[hatarallt]

Hi

Im 22 years old and have the diagnosis: aspergers, depression and suspected bipolar. I have a couple of questions regarding medicines and dopamines and how they effected me.

So i'll start by telling i had a pretty traumatic childhood, from the age of 16 i entered a deep depression which i got treatment for at the age of 20. I was put on several antidepressants that had no affect on me, the only one i responded to was effexor which i was put on 375 mg a day. At the time i had suspected bipolar which wasnt confirmed due to no manic states.

At 150 mg i got a positive effect, increasing it made me feel even better and able to actually enjoy normal things. Frankly it slowly put me into a manic state and 11 months into treatment i entered a deep manic state where i was hospitalised and put off the medication.
After this i was put on 20 mg zyprexa to treat the manic state which diminishid after about 1 month(actual time it took to detox from effexor). Zyprexa worked fine except i gained alot of weight and got restless legs. So after 3 months i requested another medication and got put on risperidone 0,5 mg.
Now this was 1 month ago and since 3 weeks ago i started getting signs of depression again, right now its at the stage of where i dont want to do anything and have alot of suicidal thoughts.

My questions:
1. Did effexor cause my manic state or empower it?
2. From what i've read afterwards dopamine is lower when depressed, was this why i responded to effexor but no other medication?
3. Risperidone blocks/lowers the dopamine from what i've read, can this be the reason i started going back into depression after getting started on it?

Right now im waiting on blood tests to come back with an answer so i can get started on lithium but honestly after the last year and my experience with the psychiatry and medications i wonder if i have just ended up in an undending circle where im getting ****ed by the treatment and incompetent doctors.

[Travelinglady]

Perhaps someone with a better understanding of such matters than I have will post here soon. Maybe you can talk to your pharmacist a bit about it, too, or a psychiatrist.

None of us here are actually professionals. We also have mental illnesses and are here to support people. We can provide information based on our experiences and observations.

Hey, anybody here able to provide some info?

[onionknight]

What exactly made them suspect bipolar before you had a manic episode?

It sounds like your body has been through a lot with all the stoppages and additions of medication in a short time, so it is understandable you would feel awful. I hope you find some stability soon.

But to answer your questions...

1. It is difficult for anyone to know. Antidepressants (especially Effexor, if I'm not mistaken) have been known to have mania as a side effect, so it is possible. Before trying any other medication, you could attempt to go off the antidepressant that correlated with the mania and see if the mania abates. Since the brain adapts to functioning with these drugs, their effects could be in your system for a while after you stop, which is discontinuation syndrome.

2. Yeah, there is research that says Dopamine is relevant to depression. It deals with pleasure and the reward system so if it is low, you could feel less pleasure. Effexor doesn't necessary affect Dopamine, though. Welbutrin is antidepressant that most deals with Dopamine. Effexor works mostly with Serotonin and Norepinephrine (SNRI), but the neurotransmitters interact with each other in ways we don't really understand.

3. Antipsychotics and lithium both have depression as a side effect. Discontinuing Effexor can also cause depression before the body readjusts to life without the medication.

[hatarallt]

I got remissed from open care with suspected bipolar since i had some self hurt/minor mood swings(without mania).

Got started on lithium now, i hope it wont give depression as a side effect since thats my biggest problem right now, thanks for the answers!

[onionknight]

I hope you get the relief you want. Stay proactive in your care.