Some days I felt so good I was tingling all over and talking to everyone and just feeling on top of the world. The very next day I would be drowning in despair and gloom. The cycling stopped when I stopped the Serzone. Later on Lamictal (mood stabilizer) there was no cycling at all. It sounds to me like he needs to be treated as bipolar, and try some things without antidepressants in the mix. Depakote, Lithium, Lamictal, Neurontin. JohnL
poster:JohnL
thread:18551
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000101/msgs/18577.html