Anti-depressants?

Does anyone take any anti-depressants? I feel like my medication has wiped my hypomanic episodes, which were inconvenient when it comes to sleeping at night or focusing at work or whatever, but they weren't dangerous. (Even if I come up with some "brilliant" idea like moving to the other side of the country or to another country with no notice, I don't have the focus to follow through on it.) My depression is dangerous to me. I have taken anti-depressants in the past, once prior to my first hypomanic episode, and once after that. Before the onset of BP II, anti-depressants just didn't do anything at all. I may as well have been taking sugar pills. Then, while I was still on them, I had my first hypomanic episode, and I got switched over to Seroquel. From there, I went around the block with anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers, and some made me into a zombie, some allowed the hypomanic episodes to continue, and some got rid of hypomania but not depression.

I finally got my current psych to give me Wellbutrin. I had a crazy hypomanic episode the night before I started taking them. It was a Friday, so I knew I would not be able to talk to my psych until Monday. I just took the Wellbutrin on Saturday and Sunday and left a message for the psych. He called me and very sternly told me to stop the Wellbutrin immediately because he was afraid it would throw me into mania (BP I style!) and that it would be dangerous.

Ever since then, despite the fact that I rarely, if ever, have hypomania, he won't give me an anti-depressant despite the fact that I can't shake the depression. I get it, it's a valid "textbook" reason, but I took them for a while before I ever had a hypomanic episode. And I've had hypomanic episodes while on anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers, the lamotrigine... So, I'm just curious if anyone here takes anti-depressants, and how they work for you.

Well, I personally just failed wellbutrin. It took about three days to make me hypomanic (in addition to some not awesome side effects). I was super productive and not yet irritable, but the responsible thing to do was stop... That said, even though it was a distinctly causal relationship, we are far from done trying antidepressants. First, we're going to try to use my traz that way, and if that doesn't work, it's time for baby doses of SSRIs. My mania is well controlled for once; I'm just depressed now, and since I see my pdoc every two weeks, we feel comfortable taking the risks associated with ADs if it means finding something not scary (to me) or expensive that might work.

Your situation is interesting. There was not a causal relationship, if it started before you took the bupropion, yet your doctor is treating it as though it were... I get stopping it when he did, just in case, but there doesn't seem to be a good reason not to retry when you're not already hypomanic. Hmm. Many doctors just don't like giving them to bipolar patients at all, which is understandable, but if you're out of other options... Maybe ask about some other non-SSRI/SNRI antidepressants, and see if he's more receptive?

I was once given antidepressants (sertraline). At first, it threw me into my first (hypo)manic episode (for about a week), after that they had no effect on me whatsoever.
I suppose you just need to find the combination of meds that works best for you, and that can take time, as it's different for everyone. But I wish you good luck trying out meds and hopefully soon finding what works best for you.

At times when my medication is being adjusted I feel like a lab rat.
The medical team don't know ahead of time what will work so it becomes a process of trial and error. Although I must say it is "educated" trial and error, which is a whole lot better than random trial and error.

All I can say is to hang on tightly until your doctor finds the right combination for you.
I'm glad you got through the weekend taking Wellbutrin. Sometimes having to wait a couple days seems like a lifetime because the side effects are so unmanagable.

Take care,

I am on antidepressant, MAOI called moclobemide (together with mood stabiliser) and quite a high dose as well. It works for me and doesn't make me hypomanic, while at the same time keeping me from depression. Your doctor might have had bad experiences with this combo before with another patient. Possibly a different doctor would be braver, so to say. But I find it a bit worrying how you write about your hypomanic episodes -- I can see why your doctor doesn't want to risk that you do find enough focus to follow up on your ideas. I'm sorry that it's taking so long to get your medication adjusted correctly.

Currently I'm not taking ADs, but I have in the past. First I was on escitalopram (brand name Lexapro), then citalopram (brand name Celexa). Neither did anything for me, so my p-doc put me on venlafaxin (Effexor). Keep in mind this was all before the BD diagnosis. Venlafaxin worked for me. It didn't get rid of the depression completely, but it made it a lot more manageable. Unfortunately, it also made me hypomanic, so I stopped a few months ago. I haven't had much trouble with depression since (only occasionally).

It does seem like your doctor is being a bit too cautious, but at the same time I understand. ADs are known to induce mania. For me personally mania is a lot more dangerous than depression. Please be careful, hypomania can escalate and become something more than an inconvenience. My first episodes didn't even bother me, but I know how dangerous it can get. Don't underestimate yours! You said yourself that you experienced a "crazy hypomanic episode"... I hope I'm not sounding too self-righteous here, just expressing my concern.

Anyway, maybe you could try and explain to your doctor that your depression isn't going away. If he still refuses to prescribe ADs, maybe you can ask why? You could suggest calling in regularly while you adjust to them, so that he can keep an eye on things and adjust dosage and such if needed.

I hope you and your doctor can find something that works for you, both for the depression and hypomania.

I've taken lots of different antidepressants in the past, but currently take none. I can only take them coupled with a mood stabilizer, otherwise I become manic. I've had good and bad experiences with antidepressants (depending on whether or not I had a mood stabilizer on board). My psych told me once that the surest way for him to see if someone is bipolar is to: a) give them an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer and see if mania sets in, or better yet, b) give them lithium; if it helps/works, they're bipolar.

I'm sorry, my post was unclear. The Wellbutrin thing happened about a year ago, and ever since then, he won't give me an anti-depressant. I kept thinking he'd find something that would help the depression, too, but I still find myself down in the dumps, barely able to function.

It's re-assuring to know others are on ADs or have been in the past! I do think he might have been being a little too careful. I am primarily depressive, so I just don't understand. I know hypomania can escalate and can become very dangerous, but the depression is ALREADY dangerous! I'm a sitting duck at the moment. I've told my psych that repeatedly, and he just fiddles with what I'm already on.

I will definitely be asking my doc if I can try again. I can't live with this depression. My psychologist says I have the tools/knowledge I need to manage it, and she thinks it's an organic issue, so she told me I need to do something about the meds. Hence my questions.

Guess I'm really bipolar, then - the lithium is not a cure all, but it helps more than anything else did.

Thanks for your responses!

I've been on AD for 13 years. I start out on Zoloft, which was not effective enough, and then put on Paxil, which I have been on ever since. For me, ADs do not cause mania or even hypomania. I'm so glad because Paxil helps me a great deal. It doesn't trigger me. What does trigger me is stimulants. Since I was diagnosed BP1 three years ago, I had to stop smoking (which unfortunately I love. Or I guess loved is the correct word now). caffeine, diet pills, energy drinks, Adderall, anything associated with stims. I went through withdrawal from smoking, Adderall, and caffeine all at the same time. Right in the middle of a mixed state. The horror! No kidding. I was completely insane.

But Paxil has been great. I used to have crying jags all the time, either for no reason or for a very petty reason(s). Paxil has cleared that up and given me more control over my emotions. People say it numbs them. But in my case, it actually makes me feel more like myself.

Good luck to you!

Occasionally I have ADs prescribed - sertraline at a very low dose (25mg). This almost always elevates my mood above normal and they have to be quickly stopped. However I do still get them prescribed as I can be in a dangerous place if I get too low. Seeing and communicating with my team frequently about this as well as knowing my early warning signs for mood problems helps to manage the risk from being on ADs - as does stopping them quickly when mood starts to go up.

Cracked