Posted by SLS on February 29, 2016, at 6:40:55
In reply to Re: Hey everyone.. Newby here, posted by Fiftylager1 on February 28, 2016, at 23:45:00
I'm glad you had such a productive interaction with Tomatheus. He's one of a kind.
I agree that most antidepressants are bad for you, primarily because you are bipolar. Any antidepressant can cause a switch into mania or hypomania, but some worse than others.
If you haven't tried Trileptal, I would consider taking it in place of Depakote. Depakote is okay for mania, but rarely helps for depression. It can even make depression worse. Trileptal might very well help with the hypomanic component of your mixed state. People who have anger or impulse control issues often respond well to Trileptal. In my experience, Trileptal has no discernible if any side effects. The only thing to watch for is a loss of blood sodium (hyponatremia). I would keep the Lamictal and possibly switch from Abilify to Geodon for both depression and perhaps act as a prophylactic against mania. Geodon can work for bipolar depression without having an antidepressant on board. From what I have observed, Abilify is not so good without an antidepressant. Saphris also has antidpressive effects in the absence of an antidepressant.
What has been your experience with lithium? What dosage are you taking and what is your blood level?
You will need to be patient, especially if there is any rapid cyclicity involved. The NIMH recommends combining lithium with Lamictal in these cases. Lamictal has been shown to help with ultra-rapid cyclicity, but can take as long as 6 months to penetrate the cycle.
As you already know, there are no guarantees as to how an individual will respond to any given drug. It would be wonderful if my suggestions were to get you well, but they might make you feel worse.
This is just one possible course of action. Of course, you must rely on the judgement of your doctor.
1. Depakote -> Trileptal
2. Abilify -> Geodon -> Saphris
3. Lamictal 300 mg/day as tolerated
4. Latuda? Possibly discontinue
5. lithium? Possibly reduce dosage
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1086405
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160131/msgs/1086599.html