Posted by med_empowered on August 5, 2005, at 9:00:48
In reply to Re: What to try next for stubborn Biplar?, posted by holymama on August 5, 2005, at 6:24:43
hey! I would *seriously* recommend avoiding ECT. Most of the available data is either old (read: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" old) *or* funded by the ECT industry (believe it or not, ECT is a $5 Billion industry in the US). I've known people who've done it by the book, and its not that great, I think. I think one option for an anti-depressant would be Surmontil; its a tricyclic, but its "different". Kind of like Asendin, it has some neuroleptic effects...unlike Asendin though, it doesn't seem to cause EPS or TD. Its not potent enough to treat schizophrenia (except in high doses), but at the usual depression-level doses it can help in a "relaxing" manner, instead of stimulating you to the point of madness. Another option would be to go ahead with aggressive depression treatment, and also get an RX for "as-needed" antipsychotics. This is apparently catching on, although right now its being done a lot for people with Borderline Personality disorder. Anyway, since antipsychotics can tone down mania really quickly, popping an atypical when you sense a problem could prevent the situation from getting out of hand. As always, my preference would be for abilify--its weight neutral, diabetes risk is minimal, and it won't turn you into an over-sedated zombie--but any atypical could work...zyprexa @ 2.5-5mgs might be a good call (Geodon has a rep for causing mania in some people...and seroquel can be *intensely* sedating). Again...I wish you luck. You'll find something.
poster:med_empowered
thread:537167
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050803/msgs/537802.html