Posted by SLS on July 18, 2005, at 0:52:00
In reply to Re: preventing nardil poopout, posted by Declan on July 17, 2005, at 22:02:16
> But wouldn't any normal person go hypomanic on heaps of a MAOI?
This is a source of continual debate. My only experiences with mania occurred in association with medication. I have never had a spontaneous manic episode. Yet, the NIMH classified me as being bipolar over ten years ago. More recently, one doctor I consulted with labelled me bipolar I while another labelled me unipolar with drug-induced manias. *Because my depression presents with features common to bipolar depression, and that I was once an ultra-rapid cycler with a period of 11 days, I am inclined to label myself bipolar.
I think there is some merit to the concepts of "soft bipolarity" and "bipolar spectrum", in which any expression of mania indicates a bipolar diathesis. In addition, the coming version of the DSM will label as bipolar III as chronic depression with medication-induced manias.
For anyone who experiences manias only upon medication, I would at some point attack the illness as if it were bipolar and introduce mood-stabilizers along with antidepressants. I experience some mild relief of depression from Lamictal and Trileptal. Lithium makes me mildly worse and does little to treat my manias. Depakote is a powerful antimanic for me, but is neutral with regard to depression, although it has sometimes made me feel worse. Zyprexa has shown itself to be an even more potent antimanic than Depakote while exerting some antidepressant effect.
* Bipolar depression basically presents as atypical depression without mood reactivity and more psychomotor retardation.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:529218
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050713/msgs/529395.html