Posted by Ritch on March 3, 2002, at 10:53:00
In reply to Re: Cyclothymia mood stabilizers, posted by Raizelle on March 3, 2002, at 3:19:42
> Hey, I have recently been diagnosed as having bipolar II, though I kinda disagree and think I just have cyclothymia. My psychiatrist put me on 750 mg of depakote and said that it was real small dosage, I just started taking it and was curious about other people's experience with it.My psychiatrist wont put me on an anti-depressant for now cuz shes scared of me going manic. Personally, I think that when I'm manic I'm not that manic and I do great things, even if i don't manage to do them for real long periods of time...but that's because I start going down again. Is there anyway to keep highs without having lows? I think this forum is a great idea and don't know if anyone still reads this. I know this post is a little long winded...so I hope you all forgive me. Thanx.;)
Hi,I don't think there is much chance of keeping the "highs" without the "lows". I've tried that in the past and it didn't work :-)
It is interesting that your psych will not prescribe *any* antidepressants for you. Have you taken any antidepressants before? Just wondering if they made you "hypomanic", hence your BPII diagnosis (that's my dx, too). By definition you need to have had at least one major depressive episode. If you think you are really cyclothymic-then you haven't had a major depressive episode (at least two weeks straight of several major symptoms). Depakote is used a lot. I've taken it before, still have some around. 750mg is probably an "average" dose. People with true cyclothymia find it works well at doses that help people for migraines (125mg-500mg/day). I never needed more than 500mg/day to keep hypomania away. Your pdoc is generally right that antidepressants aggravate the condition (they intensify the peaks/troughs in my cycling). However, I haven't heard of many BP'ers that can get by on them alone *all* the time. Let us know how it goes.good luck,
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:9730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020301/msgs/96163.html