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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
Hi- I am going to try to keep this question as short as I can. Basically here is the rundown- I have had problems with depresion most of my life. I have been in and out of college for over ten years with no completion. I have a very clear seasonal pattern to my depression. I started Wellbutrin 1 1/2 years ago and soon added Prozac. Both help with anxiety, energy, and socialability, but I still have periods of depression which sometimes feel lower than the depression I had before the antidepressants. Lamictal was added for a while but I am not sure it helped much. I am starting to think that I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I have never been manic and I don't think I have been hypomanic, but there is a definite cycle going on. And I wanted to know if others have had this experience. Has anyone had success with mood stabilizers for seasonal patterns of depression? If so what helped?
Thanks
Posted by Ritch on March 14, 2003, at 20:06:46
In reply to Bipolar or SAD?, posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
> Hi- I am going to try to keep this question as short as I can. Basically here is the rundown- I have had problems with depresion most of my life. I have been in and out of college for over ten years with no completion. I have a very clear seasonal pattern to my depression. I started Wellbutrin 1 1/2 years ago and soon added Prozac. Both help with anxiety, energy, and socialability, but I still have periods of depression which sometimes feel lower than the depression I had before the antidepressants. Lamictal was added for a while but I am not sure it helped much. I am starting to think that I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I have never been manic and I don't think I have been hypomanic, but there is a definite cycle going on. And I wanted to know if others have had this experience. Has anyone had success with mood stabilizers for seasonal patterns of depression? If so what helped?
> ThanksAdderall has been the only med that I have ever taken thus far that has kaboshed seasonal depression completely at a low dose. Makes me too tense though.
Posted by Krissy P on March 14, 2003, at 21:54:16
In reply to Bipolar or SAD?, posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
Hi, May I ask you a few questions? :-)
First, though, I have been in college since 1989, and am just getting my BA next year. My point-I have been in college for 13 years (wanted to add this)-only because a lot of people think that bam 4 years and you're out. Nope. I've been where you're at.
May I ask what part of the US? or country do you live? I ask because in a lot of the NW states like WA and OR, SAD affects a lot of people in those states, because of weather. I was not diagnosed with BPII until 1999, when I feel I should have been earlier, and could have gotten help earlier. My high school English teacher said you're moods are either way up, or way down. Anyway, I can relate to you here>>>"I am starting to think that I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I have never been manic and I don't think I have been hypomanic, but there is a definite cycle going on". **I cycle a lot. Ask some of the people here. LOL I was also diagnosed by a UCI pdoc as a rapid cycler. My moods changed with my underwear. It wasn't fun.
I've never been diagnosed with SAD-I know I don't have it, but I hoped this helped a little??? I would be happy to answer any questions you may have, if any.
All the best, Kristen
==================================================================================================
And I wanted to know if others have had this experience. Has anyone had success with mood stabilizers for seasonal patterns of depression? If so what helped?
Thanks
> Hi- I am going to try to keep this question as short as I can. Basically here is the rundown- I have had problems with depresion most of my life. I have been in and out of college for over ten years with no completion. I have a very clear seasonal pattern to my depression. I started Wellbutrin 1 1/2 years ago and soon added Prozac. Both help with anxiety, energy, and socialability, but I still have periods of depression which sometimes feel lower than the depression I had before the antidepressants. Lamictal was added for a while but I am not sure it helped much. I am starting to think that I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I have never been manic and I don't think I have been hypomanic, but there is a definite cycle going on. And I wanted to know if others have had this experience. Has anyone had success with mood stabilizers for seasonal patterns of depression? If so what helped?
> Thanks
Posted by Krissy P on March 14, 2003, at 21:55:45
In reply to Bipolar or SAD?, posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
sedona, I forgot to tell you. I am on Lamictal and it is my wonder med at the right dose. Any questions, like I said get back to me:-)
Posted by sedona on March 15, 2003, at 2:00:51
In reply to Re: Bipolar or SAD? » sedona, posted by Krissy P on March 14, 2003, at 21:54:16
Hi Krissy thanks for your response. Yes, I do live in the Northwest, but I haven't always. I never really expected to get done with school in 4 years, but I have been trying for 9 years. And my grades have really suffered. One term my grades are great but then the next term I am lucky if I even pass.
