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Do you blieve antidepressants can be efficient in bipolar depression?
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SteveW
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SteveW
Last activity on 09/12/2020 at 21:16
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82 comments posted | 6 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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Using antidepressants in bipolar isn't nearly as common as it used to be. They can trigger bipolar highs. These days a separate set of drugs - mood stabilizers are standard firstline treatment. Unfortunately Bipolar isn't a condition where you have an episode, get over it, and then your OK in the future. Some people do become completely OK on mood stabilizers but I wouldn't wan't to put a figure on it. Relapses are common. If you aren't on a mood stabilizer, Depakote and Lithium are the most common, I would see a doctor and get on one as soon as you can.
Steve
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In the darkest night the sun may seem like an extinguished match or an ember drowned by rain.
meg1963
meg1963
Last activity on 30/10/2022 at 08:01
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11 comments posted | 2 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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I have had bipolar for years,i was put on citalopram 2 yrs july and although for me they do work to keep my episodes few and far I can not honestly say it could help others as I also take amitriptyline for another condition.although my thoughts are better controlled I still have those feelings of that deep dark moments and the mania but I refuse to let myself go as bad as I did in 2012 when I had a major breakdown and all suffered.
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LeeBee
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LeeBee
Last activity on 01/09/2022 at 20:51
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187 comments posted | 6 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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I am going through a bipolar depression and I don't take antidepressants because they didn't prove to be efficient in my last depressions, I thought this in 1993 and after a long hard battle. I now realise advancement in medicine has actually help stop my mood swings..
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Lee
LeeBee
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LeeBee
Last activity on 01/09/2022 at 20:51
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187 comments posted | 6 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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I think like depression bi polar is only a symptom of what is so wrong...Lack of Empathy..
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Lee
Snoopy72100
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Snoopy72100
Last activity on 16/01/2021 at 11:59
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10 comments posted | 8 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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Thank you for your answers. My depression is getting better at the moment with lithium but no antidepressants. I'll try flower ob Bach to see if it has any effect on depression.
SteveW
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SteveW
Last activity on 09/12/2020 at 21:16
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82 comments posted | 6 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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Hi Snoopy. I am glad you are doing well on Lithium. I thought I would tell you about someone I worked with to give you some encouragement. I met this woman who became Bipolar in her early 20's. She had a very bad time. She was cycling from deep depression to Bipolar high and back again about 3 times a year. Then her psychiatrist decided to try Lithium. The depression she was in lifted and her mood became stable and normal.
I met her 25 years after this and she had remained OK. She took Lithium everyday and had a blood test once a year but that was the extent that Bipolar affected her. She had got married and wanted to get pregnant and in the early days her thyroid played up a bit. But she overcame these problems. She was doing the same thing as me, researching at a university, but you wouldn't ever have guessed that she had ever been troubled by Bipolar.
I hope you do as well. It is possible.
Love
Steve
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In the darkest night the sun may seem like an extinguished match or an ember drowned by rain.
Snoopy72100
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Snoopy72100
Last activity on 16/01/2021 at 11:59
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10 comments posted | 8 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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Thank you for your comment Steve. It gives me hope. Actually I had my first manic access in 1999 (I was 44) and was fine on lithium until the end of 2009 when my father died. I had three manic accesses since then with serious depressions after but docs had changed my treatment to Xeroquel / Anafranil and it just didn't work on me. I'm back on lithium now and hope I stabilize again.
Luts uv luv
Françoise
turnerintown
turnerintown
Last activity on 10/12/2016 at 12:33
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2 comments posted | 2 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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Hello Snoopy,
I currently take Depakote and Fluoxetine, although I feel Fluoxetine does nothing for my lows what-so-ever. I really feel, by experience of talking to others, that a good solid mood stabilizer without the anti-depressants can help stabilize moods and support a healthy life. I am currently in the process of being prescribed Lithium and am hoping to be slowly weened off the Fluoxetine as I feel it does nothing to support my illness.
Take care x
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Ryan
Snoopy72100
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Snoopy72100
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Hello Turner,
Lithium is the only thing that does anything for me. Fluoxetine never helped and there is a danger of going up again after. I hope lithium works as well for you as it does for me and many patients. Good luck for the end of the tunnel!
Snoopy72100
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Snoopy72100
Last activity on 16/01/2021 at 11:59
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Take good care too Turner! xx
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Snoopy72100
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Snoopy72100
Last activity on 16/01/2021 at 11:59
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10 comments posted | 8 in the Bipolar disorder Forum
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I am going through a bipolar depression and I don't take antidepressants because they didn't prove to be efficient in my last depressions. I wonder if bipolar depression is not just a cycle that we have to go through until it's over. Did you find any improvement when you started to take antidepressants during a depression, let's say after 3 weeks?