stopping taking bipolar meds. Is it wise???

I'm thinking of stopping taking my bipolar meds and just taking my antidepressants. I can feel myself going into depression and I was wondering if by not taking my BP meds this will help?? I can't face the depression and I think I would rather be manic. Any thoughts please!!

No stay on your meds. Going off and only being on antidepressents is usually asking for trouble.

I agree. Stay on your meds for now. Can you work out a plan with your doctor and any other care providers to deal with this oncoming depression?

My advice is to stay stable and be proactive about this.

You might need a med adjustment, and to determine that you'll need to wool things out closely with your pdoc.. However, intentionally manipulating yourself into mania isn't wise, and i cand imagine and psychiatrish helping with that.

Have you been in full-blown mania? This doesn't usually end as a pleasant experience--all too often, in fact, ends in a required hospital stay.

Managing a bipolar life is far from easy, but what yout intention is with yours I can't begin to guess. If you're working with a therapist, I'd suggest reevaluating your plan--starting with what you're hoping the manic experience will provide you.

I don't see my Pdoc till mid july and I just can't face the depression I know is on its way. I'm at a loss as what to do!!

I skipped my Zyprexa since my primary blew off my concerns and my pdoc won't call back.

Lara, you wanted to know what to do:

!. Stay on your mood stabilizer
2. CALL your pdoc and tell him a depression is on the way, what can you do for it.
3. Follow instructions from pdoc.
4. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT stop taking your bipolar drugs. An antidepressant alone will not make you a happy, energetic, la la la manic. I will likely kick you into full blown mania that will land you in the hospital, totally out of control. You DO NOT want this.

That's my opinion anyway.

A lot of 'bipolar meds' also have anti-depressant properties. Can you list all your meds here? I will tell you which ones also work against depression.

I'm on abilify for my BP and venlafaxine for my depression

Can you see or contact your doctor any sooner?

O.K. So I read your other thread, and I understand you do not like your doctor. He doesn't listen. Are you in a position to find another care provider?

Abilify combined with your anti-depressant should actually make your antidepressant work BETTER. Do NOT go off your abilify...you may get even more depressed! Abilify definitely has anti-depressant properties, especially in combination with an antidepressant.

Don't do it. You might get manic, and then get an even worse depression or in a mixed state. I only took antidepressants once, and got in a mixed state where I wanted to die more than when being depressed.
DON'T. Talk to your psychiatrist, that person should help you. Never change medications without consulting them.

I can't talk to my psychiatrist cos I don't see him again till mid july and plus I hate him. He never listens and I can never understand what he's saying. I'm at a loss and all I want to do is sleep. I'm so tired. Physically mentally and emotionally!! I don't feel I have anyone to talk and feel so alone!!

I havent had a mood stabilizer in a few days because the doc took me off Geodon and put me on Abilify and I havent felt stable enough to drive. So last night I was really about to admit myself. I was all over the place. I hadnt slept hardly at all. Bad place to be. I finally told my husband when he got home that I had been suicidal all day and I may have to go into the hospital again. I have to be able to get my meds today. I cant take this. Does abilify work right away?

Don't do it without talking to your doctor first. I do it all the time (so I know how you feel) and it always ends badly. And don't throw the meds away if you do stop- save them so when you can't take it anymore you can resume taking them. Best of luck to you.

Moremi, Abilify can take a few weeks to really make an improvement. My pdoc always tells me to wait at least 2 weeks for an antipsychotic to make improvements in my mood.

Abilify takes about a week to start working, I think. Do you have any benzos you can take in the meantime until the Abilify kicks in?

larakeziah

in my opinion i don't think you should stop either medication, if anything one or both may need to be increased. I understand you don't care for you pdoc, is there someone else you could see instead? If nothing else, in the meantime, maybe you can call and see if they have a cancellation to put you in to see him just to talk about your medications and your depression?

talk to us, we are here to listen.

You've been given good advice already. Going off your meds would most likely set your mind off. It's funny you say you'd rather be manic, but when you're manic, you'd probably want to be depressed.

Anyhow, you don't want to do anything dramatic because you might feel pretty damn good at first. That might turn into full blow euphoria if you're lucky. But then you'll drop, your cycling will become more intense, and your mind may be too much to handle.

The worst part about really delving deep into the insanity is the fact that you may get caught up in it, meaning it will be your new reality so to speak.

Thank you all for ur good advice. I'm gonna see if I can find the strength to talk to someone. My CPN or my GP. I know its not good to stop my meds but the way I feel at the moment I don't see what else to do! I'm trying to stay strong but its just so hard! And the SI thoughts are very strong I feel I might cave!!

If you enjoy spiraling out of control...

You're on meds for a reason...your doctor did not say to just stop taking your meds cold turkey...you would need to ease off them and that's not very likely to happen anytime soon...

Ok so this is my second night of not taking my bipolar meds I'm just gonna see what happens cos I just can't face depression. It causes too much tension in my home with my family cos they don't understand that sometimes I can't get out of bed an do the house work or get washed and dressed so its better that I don't get depressed so I'm hoping stopping my meds will work!

"ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) is a prescription medicine used to treat depression in adults as an add-on treatment to an antidepressant when an antidepressant alone is not enough."

o.o

"You've been taking an antidepressant for at least 6 weeks and you're still not where you want to be in terms of treating your depressive symptoms. By having ABILIFY added to your current antidepressant, you may notice some improvement in your depressive symptoms in as early as 1 to 2 weeks. Timing can vary from one person to another, so you should allow time for your body to adjust."

O.O!!!

Your body, your choice...

That's what I tried to explain to her....that it is actually helping her depression, not making it worse...