Antidepressants & Mania

May 28, 2016, 11:25 AM

I'm currently on 25 mg of zoloft and nothing else. Two years ago I went up to 75 mg and became very elevated, lowered it to 50 and basically went up and down between baseline and severe depression every few days/weeks so went off completely - horrible anxiety/panic returned, got depressed, went back on 25 mg. I honestly don't know if it even does anything at such a low dose, but I'm afraid to go off it because of the horrible withdrawals. Anyway, I've been on this dose since November and overall seem to be doing better than before.

I did a lot of reading about BP and ADs and while it's still pretty controversial, there is evidence that suggests they don't necessarily cause mania in people with BP 2 (and do so less often in BP 1 than previously suspected). Then again they can cause mania in people without BP...everyone is different.

Blaire · May 28, 2016, 12:29 PM

Zoloft was the first psych med I ever took, and it turned me into a furious beast. I was agitated and aggressive, and I tried to run away a couple times. It definitely triggered mania for me. It was a good thing though because that reaction helped the docs figure out that I'm bipolar.

cincidak · May 28, 2016, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mysterious153

Dear Anxiousvalkyrie,

I was put on Bupropion (a stimulant; I assume a stimulant is an antidessant) in 2011 for a depressive episode that started in 2007! The only problem is that when my depression lifted earlier this year (due to trying psychotherapy), I found myself in a mania more extreme than I've ever experienced!

The Bupropion kept me going when I was depressed (2011 was the first time I ever saw a psychiatrist) but I think it is one of the reasons I am now so anxious and aroused. I usually sleep 4 to 5 hours a night and can't nap much. I made an suicide attempt last year after quitting the Bupropion for 30 days so my therapist and psychiatrist say that if I stop I could relapse. I definitely wonder about the Bupropion.

At first the mania was welcome. It was so much better than being depressed! However, sometimes in the evening when I can't sleep, the mania makes me feel almost insane. I've been prescribed Trazadone also (sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't)

The biggest way the Bupropion helps me is it decreases my appetite (when I'm depressed I gain weight). It also keeps me going when I am depressed. There were no problems getting to work, taking care of the house, etc.

I have cut back on the Bupropion but haven't stopped. Never making an attempt again is more important to me than anything else. I hope the mania will become less intense. Some days it does.

Hope this isn't too much information,

Myst

Mysterious153, has your doctor considered putting you on anantipsychotic for the mania. It may be a big help to go.on a low dose.

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Blue_Bird · May 28, 2016, 05:43 PM

Zoloft made me hallucinate and stay up for 3 days straight. I'm on 40mg of Paxil now but it's with an AP and a mood stabilizer

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dwr3 · May 28, 2016, 06:03 PM

I was prescribed Zoloft and Xanax after trying the awful Cilest. I had anxiety and depression problems in high school, also struggled with anxiety. I was a good student though. I got addicted to Xanax for 1,5 a year and Zoloft made me so aggressive and manic- like that I was almost expelled from school. I've lost any inhibition. I did crazy stuff, while drinking or not, yelled at people, my character was totally exaggerated, especially when I mixed meds with alcohol (I never had problem with drinking and still don't while not taking any meds, but when I was on meds, I just couldn;t stop). I didn't consider the stuff I did bad, didn't care, felt like I could do anything. I had a huge conflict with my family, was suspected of being a drug addict, put myself into dangerous sexual behaviour, still not sure if I didn't catch HIV. Was threw out of people's houses, ruined my friend birthday party. I stopped taking it after some time, never went back on anything.

Quote:

It was a good thing though because that reaction helped the docs figure out that I'm bipolar.

I don't really believe that a bad reaction to a drug can be a proof of an illness. It's a beneficial thing for pharmaceutical companies, though.

The thing with psychiatric drugs is that they're not just as much helpful as placebo in 70% of the cases, but also the theory on how they work is bu*lshit. There is no evidence for it. No single proof.

xRavenx · Jun 11, 2016, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anxiousvalkyrie

I see a lot of you are taking antidepressants as part ofy the our treatment. I can't tolerate them, they make my mania exponentially worse. I've been off and on antidepressants a lot in my life. It wasn't until an ER psychiatrist I saw a few weeks back saw I was on Cymbalta and took me off of it that I learned they could affect mania.

Looking back at my life over the past 15 years or so my worst manic episodes happened while I was on antidepressants (usually Zoloft)... And I'd always go off my meds while manic and things would improve.

Has anyone else experienced this problem with antidepressants and mania? Conversely for those of you that do take them, how are they helping you?

I also can't tolerate anti-depressants (namely, SSRI's like Zoloft, since they are known to cause mania). I had rapid cycling the first time I was on Zoloft. Then, I was taken off, but when I complained of depression, my doctor told me, "If you want to try the Zoloft again, do it, but if you are starting to feel manic, don't take it anymore." I gave it a shot again (along with my mood stabilizers), and it was one of the worst decisions. I became paranoid, thinking people at my job were watching me, and very manic/agitated. I will never take an SSRI anti-depressant (or even Wellbutrin) ever again for that reason, and the pdoc agrees. Trazadone was something else I was told not to take since supposedly it can make Bipolar 1 worse.

pirilin · Jun 11, 2016, 04:08 PM

Closest I've been to ADs is remeron for sleep. It help me sleep alright. And to gain twenty pounds too.
Out from the cocktail forever. Vistaril is like aspirin, but has the placebo effect. I pretend is a good sleeping aid.
Now I know Adderall. The worst side effects of a life time. Supposed to get me out of my depression. It made me lose 30 pounds and also gave me the worst withdrawals ever.
every 3 hrs. Terrible.

franz kafka · Jun 11, 2016, 04:22 PM

Antidepressants are off limits for me. Every time I've tried them, I've ended up manic, even while taking anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers. My doctor just accepts now that he can't use any antidepressant to treat my depression.

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