[still_crazy]

my counselor kept dropping big hints that I need an antidepressant. blah. i get bad, bad, bad depression...ive had episodes of psychotic depression, that's how i ended up with the bipolar i...i flipped into psychotic mania.

anyway, i dont really want one. i take tons of vitamins, so i ordered some fish oil. man oh man...you know, now that ive actually read about how much fish oil it takes to elevate mood (10 capsules of this brand i ordered), im thinking...

maybe an antidepressant wouldn't be the worst thing ever. wellbutrin provided a lift and cut into the darkness, but not completely. im not big on ssri, ssnri drugs, but..blah.

on the plus side, supplements may not chase the blues away completely, but they do seem to boost the psych drugs, so...if i end up on something, perhaps it'll work well enough, at a low enough dose, for long enough, for me to just...live, and not to be so down. that'd be nice.

[HALLIEBETH87]

if you cant make your own neurotransmitters...store bought works just as well!

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

my counselor kept dropping big hints that I need an antidepressant. blah. i get bad, bad, bad depression...ive had episodes of psychotic depression, that's how i ended up with the bipolar i...i flipped into psychotic mania.

anyway, i dont really want one. i take tons of vitamins, so i ordered some fish oil. man oh man...you know, now that ive actually read about how much fish oil it takes to elevate mood (10 capsules of this brand i ordered), im thinking...

maybe an antidepressant wouldn't be the worst thing ever. wellbutrin provided a lift and cut into the darkness, but not completely. im not big on ssri, ssnri drugs, but..blah.

on the plus side, supplements may not chase the blues away completely, but they do seem to boost the psych drugs, so...if i end up on something, perhaps it'll work well enough, at a low enough dose, for long enough, for me to just...live, and not to be so down. that'd be nice.

It's great to have you posting!

Sorry you are feeling down. I have a similar problem of getting into severe depressions, even though I am on an ssri and Abilify. I hope you find an answer which will be most helpful.


WC

[yellow_fleurs]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

my counselor kept dropping big hints that I need an antidepressant. blah. i get bad, bad, bad depression...ive had episodes of psychotic depression, that's how i ended up with the bipolar i...i flipped into psychotic mania.

anyway, i dont really want one. i take tons of vitamins, so i ordered some fish oil. man oh man...you know, now that ive actually read about how much fish oil it takes to elevate mood (10 capsules of this brand i ordered), im thinking...

maybe an antidepressant wouldn't be the worst thing ever. wellbutrin provided a lift and cut into the darkness, but not completely. im not big on ssri, ssnri drugs, but..blah.

on the plus side, supplements may not chase the blues away completely, but they do seem to boost the psych drugs, so...if i end up on something, perhaps it'll work well enough, at a low enough dose, for long enough, for me to just...live, and not to be so down. that'd be nice.

Hope you find something to help your depression. I usually look for the concentrated 1 a day fish oil supplements when I take them. Otherwise you really do end up needing to take a ton of them. It sounds like you need some sort of lift out of the darkness from what you are saying.

[still_crazy]

yeah...the data i read makes it seem that in bipolar I, severe depression, etc...HIGH DOSES (sorry for screaming caps) make a difference when it comes to fish oil. lower doses...less effective. blah.

i dont really care for antidepressants. most havent been effective for me. over the long haul, the ssri drugs were just...too...tranquilizing, I guess?

cannot be happy all the time. maybe I should just try the fish oil, wait a while. and if that doesn't get the job done...errr...

ill just ask about wellbutrin. its not perfect, but it beats an ssri or tca, for me.

[Wild Coyote]

Wellbutrin is a good choice. I hope it helps you!

An MD I'd seen specialized in holistic meds. He had me on 6 grams of fish oil per day, along with 6 grams of flax oil. I was doing fairly well then, yet that was a long time ago now.


WC

[Blueberrybook]

Sorry you are feeling down. Pdoc is just taking me off Wellbutrin, but that is because I think it has been causing me memory issues. I did well for a good while on Cymbalta. Might ask to try that one again if I start needing an AD.

I couldn’t imagine taking that much fish oil!

Are you on any meds? A mood stabilizer or something? Pdoc did say the Lamictal had some AD properties.

[still_crazy]

i take a full dose of Abilify as my tranquilizer. sorry wellbutrin messed you up. ever tried remeron? id like to avoid an ssri or ssnri.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I was on Remeron when it was new and through most of grad school. I think that although it isn't known for this it had some mood stabilizing properties for me that are the sole reason I finished my master's degree. It worked for several years and then became less effective but looking back it really seemed to help contain the bipolar before it got very bad. I wouldn't take it now and expect anything of the sort but in those early days it was very helpful.

It still is one of the most effective ADs I've ever taken and I only stopped (I was off it for years around diagnosis then tried again it for a while) because it was messing with my blood pressure.

It can have weight gain as a side effect but the higher the dose the lower the risk of that. At 60 mg I had no weight gain.

[still_crazy]

thanks. im kind of...sick of depression. i mean, really. maybe wellbutrin+remeron? with abilify on board tho...drug-drug interactions...potential seizures...ugh.

[*Laurie*]

Lamictal, being a mood stabilizer, is also an AD for those with BD.

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

i take a full dose of Abilify as my tranquilizer. sorry wellbutrin messed you up. ever tried remeron? id like to avoid an ssri or ssnri.

Ugh. I hated Remeron. All I ever wanted to do on it is eat & sleep (and even most meds notorious for weight gain like Effexor & Seroquel never affected me that way though extended release Seroquel did make me want to sleep all day). I really think it is a sucky idea to give a med very universally accepted for weight gain (vets even use it in cats & dogs with congestive heart failure to stimulate appetite) to someone with an ED. I never felt full on Remeron. I think when you have an ED, it is important to know & be able to identify when you are full.

Remeron resulted in me experimenting with bulimic tendencies; I had anorexia, purging type, the purging through exercise, not throwing up . Then, it resulted in me stopping it and throwing it away (into the dumpster, so not possibility of retrieval).

[Guiness187055]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

thanks. im kind of...sick of depression. i mean, really. maybe wellbutrin+remeron? with abilify on board tho...drug-drug interactions...potential seizures...ugh.

I am actually on this cocktail no issues to speak of and have been stable for over a year.

[olivia4]

My depression is getting worse on Wellbutrin. Am on Lamictal but it does nothing for my sadness. I'm so sick of crying and so is my poor family. They feel helpless. Hard to go to work when all I do is cry. I don't want Lithium or any med that causes wt. gain b/c I'm already pre-diabetic and have recently lost wt. Half my depression was my weight!

[downandlonely]

Wellbutrin works well for me, but not for everyone. For some people, SSRIs or SNRIs work better. I'm currently on Cymbalta (an SNRI) and it helps.