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Default Aug 25, 2021 at 07:09 PM
  #1
Are there any of you who have bipolar disorder and take an antidepressant (or have taken one)?

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Default Aug 25, 2021 at 07:25 PM
  #2
I was taken off ADs when first diagnosed and stayed off for a few years. After my pdoc got to know me and that I didn't respond to mood stabilizers for depression she started using low doses and then higher ones. We went through an large (as in pretty much everything out there before 2009 except old MAOIs and a few tricyclics) number of them before I wound up on Emsam in 2009. I have been on it since without any issues with pooping out or anything. It really helps me.

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Default Aug 25, 2021 at 07:30 PM
  #3
Nope. Can’t take em, not even trazadon for sleep. Make me spin outa control. Even with a mood stabilizer and an AP.

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Default Aug 25, 2021 at 08:54 PM
  #4
I take them (sza) and so does my h (bp 1) and Miguel (other dx).

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 12:25 AM
  #5
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Originally Posted by BethRags View Post
Are there any of you who have bipolar disorder and take an antidepressant (or have taken one)?
There are many theories about whether bp people should take ad's or not. IMO for me, a mood stabilizer, ad and anxiety med have been key to my recovery. 6 months ago I would have said an antipsychotic as well but I have learned the horrors of TD and now I feel completely different about anti-psychs. I dont know if this is true or not or if science backs me up but my experience has been that in particular people with BPII do well on a cocktail that includes an ad but I also believe that not just any AD will do. I think SSRI's are the harshest for bipolar people but thats not to say they do not work. My experience is that for whatever reason SNRI's and tricyclics seem to be better ad choices for bipolar people because they target more areas of the brain. They are less likely to cause mania than a standard ssri and when used in a good cocktail balance things out rather well. I was hopsitalized for post pardon psychosis and a bipolar episode when my last child was barely 2 months old. They put me on cymbalta and lamitcal and i swear in 4 days I was a new person. I know they say it takes like 4 weeks for an ad but it was litterally 4 days for me.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 10:16 AM
  #6
I've always been hesitant to use ADs, partly because of the risk of mania and the limited evidence of effectiveness in bipolar, and partly because the side-effects are scary to me (in general, any meds with sexual side-effects are a no-go for me, and I'm also afraid ADs will make me too "flat"). I feel more comfortable taking my chances with lithium, Lamictal, or even ECT. I did try bupropion, once, but all it did was make me very irritable and give me insomnia, high blood pressure, and tachycardia. I went off that med as fast as I could.
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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 10:38 AM
  #7
Thanks to each of you, I appreciate your feedback.

I have a new pdoc, don't care for her at all. She said that no one who is bipolar could possibly be on an AD. She emphasized no one. Right away I thought of all of us here and I was sure that some of you take an AD. Actually, she's not even a pdoc, she's a D.O. Seems to have some odd ideas about psych meds, which leaves me feeling very uncomfortable.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 11:34 AM
  #8
Hi Beth, just fyi, a DO is still a pdoc. MDs and DOs have somewhat different training but both come out doctors and specialize with the exact same residency training.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 12:04 PM
  #9
Osteopathy is alternative medicine though, feels a bit wonky to me. Maybe the eventual specialization process in psychiatry is the same, I wouldn't know. But regardless of that, it's a pretty odd stance to say that ADs are never used in bipolar. The combination of an AD with a mood stabilizer is pretty common. I wouldn't feel comfortable, either, with someone who holds such strange opinions.
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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 02:05 PM
  #10
I haven't for about 11 years, but before that I had been prescribed some (no more than one at any given time) but also always with at least one moodstabizer and one antipsychotic.

It became clear, for me, that antidepressants were only destabilizing. Even with bipolar meds. In fact, they may have been responsible for at least half of my psych hospitalizations. I think "No antidepressants!" might have even made it into my psych hospital chart. My pdoc of 14 years stated the same.

I think many of us have at points been prescribed an antidepressant. And when I hear of or see others' med lists, there is often an AD as part of the cocktail. But I have encountered pdocs opposed to prescribing them for bipolar disorder. Especially not for bp1. My current pdoc made a statement implying as much. That doesn't bother me because of above. But if I took an AD and liked it, I'd be feeling similar to what you've expressed.

Many websites and books that discuss bipolar medications seem to mention the cautious use of antidepressants.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 02:40 PM
  #11
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Originally Posted by BethRags View Post
Thanks to each of you, I appreciate your feedback.

I have a new pdoc, don't care for her at all. She said that no one who is bipolar could possibly be on an AD. She emphasized no one. Right away I thought of all of us here and I was sure that some of you take an AD. Actually, she's not even a pdoc, she's a D.O. Seems to have some odd ideas about psych meds, which leaves me feeling very uncomfortable.

Bipolar Antidepressant Types: SSRIs, MAOIs, Tricyclic

Antidepressants and Bipolar Disorder

Antidepressants in Bipolar II Disorder

Omg @BethRags! I’m so annoyed I want to scream ! I seriously get so angry when I hear of doctors actually saying things like this. Like do they not understand how to google? Do they not know the difference between Wikipedia WebMD and the psychiatric times?

