Posted by ST on December 30, 2001, at 23:03:20
In reply to Newly diagnosed Bipolar- question about meds, posted by 3 Beer Effect on December 30, 2001, at 14:37:35
Hi -
I, too, am bi polar with mostly depressive tendencies. You should be on a mood stabilizer to curb the ups and downs (although you probably mostly feel the downs!) and also an antidepressant to lift your mood. I've been on the mood stabilizer Depakote for almost 7 years now with success. I take 750 mg daily. At higher levels I felt kind of numb and slow. So have your doc start you out slowly. It seems doctors like to over medicate bi polars for fear we'll run in to the middle of the highway in a sudden manic phase. They figure it's probably best to keep us a little low than too high. I've actually had doctors admit this to me. There are other mood stabilizing drugs now on the market, but I'm not too familiar with them.
As for antidepressants, it's always trial and error with those! I've been on Prozac, Serzone, Celexa and Wellbutrin. I'm now on Effexor. You just have to try one and give it a shot and see what it does for you. In my experience, the ADs are not what "dumbed" me out, but the mood stabilizer at too high of a dose.
Good luck!
Sarah
poster:ST
thread:88251
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88306.html