Posted by JohnX2 on December 19, 2001, at 19:21:51
In reply to Re: Are antidepressants right for someone with Bipolar » JackD, posted by Mitch on December 18, 2001, at 23:36:40
Mitch,
In what sense are the recommended dosages
far too high for us bpii's if we are on mood
stabilizers. I take a moderate dose of topamax
and lamictal and klonopin and my thinking is that
these meds normalize electrical conductance more
to that of a depressed patient's and a depression
would thus require a similar dose. Am I off here?What would happen if the AD dose is too strong?
-john
> > I am really starting to think I have some kind of mood disorder... Every antidepressant I try works, and often works well for a while and then starts slowly making me more depressed than I was to begin with! Judging from my fast and often robust antidepressant response, along with my history of having been made hypomanic by Wellbutrin, I fear I have bipolar tendencies. I am now trying to add in Lithium 600mg a day to my 60mg a day of Remeron. Are bipolars doomed to experience mood anomolies on AD's? Should I be on JUST a mood stabilizer? Should I be on a mood stabilizer, and THEN introduce an AD slowly? God, I'm starting to feel some of the frustrations you guys on this site are complaining about!
>
> Jack,
>
> I don't think you can go completely without them *all* the time. All I can say is you need a mood stabilizer or two and be very careful about which antidepressant you take and keep the dosages as minimal as you can. If you are watchful about it I don't think you will do yourself any harm. The trouble is the dosages that are currently available are designed for people with unipolar depressions and those dosages are often far too high for people like us.
>
> Mitch
poster:JohnX2
thread:87320
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011213/msgs/87479.html