Posted by Cybele on December 11, 2003, at 16:07:09
In reply to Re: Topamax-bipolar and weight loss? » Cybele, posted by katia on December 11, 2003, at 15:23:19
> Hi,
> You say soft bipolar. What were your "symptoms"? You also say double depression. I take it you've been depressed all of your life and then on top of that had a severe and major depression?
> that sounds like me.
> I've been dxed as "double depression" last summer and after a year of trial and ERROR on ADs; i got the BPII dx.At different times I have been dx as dysthymic and soft bipolar, so the "/" indicates "or," in this case. My current therapist gave me a questionnaire that indicated I could fall into either category. I also have a family history (half-sister is BP-I and our father, who bounced between "feeling blue" and grandiosity throughout his adult life) was probably also BP-II. My hypomanias are few and far between, but have led to my making some rather poor decisions in my life because I was confident I knew what I was doing.
I have had many minor depressions (mostly difficulty concentrating, eating and sleeping too much) and a major depression about every 3 years (ages 13, 16, 19, 22, 24, 28, 33). As long as I keep busy, avoid stress, and get regular exercise, I tend to be OK. I was pretty much fine during the 5 years when I was either pregnant and/or breastfeeding (36-41). I did have a little bit of post-partum psychosis (or I could "see it" even tho I wasn't there, if that makes sense), but nothing that made me do anything scary.
Feel free to correct me, folks, but from what I have read it can be difficult to distinguish between dysthymia and soft bipolar, and one thing that PDOCs are finding is that many folks in this category respond better to mood stabilizers, hence "it must be BP-II." Failure to be helped by popular ADs is one of the red lights docs often looks for when considering the soft BP dx. Six weeks on Paxil was a nightmare for me, as was Prozac (although I only took that one for 2 weeks). Wellbutrin was OK when I took it 10 years ago, altho I think going off of Paxil and quitting my job and moving across country was what helped me step out of my depression that time. I started feeling better the day after I went off Paxil, which was the day I started WB.
Be that as it may, regular aerobic exercise (70-80% of max. heart rate for at least 3-4 hours total a week) is the only "antidepressant" that I can state unequivocally has helped me.
poster:Cybele
thread:50878
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031208/msgs/288848.html