Posted by Karen_kay on December 4, 2003, at 15:30:52
In reply to Re: Help! Calling Rapid Cyclers and other Bipolars!, posted by mags on December 4, 2003, at 8:19:51
Just wanted to add my story, so you may gain a bit of insight. I am Bipolar I, which means I have manic episodes. But, the last few years I have struggled more with depression. I was on Depakote, Lithium (2 different occassions), Lamictal, and finally Topamax. Topamax is the drug that finally worked the best for me. I'm no longer depressed and haven't had any symptoms of mania either. But, I've only been on it for about 7 months. I was severly depressed when I started it, however. One note, Topamax isn't as effective in treating mania, according to my Pdoc. Also, Neurontin is Not effective at all in treatign Bipolar disorder! There was a bit of a scam involved with the drug company trying to do off-label marketing.. You may want to research that. I took Neurontin for anxiety for quite a while with great results, but, my Pdoc recently (just yesterday in fact) did inform me that it is not labeled and has been proven to not be effective in treating Bipolar disorder. I'm not sure if I read your post correctly or not, but I thought I read that you were checking into taking it as a mood stabilizer?? I may be wrong? It worked great for me for anxiety and I found it to be nonaddictive, but made me kinda dumb :) The Topamax also made me a little slow for a few months but it did go away. The problem with finding a mood stabilizer is finding the one that suits you best. It can be a long process. But, once you do find the one that "clicks" it truly is wonderful!! I wish you the best of luck. But, remember there are side effects with all of them. Sometimes you just have to wait it out. I did and I've never been in a better mood!!
Good luck :) Karen
poster:Karen_kay
thread:285727
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031202/msgs/286562.html