[scstateofmind]

i went to my regular doctor recently and she suspects bipolar disorder. i was referred to a psychologist and given lexapro. i am already very nervous about taking this drug because as a nursing student i know that it can throw someone with bipolar disorder into mania. I've been on zoloft before and showed signs of hypomania, but i never had psychotic features. i get my prescription today and its only 5 mg as compared to the 25 mg of zoloft i was on from october-december of 2013. how is 5 mg even going to touch my issues if my body is used to 25 mg of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor? i also had horrid side effects with zoloft. i am just ready to pull my hair out right now!!!

[kaliope]

I don't think you can compare milligram strength of various drugs to determine how they are going to work. but I would worry about it throwing you into a mania, especially if you have already had that experience with Zoloft. my pdoc gave me Zoloft for my anxiety and it threw me into a six week long mania with psychosis. the worst in my life. worse yet, new pdoc, after I told her this, gave me trazodone to sleep. go home and find out it is an AD just like Zoloft. im not even going to risk it. I was able to take wellbutrin, a different class without it triggering the manic side effect. take care.

[Bipolarchic14]

Idk if you are bp2 or bp1 but I am bp2 and on lamictal which is one of the more popular meds for bp2

[wildflowerchild25]

There are different dosages for different drugs. For example I've been on 150mg of Zoloft but only 20mg of lexapro, and each was considered a therapeutic dose. 200mg Effexor vs 20mg celexa, you see what I'm saying? But I would be seriously cautious of an AD if your doc thinks you might have bipolar. Especially since there's no mood stabilizer or antipsychotic to balance the effects. ADs induce mixed/manic states for me even if I'm on mood stabilizers so I just stay away. Might wanna wait until you see a psychiatrist. Especially if you may have been hypo off of only 25mg of Zoloft - that's a pretty low dose.

Originally Posted by scstateofmind

i went to my regular doctor recently and she suspects bipolar disorder. i was referred to a psychologist and given lexapro.

Most psychologists technically cannot prescribe medication. Granted, there are some people in practice who are licensed to practice both psychiatry and therapy. By your "regular doctor" do you mean regular psychiatrist or general practitioner? Did you see a psychologist or a psychiatrist?

It seems to be standard practice to rule out (or dampen) depression, e.g. with small doses of antidepressants, before moving onto diagnoses like bipolar disorder and ADHD. The treatment of the latter may involve controlled and/or complicated substances. Perhaps this is what your doctor is doing. 5mg of Lexapro is a tiny amount, and is unlikely to hurt you (also, Lexapro takes about 4-6 weeks to kick in).

If you have concerns, please discuss them with your "regular" doctor.

Originally Posted by kaliope

I was able to take wellbutrin, a different class without it triggering the manic side effect. take care.

To clarify for any readers, it is possible for people with BP to have manic or hypomanic side-effects on Wellbutrin, even though its not a SSRI like Zoloft or Lexapro. I fared much worse on Wellbutrin than Lexapro or Prozac. Some people with BP, such as myself, take a small dose of an antidepressant along with a mood stabilizer.