[Lydie8109]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm bipolar (type 2). I have tried countless drugs and with every drug I've tried I have had various side effects. The ones I'm currently on make me feel sick to the point where I have trouble eating because I feel nauseous all of the time. I have stayed with these because this combination has the side effects I've been able to tolerate the most. My psychologist has suggested I try a psychiatric service dog to manage my symptoms instead of drugs. My psychiatrist is also supportive of this option. I would of course continue to see my psychologist regularity and check in with my psychiatrist even if I have a service dog.

Has anyone gone this route?

[SnakeCharmer]

Hi, Lydie, I had a service dog that helped me deal with my disorder, which isn't bipolar. I still took medication. The dog helped me cope and recognized symptoms coming on before I did and that warned me to sit down and get a handle on what was going on at the moment. When the dog died of old age, I didn't get another one. I got another dog, but not a service dog and I didn't train it to be a service dog.

By then I'd found a combination of medication that controlled my symptoms enough that I didn't need a service dog, but I did want a companion animal. I have a combination of neurological and auto-immune disorders compounded by PTSD (much improved) but no personal experience of bipolar disorder.

Are you by any chance taking drugs in the class of anti-convulsants, such as valproic acid -- with brand names such as Depakote, Epilim, Valparin, Valpro, Vilapro and Stavzor? This drug is notorious for causing nausea and vomiting, but it's very good for bringing about mood stability as well as helping migraines and seizure disorders.

If the answer is yes, I've known people who were able to stop the nausea if the doc switched them to a pediatric dose and slowly, I emphasize slowly, worked up to a higher dose. The nausea and vomiting stopped completely.

As to your question about a service dog ... it's certainly worth a try if you could get a properly trained dog, but I don't know if it has to be an either/or proposition -- either a dog or drugs. It could be both. Perhaps a service dog would help enough that you could take a lower dose of meds that would cause fewer side effects.

Bipolar does seem to be one of the disorders that has a very large biochemical component. Your psychiatrist and psychologist know you and know your basic personality and the symptoms of your disorder. They would not be recommending a service dog unless they thought it might help.

My personal experience was excellent, but as I said, it was not an either/or proposition for me.

[Lydie8109]

Thank you so very much for your reply. And thank you for sharing how your dog has responded to your symptoms. My goal would be for my dog to do exactly what yours was trained to do. I have 4 dogs and the most recent dog is the one that I would have as a service dog. She's young so I still need her to mature enough and grow out of that puppy stage I'd be training her myself. She's already certified as an ESA, I just haven't flown with her yet.

I'm currently taking Wellbutrin and Lamotrigine. I can't tell you how many drugs I've tried, but it's a lot. I've had a range of side effects: high blood pressure, mania, feeling like a zombie, one made it hard for me to comprehend what people were saying and learning new concepts, throwing up everyday and the worst was when I had this horrifying experienced that my husband compared to a bad acid trip. Side effects happened so often that I could not try a new drug if my husband was out of town. All of those I started out by slowly increasing my dose. Some I was able to reach the therapeutic dose but the side effects remained. I will not try any drugs that have a possible side effect of weight gain. I've found that if I cannot exercise that is when the rage and rapid mood swings are the worst.

I do like the idea of having a service dog help enough that I could take a lower dose.

Thank you so much for sharing your positive experience - I really appreciate it.