What is the best treatment for the depressive stage of Bipolar Affective Disorder?
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at
8:35 am
I’m mostly interested in responses from people who have personally experienced a positive response to treatment. Everyone who knows someone with bipolar or who experiences it themselves knows that the “low” cycle of bipolar can be literally a killer, and many will not take medications because of some of the nasty side effects they have. Which, if any, of the current medications or other treatments have provided you or your loved one with measureable relief with the least negative side effects?
Tagged with: Affective • Best • Bipolar • depressive • Disorder • stage • Treatment
Filed under: Bipolar Treatments
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Timed/controlled episodes.
The best anti-depressant I’ve ever been on is Wellbutrin. I had sexual side effects with a lot of the others and some just didn’t work at all.
Of course a mood stabilizer is always important. I’ve been on most of them and I think Lamictal was the best.
I have personally had the best experience using a combo of Lamictal and cymbalta to treat my bipolar disorder. I have been on about 15 different med combos and have had many bad side effects, but these two meds seem to work best and the side effects are tolerable.
I also see a therapist regularly for talk therapy and this helps me, espeicially in the depressive stages (it doesn’t work as well for the mania because I get too irritable to talk to someone and cannot collect my thoughts well enough to have a coherent conversation.)
Another method I have used with success is journaling or other types of writing during a depressive episode. It can be very theraputic.
IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, WHICH IS A WISE ONE, YOU MAY NEED TO SEE YOUR DR AGAIN AND MAKE SUGGESTIONS BACKED BY OTHERS, .THIS IS ALSO HELPFUL TO THE DR IN TREATING YOU, AS LONG AS THE MEDICATIONS ARE COMPATABLE.
I ALSO HAD ASSISTANCE FROM A FRIEND, AND ‘EFEXOR-XR’150mg was helpful, and had no side affects, it takes about 4-6 weeks to begin the chemical replacement required, and another mood lifter ‘Epilim EC200′ 100MG.
IN ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, PLEASE SEE YOUR DR, YET LISTEN TO OTHERS RESPONSES, AS THEY CAN ASSIST IF CLEARLY STATED.
PLEASE DO NOT ‘TRY’ OUT OTHER FOLKS PRESCRIPTIONS, THIS MAY SET YOU BACK. GET GOOD CLINICAL ADVISE, AND LEARN ABOUT YOUR ILLNESS VIA BOOKS OR ON STES SUCH AS EMAIL;info@mentalhealth.asn.au, or other sites near you.
Take care, my encouragement goes with this short email.sc
Zoloft has some serious side effects, and some other meds are very addictive. My son and I are both on Lexapro. It works well for the down times, and seems to mellow out the Up times.
Best to ask your doctor if Lexapro would be a good treatment for you.
Haven’t you heard of Homeopathy it can cure you 100% believe me it can and with absolutely no side effects whatsoever.
Please contact me if really want help with a detailed explanation of not the symptoms of your decease but how you feel due to it and By The Grace of God you will be cured by Homeopathic Medicines
Sorry that you have to go through this. I, as a layman and Major Depressed and slightly possibly bi polar II, was recommended to take Wellbutrin XL and now they are trying plain old “fish oil” that you can buy at Rite-Aid or Walgreen’s, 8 per day, to lift depression and trials to use it as a mood enhancer with no side effects. I also never got a side effect from Wellbutrin 2x day, or Wellbutrin XL which is more expensive.
try wellbutrine
i am bi polar. my doctor prescribed a therapy companion dog for me and she helps
a bullet wouldn’t hurt no jk, depacote seems to work along with over the counter St john’s wart supplements I think
i am bi-polar and on meds it is important to stay on your meds tell who ever that an anti-anxiety and anti-depressants mine is Prozac my mother is on paxil really helps but remember you have to treat the mania as well as the depression and the mania is the part none of us want to loose that is what the anti-anxiety med does for me i hope that this helps some
my hubs takes the same meds ak “kimmy” in the answers,not working. wellbutrion was th worst,he actually would put a knife to himself,the suicide thoughts were so great! he is in therapy,she just keeps upping the meds. DH wants to try meds and that is his decision,his body,he actually does better with no meds,robin