Posted by West on December 22, 2009, at 16:43:36
In reply to Re: Do i go up on the meds or ride with it, posted by manic666 on December 22, 2009, at 13:11:28
Ah, well, the Ionic is my favourite order. Anyhow. Manic what's the situation with mood stabilizers. Are things worsened on them? As a bipolar you're not being effectively treated without one surely.
You might have a scan of this: www.mcmanweb.com/mood_spectrum.html. In the meantime I think if you can, stick with sertraline, assuming everything has to be a generic. It and escitalopram had efficacy over most of the current new generation ADs in the Cipriani meta-analysis.
Side effects are a big factor for most, so if it means going on a lower sertraline dose and augmenting then psychiatrists will obviously want to try you on lithium/valproate/lamotrigine first.
Also, they're more likely than GPs to be sympathetic about how varied your responses are to different generic versions of the same drug. Give them a good reason to let you try something you might be helpful by showing initiative- if you ask for their e-mail you can usually send them something to read before an appointment, which MAY/MAY NOT, depending on how many patients are under their care/whether they still care/ or whether they have a developed robotic detachment from their job as a result of spending day after day staring into the faces of the miserable and the insane and back again/ make feel more inclined to give things a go.
poster:West
thread:929989
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091217/msgs/930365.html