Medications

I have a bipolar spectrum dx with predominantly depressive symptoms & mainly dysphoric/irritable hypomanias. I'm interested to hear of any combinations of medications that have helped others with a similar diagnosis. Currently on 40mg fluoxetine daily & it's been a life saver for my depression.

There are 184 combos, Well I dont know the exact number lol

"Usually" Pdoc's like to toss people on some type of Mood stabilzer. Since your more on the depressive end Lamictal could be a good possibilty.

Finding the right med(s) that will work for you will take patience and time, Its almost unhead of finding the right ones the first go around.

Best advice read up on the most commonly prescribed medications and get a working knowlege of them,, AD 's AP's AAP's, mood stabilizer, lots of seizure medications are used for Bipolar off label. I actully like the website Crazymeds.com ... its a good site with easy to understand side effects and a bit of humor, might as well get a chuckle here and there. Lots and lots to learn.. You will find PC is a wealth of information.

Pretty much my exact bipolar diagnosis. Having been stable for a few years now, I'm quite happy with my current cocktail:

Lamical (anti-seizure/mood stabiliser)
Wellbutrin (anti-depressant)
Geodon (low dose antipsychotic - helps with irritability)
Seroquel (very low dose antipsychotic - aids in sleep)
Klonopin (when needed for anxiety. I try use the stuff as sparingly as possible)

Though I'm happy with this current cocktail it has taken a bit of trial and error to get here. Each pdoc has a different first line of treatment and every patient reacts differently to meds. But as Christina said, the cocktail will usually consist of an anti-seizure/mood stabiliser an antipsychotic and possibly an antidepressant.

There are lots of threads on here where people discuss their current mix of meds. You should get an idea of what the most commonly prescribed meds are, and from there you can do some research on them.

As a side, I was on an antidepressant alone and it sent me into a mixed episode. It was actually then that I was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. So if you've just started with the fluoxetine, be sure to monitor your mood closely, as it's common for SSRIs to mess with BPs mental state.

I wish you all the best!

My mix has been working pretty good for a year now. Fetzima and Saphris have really helped my symptoms.

Your symptoms are pretty much exactly mine. Currently I take lamictal, xanax, and trazadone for sleep. I took myself off lithium recently bc it was causing cystic acne. I went off wellbutrin a while ago bc it was adding to my irritibility/anger. I am needing something now for my depression and anxiety and after my pdoc appt today will be going back on prozac which has always (and I hope again) been wonderful for me.

I have excessive hypomania and irritability with somewhat harsh depression, And I'm on Seriquel 150mg and 100mg sertaline.

Crazymeds is a great website to read up on meds