Posted by SLS on August 26, 2009, at 8:03:49
In reply to SLS - Re: Mood Stabilizer for BPII?, posted by SheilaC on August 26, 2009, at 7:42:48
> > What are you looking for in a mood stabilizer? What do you need it to do?
> >
> > BPII does not usually respond to lithium when used as an antimanic drug, either acutely or prophylactically. However, it can act as an antidepressant when used at low dosages (300-600mg) in combination with a standard antidepressant. The two mood stabilizers that have been reported to be effective for BPII are Depakote and Tegretol, although I would suggest using Trileptal in place of Tegretol. With the continued use of Depakote, some people report feeling somewhat more depressed, but there are also people who report it as being a potent antidepressant.
> >
> >
> > - Scott
>
> I am looking for a mood stabilizer that will keep me from getting deep depression (not so much manic) and give me a little energy or at least keep me from sleeping all day.
>
> I think I tried Trileptal before and the only side effect I had from it was that it messed with my periods. Maybe that is dose dependent though.
>
> I do well on Seroquel for sleep, but if I had to take it during the day I think it would be hard to get through the day.
The higher the dosage of Seroquel, the less sedating it is. Likewise, I believe that you need a higher dosage to glean an antidepressant effect from Seroquel. Maybe 200-300mg would be a good dosage to target. I did not respond at all to Seroquel. In fact, it made me irritable and somewhat dysphoric. I didn't give it more than a week, though. The thing about using one of the atypical antipsychotics is that you usually know within 2 weeks whether it is going to help with depression. For bipolar depression, Seroquel is the only one approved by the FDA thus far as monotherapy for bipolar depression.Wellbutrin and Parnate make for good antidepressants for bipolar depression, particularly when combined with Lamictal.
Now, why do you think that you need a mood stabilizer in the first place?
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:914055
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090826/msgs/914147.html