Posted by Racer on March 8, 2006, at 18:07:44
In reply to PDOC wants me to try a mood stabilizer, posted by Cybele on March 7, 2006, at 13:40:27
I don't know much about mood stabilizers, but I did have a revelation a couple of months ago when my brand spanking new pdoc said that she thought most comorbid depression and anxiety was actually bipolar. The revelation: it doesn't matter what the diagnosis is, if the drugs work...
That said, a number of mood stabilizers are being used for unipolar depression, either as augmenting agents or as the sole drug. They do seem to help a lot of people, so it's worth at try.
As far as weight goes, it might be that something like Effexor and Wellbutrin would kick you into remission, without major side effects, and without the weight gain. Alternately, it might be worth trying Topomax, which is increasingly being used both as a mood stabilizer, and to mitigate the weight gain from the other drugs. The rule, to avoid side effects with Topomax, is start very low, and go very slowly in titrating upwards. Also, taking bicarb might help with it, too.
Hope that helps, and good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:617057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060304/msgs/617654.html