Bipolar treatment: Are bipolar I and bipolar II treated differently? - Mayo Clinic
Is the mayo clinic not reliable enough? I’m not a doctor but I’m sick of bipolar being misrepresented by old school doctors who never receive follow up training or don’t care to. Where they don’t maintain their duty to take to continuing education. Or they are holding onto their old ideas from college that was 20 years ago! There are thousands of thousands of cited articles about how anti-depressants are just fine for bipolar people.WHEN TAKEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER MEDS !!
Personally I would be so annoyed I’d print all of this poop out and slap her silly with it but I guess you probably need to maintain a good relationship eh?

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 03:34 PM
  #12
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Osteopathy is alternative medicine though, feels a bit wonky to me. Maybe the eventual specialization process in psychiatry is the same, I wouldn't know. But regardless of that, it's a pretty odd stance to say that ADs are never used in bipolar. The combination of an AD with a mood stabilizer is pretty common. I wouldn't feel comfortable, either, with someone who holds such strange opinions.
I didn't mean she was a GOOD pdoc, just that she was one .

I've seen mostly DOs for years (my pdoc and family doc are both DOs) and never had anything happen differently than an MD appointment aside from they are more person focused. Maybe that's just mine but my experiences with DOs have been really positive. I would NOT however want one who thought something as asinine as people with BP don't take ADs. I had an MD pdoc once who thought that it was impossible to have a master's degree and work in healthcare and have BP and it was a miserable experience.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 06:13 PM
  #13
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Originally Posted by sarahsweets View Post


Bipolar Antidepressant Types: SSRIs, MAOIs, Tricyclic

Antidepressants and Bipolar Disorder

Antidepressants in Bipolar II Disorder

Omg @BethRags! I’m so annoyed I want to scream ! I seriously get so angry when I hear of doctors actually saying things like this. Like do they not understand how to google? Do they not know the difference between Wikipedia WebMD and the psychiatric times?

Bipolar treatment: Are bipolar I and bipolar II treated differently? - Mayo Clinic
Is the mayo clinic not reliable enough? I’m not a doctor but I’m sick of bipolar being misrepresented by old school doctors who never receive follow up training or don’t care to. Where they don’t maintain their duty to take to continuing education. Or they are holding onto their old ideas from college that was 20 years ago! There are thousands of thousands of cited articles about how anti-depressants are just fine for bipolar people.WHEN TAKEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER MEDS !!
Personally I would be so annoyed I’d print all of this poop out and slap her silly with it but I guess you probably need to maintain a good relationship eh?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I feel exactly the same way that you do. I made a complaint about her to the clinic and my therapist also made a complaint. I so hope they replace her before my next appointment comes up. If I'm still stuck with her I'm going to tell her about this thread. If she doubts me I will ask her for a way to show her this thread. Her information is archaic.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 06:17 PM
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Osteopathy is alternative medicine though, feels a bit wonky to me. Maybe the eventual specialization process in psychiatry is the same, I wouldn't know. But regardless of that, it's a pretty odd stance to say that ADs are never used in bipolar. The combination of an AD with a mood stabilizer is pretty common. I wouldn't feel comfortable, either, with someone who holds such strange opinions.

Exactly. The first question I'm going to ask her next appointment (if I'm still stuck with her) is what her background in psychiatry is. It seemed to me that she skimmed through an old psychiatry text and was repeating what she'd read. Bizarre. She's, I'd say, in her 40's - but her information sounded like it was from the 1970's.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 06:19 PM
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Hi Beth, just fyi, a DO is still a pdoc. MDs and DOs have somewhat different training but both come out doctors and specialize with the exact same residency training.

Yes, I know...but my concern is what her psych training is. To me, it didn't sound like she had much at all.

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 07:27 PM
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Yes, I know...but my concern is what her psych training is. To me, it didn't sound like she had much at all.

Are there specialities for DO’s? Like a DO in obstetrics or DO in general medicine? So in theory a DO of….. psychiatry?

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Default Aug 26, 2021 at 07:27 PM
  #17
Her psych training is exactly the same as an MD. She finished her degree and then did a psych residency that she competed for against DOs and MDs. Then she took board exams, also with people with both MDs and DOs.

It sounds like there is no way she should have won a residency spot but there is a shortage of applicants for pdoc programs so she probably got into a bad program. It's like the old joke, what do you call the person who graduates last in a medical school class? A: Doctor.....

I'm so sorry you have a sucky doctor. I've had some and I am very insistent on staying with my current doctors and therapist even though I do a lot of driving to see them because I trust them and i don't trust the doctors closer to me (I live in the middle of nowhere).

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Default Aug 27, 2021 at 02:35 AM
  #18
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I had an MD pdoc once who thought that it was impossible to have a master's degree and work in healthcare and have BP and it was a miserable experience.

Wow, how did he figure that? It never ceases to amaze me how much stigma there is even among professionals.

@BethRags: In any case, I'm very curious how this will play out. Please keep us posted! It really ticks me off when people make generalizing statements about bipolar, especially when the statement is objectively wrong, and even more so when it's made by someone who should know better. I'm also curious about the other odd ideas she had, but I don't mean to derail the topic.
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Default Aug 27, 2021 at 02:45 AM
  #19
Hey @BethRags click on this link you will chuckle and you can share it with your doc!Let Me Google That

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Default Aug 27, 2021 at 06:05 AM
  #20
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Are there any of you who have bipolar disorder and take an antidepressant (or have taken one)?
I've taken Wellbutrin for several years now. No problems.

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