Mood Stabilizers

Yesterday, T suggested considering medication. Every little while something will set me off and I'll seriously be considering sui for a day or just extremely out of it for a couple of weeks or something in between. I asked what I might be able to do to prevent it from happening and she suggested learning to healthily control the little stress so that when a big one comes, it doesn't turn into that or medication such as a mood stabilizer. She said the mood stabilizer might help with the depression and anxiety. T told me that I'm not bipolar, just something to help me from going from being okay to suddenly not. She asked me if this happening severe every 3-5ish months is often enough to be considering medication.

Some of this I don't feel like is such a deal because I have had problems keeping my mind calm since I was younger. Did I say something to make her think I wanted to consider meds, because I'm not that type of person. I'd rather find a way to handle them without med. I jut got done with testing, now this. Was she waiting til that was over to throw this at me?

Do you have any suggestions for things I could do when this comes up? Would a mood stabilizer help with depression and anxiety? Is it something I should consider or should I try another semester and see how I handle things?

I'm trying Lamictal, but my episodes happen every few days, sometimes every few hours. I'm told it helps with depression, irritability, and mood swings.

Hi dolphin girl and ruby.vroom,
I have been on 3 different meds to stabilize my mood, depakote, tegretol and now triliptil. Triliptil is really just tegretol with an extra oxygen molecule. I like it because it doesn't have the propensity to cause weight gain. It seems to help my mood pretty well I've only been triliptil 2months so I'll see. I still lose my temper sometimes but I seem to pull myself together better. hang in there, Sami

My depression and anxiety have been helped greatly by medication, and many of my friends have been helped. It does not mean you won't continue to try to develop other coping mechanisms as well, but it might give you a leg up. You might want to talk to a psychiatrist and get their thoughts on your situation. The fact that you are sometimes out of it for a couple of weeks sounds like it's worth a discussion. It sounds like your therapist is trying to help you, not throw something at you.

It also sounds like you have accepted a certain amount of suffering as normal for you since you say you've had problems keeping your mind calm since you were younger. Remember, just because you've had a situation for a long time doesn't mean you have to put up with it forever.

Just curious, what type of person do you think considers medication? Do you think it represents a character flaw or moral failing? Would you impose such a judgement on taking medication for other conditions? Don't let preconceived notions keep you from something that might be very helpful. Don't be frightened of the idea. Talk to your therapist and a psychiatrist, ask questions, and get information.

Good luck.

Do mood stabilizers really help with depression and anxiety?

They can. Most doctors won't start with a mood stabilizer for depression though. They are more likely to start with antidepressants and see how that goes. But meds used for mood stabilization like lamictal or lithium are being used more often now to also treat depression. I'm not familiar with their effect on anxiety. That would be something to discuss with the doctor.

They certainly can. It's a matter of finding the right medications for the individual. Farmergirl is right that the psychiatrist would mostly likely try antidepressants first. When antidepressants worked for my depression and anxiety, it was really spectacular. But they also tended to poop out on me. I've ultimately had more sustained success with Lamictal, which is a mood stabilizer, combined with a low dose of Abilify, which is an antipsychotic. Definitely bring your questions to your doctor.

What if I don't currently have a doctor? I know I would have to get one. Right now I just go to the school doctor when I get sick, so a couple of times a year. How would that work? Sorry for the questions, I'm new to this and tend to over think.

You are talking about a college doctor? I'd be a bit wary of using a college doc for this kind of thing, but that's because my experience with college docs was that they weren't good for much more than colds and flu. But you may have a much better facility to work with so feel quite free to ignore my opinion.

College doctors told me I was beyond their scope.

You say things "set you off"? Have you talked to your T about any possible pattern to such things? Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used to help with some depression and anxiety. The assumption is that the way a person is thinking about things leads to depression or anxiety, etc. Do you get angry? What leads you to want to leave this world? (Things to consider....) Can you learn some calming techniques? Ways to handle anger or whatever?

Mood stabilizers, to my thinking, are generally used for Bipolar Disorder. I think that these more powerful drugs should be prescribed by someone who specializes in more serious disorders, such as a psychiatrist.

Of course, lots of people get medicated for anxiety by doctors of some variety. Valium, for example, is commonly used.

