Curious about your Wellbutrin statement. SNRIs are used cautiously in BP, I know. My pdoc thinks it's OK if a mood stabilizer and AP are on board. I have a tendency to be in the ever-popular mixed state so thought this cocktail made sense. As a wanna-be pharmacist, I've tried eliminating one drug or another at times and felt pretty awful, but one never knows for certain if this represents a re-emergence of one's original BP craziness or a withdrawal syndrome. I'm inclined to suspect the latter. The STEP-BD lengthy clinical trial, I think (?), addresses these issues.

My pdoc seems knowledgeable about and experienced with BP, but this doesn't stop me from second-guessing his every move. I'm always open to new information, so let me know your thinking, K? ��

Ya know what I wonder? If a BP person and a well person each took the same cocktail, and the well person had no reaction while the BP person experienced relief, would that be diagnostic? For instance, when I take Geodon (w/food), I get a really cool, mellow feeling that lasts for a while. I'm thinking that if a person unaffected by BP had the SAME response, why wouldn't Geodon be a controlled substance, subject to abuse? Who WOULDN'T want to chill out? But if only a BP person has this yummy response, then pdocs ought to trial the drug on patients FIRST, before making a diagnosis, and save everybody lots of time. Clear as mud?