Also, I feel that the antidepressants have been making me even moodier. I tried Lamictal and thought it helped only somewhat, although I was taking antidepressants at the same time. I'm wondering if it would work better without an AD. How has the Lamictal helped you?
thanks
Posted by Tabitha on March 15, 2003, at 2:53:21
In reply to Bipolar or SAD?, posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
Hi, my dx is bipolarII, but I have a definite seasonal pattern-- more hypomanic in spring/summer, more depressed in fall/winter. I want to try a seasonal med regime, but haven't yet found a pdoc to support this. Mine just wants me on the standard mood stabiliser+AD year-round. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just SAD with AD-induced hypomania.
Posted by Larry Hoover on March 15, 2003, at 10:40:16
In reply to Bipolar or SAD?, posted by sedona on March 14, 2003, at 15:24:47
> Hi- I am going to try to keep this question as short as I can.(snip) I am starting to think that I fall somewhere in the bipolar spectrum. I have never been manic and I don't think I have been hypomanic, but there is a definite cycle going on.
From a strict application of the diagnostic criteria, the absence of hypomania or mania precludes a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Some diagnosticians accept that mania or hypomania can be agitated and dysphoric, so even those definitions vary from doctor to doctor.
I don't mean to be pedantic. Doctors think in terms of dx (diagnosis), whereas the patient thinks in terms of sx (symptoms). I don't know that dx much matters to the patient, in real terms (your opinion may vary from mine, of course).
The presence of a seasonal cycle is important. There are seasonal forms of bipolar, but also seasonal depressions.
> And I wanted to know if others have had this experience. Has anyone had success with mood stabilizers for seasonal patterns of depression? If so what helped?
> ThanksFor SAD, one unique form of treatment is phototherapy. Bright light seems to reduce or eliminate the seasonal cycle, if used routinely every day. Phototherapy works best as a prophylactic treatment, preventing SAD, rather than as a treatment once the symptoms have appeared each season. It's therefore important to begin phototherapy around the equinox in September. There is increasing evidence that suggests that sun exposure during the preceding summer may also influence SAD symptom intensity the following winter.
I highly recommend the economical and effective lights manufactured by Northern Light Technologies, particularly, the Sadellite.
Now, getting back to the Western medical paradigm:
a patient presents with sx (symptoms); the doctor slots the symptoms into a pattern to give a dx (diagnosis); the diagnosis informs the tx (treatment); the hope is to change the px (prognosis). From the patient's perspective, if the tx does not relieve the sx, then something's amiss. I think the biggest problem arises because so few patients fit neatly into the little intellectual "boxes of symptoms" that describe the different diagnoses. IMHO, most people straddle the lines. It's therefore important to emphasize your own impression of your symptoms. As you've apparently not been listened to about the seasonality component (am I reading you right?), it's perhaps time to hammer away at that issue with your doctor.
Posted by Krissy P on March 15, 2003, at 11:30:14
In reply to Re: Bipolar or SAD? » Krissy P, posted by sedona on March 15, 2003, at 2:00:51
Hi, you're welcome. I lived in Oregon for 6 months, I couldn't handle the rain all the time. I was born and raised in Cali, we are getting a RARE rain right now, and I've decided I'm not going out much today. Keep up with school-it's something no one can ever take away from you.
I sometimes wonder, too, if taking no AD would be a little better-a pdoc had tried that one time but I got a lot of anger doing that-many reasons I guess, not just the stopping of an AD. But at this time, I'm not going to self-medicate or stop-been there done thought-98% of the time bad reactions. As far as the Lamictal:
-balances my moods big time
-helps the depression, more than the mania
-cycling automatically, nearly disappears
-no weight gain
-sleep better
-need a low dose to get positive effects
Lamictal just works for me but YMMV
All the best, and keep on keepin on:-)
Kristen
==================================================================================================Hi Krissy thanks for your response. Yes, I do live in the Northwest, but I haven't always. I never really expected to get done with school in 4 years, but I have been trying for 9 years. And my grades have really suffered. One term my grades are great but then the next term I am lucky if I even pass.
Also, I feel that the antidepressants have been making me even moodier. I tried Lamictal and thought it helped only somewhat, although I was taking antidepressants at the same time. I'm wondering if it would work better without an AD. How has the Lamictal helped you?
thanks
Posted by Krissy P on March 15, 2003, at 11:44:13
In reply to Re: Bipolar or SAD?, posted by Larry Hoover on March 15, 2003, at 10:40:16
This is the end of the thread.
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