Please remember these are only my thoughts and I'm no expert, but methinks you should consider talking to your T more about what's going on in her head. My honest opinion is that it would be better if you could get therapy and avoid drugs, unless you do have a diagnosis such as Bipolar Disorder. I do have that, and I keep my pharmacy in business, as well as see a therapist.

All that said, I really don't know all what your T knows about you....But whatever is leading you to feel so depressed and "out of whack" does need to be dealt with in a healthier way, I think you'd agree. Are you motivated to really work at learning new techniques/methods of dealing with the frustrations/problems that happen in your life? I suspect that might be her bottom line question.

Hi. If you can learn to deal with these emotions in a natural way & it works for you, that's great. But if & until you can learn these skills you may need to take meds to give you a helping hand. If you truly have a chemical imbalance chances are you won't be able to control it by yourself. I'm a smart, strong-minded woman, & have not been able to control my mental issues through sheer mind power so I've had to accept that I need meds too. I really notice the difference when I'm properly medicated to when I'm not, so from my personal experience, I say yes, stabilisers do work. They are not a wonder drug/cure-all, but you definitely notice the improvement. You are not weak or a loser for needing meds, you just have a condition that needs treatment, the same as any other illness. I hope this helps. Keep us posted on how you go.

There are a few ways to go. You can ask your therapist if there is anyone she would recommend. She or other staff at your school's health clinic may know of psychiatrists in the community. That's how I found my first psychiatrist.

When I moved, I contacted the mental health department at a nearby major university and asked one of their psychiatrists for a recommendation. In both cases, I ended up with very good doctors.

Whoever you see, bring a list of questions and concerns and just look at it as an information-gathering trip to help you know what their opinion is and what your options are.

My (very large) university had 3 amazing pdoc's at the health center. Perhaps yours does too? The treatment I received there was far superior to the guy I saw off campus after graduation.

EJ

Thanks for the replies. Yes, we have talked about things that set it off and tried to deal with those, but there isn’t quite a pattern to those. Looking back, they seem small and I feel like I over-reacted at that time. We have talked about calming/stress relieving techniques and how to deal with emotions, that’s actually most of what we talk about. They have worked a little so far with little issues, but when bigger things come up, I don’t usually think rationally. I just don’t want anything to come up like this again and medication was one thing I was told to consider. I am motivated to deal with my frustrations/problems in a healthier more natural way. I’m not against meds, I just don’t know how to tell if I’ve reached that line of needing some umph. I also hear all about side effects and problems and having to try multiple ones before finding the right one and feel that I would get frustrated with that.
Thinking a little more, I’m sure T probably knows someone or a few to recommend.

I read in Wikipedia (a source I find really useful) that "mood stabilizers" (most of them) are really just effective at reducing mania (probably because they are so sedating, IMO) and do nothing - directly - for depression. (Note: Evidence suggests that Lithium does reduce suicide.)

What you are describing sounds like recurrent depression. I know of nothing that indicates that "mood stabilizers" reduce recurrent depression. These so-called "mood stabilizers" have been tried on me for recurrent depression, and I found them to be utterly useless. All they really do IMO is sedate. Doesn't sound to me like that is what you need.

It ticks me off when I hear of therapists recommending medications. Ts have just about zero training in medication use. I think most of what they know comes form watching commercials on television.

Just for laughs, once, I said to my psychiatrist that my T thought I should be on something-or-another. (The T had recommended it.) The pdoc said he thought it was a bad drug and that he, personally, wouldn't order it for anyone!

If a T thinks you need to be evaluated for mediation use by a pdoc, or your primary care physician, then that's all the T should say. Go up to any doctor and say, "My T thinks that maybe you should order such-and-such for me!" Wait till you see the look the doctor gives you! Like I said, I did it, so I know.

My t, a clinical psychologist, does not recommend any particular meds; however, she keeps up with the meds I take, prescribed by my pdoc. She then is able to help me figure out how I am reacting to the meds. Are my moods getting better? Might I request more if I am not stable enough? I find that her input is very helpful when I am preparing for a pdoc visit.
Bluemountains

Lamictal differs, in that it's able to combat both mania and unipolar depression. It can be taken as a stand alone antidepressant in people who have not had success with other medications, or those whose moods vacillate from one extreme to the other. I can't speak for others, but I've not found it to be sedating whatsoever.