Is there any alternative to the medication I’m taking for bipolar?
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at
8:39 am
6 months ago I was diagnosed with bipolar type 1 and ever since they put me on lithium and got me up to a blood level of 0.8 I haven’t really felt much emotion. It’s not much better than the risperidone.. I can’t get into music like I used to for instance.. Is there any alternative? like an alternative medicine or electroshock or psychotherapy that doesn’t do this?
Tagged with: Alternative • Bipolar • Medication • Taking • there
Filed under: Bipolar Type 1
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there are tons of medications they can try, abilify, zoloft, cymbalta are just a few of i can think off the top of my head. I wouldn’t look into electroshock but psychotherapy should be being used along with your medication.
There are lots of other meds for bipolar. They all work different on everybody. They all have side affects. You can keep trying different ones until you find the one that works best for you. Sometimes a combination of them work best. If your not happy with your meds talk to your Dr. I was diagnosed with bipolar over 10yrs ago. I’ve been on many different meds. I know what you mean about not feeling emotion. I put up with it for a long time because I didn’t know I could switch to something else. When you go through day after day not really caring or feeling, good or bad, you don’t really feel like your living. Just existing. It can be better, talk to your Dr. It might take awhile to find what works best for you. It’s worth it. Life is supposed to feel good, bad & lots of in between. Good Luck!!!!
#1 Try psychotherapy.A psychologist that you feel comfortable with can be effective in helping you.Tell him you are trying out different therapists to find one that fits. it gives you an easy out if you want to try someone else.don’t waste money with the wrong guy.
Usually medication is Always combined with therapy anyway.
#2 There are many medications you can try – ask for a low dose to start-many play nicer than risperidone . It’s worth putting up with some side effects if you have bad problems with bipolar -complain about intolerable side effects because everyone reacts differently and you need to be able to enjoy your life and retain your personality. write question down so you have time to get to it during your appointment.Use your pharmacist for free trustworthy information.
#3 ETC on it’s own has no sustained benefit. If he suggests that, go get a second opinion from a neutral party. See a neurologist, not your psychiatrist .When my psychiatrist said it’s always an option and that he had one patient he sent for ETC, I asked if it worked for her and he looked embarrassed and said,no.- busted
please always do research because companies who write the literature and make the money don’t want to disclose the full risk information.
Very important-Look on wikipedia for electroconvulsive therapy and click on the link to the video deposition of Harold Sackheim a Prof. psychiatry&neurology at Columbia University.
#4 Vagus Nerve Stimulator has been proven ineffective.
#5 There’s a procedure called TMS. A web page (I won’t quote or tell the brand name) says that it activates brain cells; that small electric charges cause neurons to become active. – Hmm,doesn’t everybody have active brain cells and neurons already?
Lamictal is the new mood stabilizer for Bipolar. It is really very good and for most people it has few side effects. Since you are Bipolar 1 I assume that they are more worried about the mania than the depression which is why they have you on Lithum…. While they are both true mood stabilizers Lithium aseems to work better for the mania and Lamictal works better for depression. I too am Bipolar 1, I’m on Lamictal, Klonopin, and Saphris (an anti psychotic which really keeps mania in check). I’ve tried numerous combinations… and after 3 years of trying this and trying that… this combo seems to work well and has not made me a zombie. All you can do is keep trying until you find what works for you. Therapy does help a lot but mostly it helps you learn about how Bipolar affects you and learn how to recognize early symptoms of a mood swing and techniques to ease anxiety or other symptoms.