Posted by hrguru on September 5, 2010, at 5:30:32
In reply to Anti-psychotics not mood stabilizers?, posted by SheilaC on August 31, 2010, at 16:24:01
Oh, I forgot one more thing. You mentioned: "anti-psychotics work for me, but I am not schizophrenic." One time my doctor asked me if I'd like to try an anti-psychotic med, because we could not find a mood stabilizer that would work well for my depression. This is what I think doctors are sometimes looking to target with anti-psychotics (depression) in BP patients, as we don't do well on traditional AD's. I asked him why I would need to take an anti-psychotic if I am not experiencing psychosis?
He said, "Think of it this way. You take an anti-convulsant, but you don't have epilepsy, do you? In the same way, it's very common for patients with bipolar disorder to take an anti-psychotic medication to help with their symptoms. However, it does not necessarily mean that they are psychotic, or experiencing psychosis." It made sense to me.
Which mood stabilizers have you tried? And did you give them each a good chance to work? Sometimes they can take up to a month to get a person stabilized. It took about 3 weeks for me before I really started to notice a difference.
I also come from the school of thought that every person's bipolar is completely different. Just as our DNA and chemistry is different. What works for you, may not work for me. I'm glad you've found something that works! :)
poster:hrguru
thread:960844
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100829/msgs/961342.html