[nataliepatricia6183]

I'm wondering what Meds have worked well
for people with BP 2 with mainly mixed states or cyclothymia

I've tried so many things and I'm sensitive to some Meds... I do take
clomipramine for obsessions and skin picking but I've found it har
findings things to balance it out
I was on trileptal but it's caused respiratory issues etc my doc
wants me to try lamictal so I'm thinking of that
I also am sensitive to sugar changes and weight gain from atypical and already
have mild akathisia from abilify
He tried haldol but. that made akathisia worse
I've tried Gordon but nervous about heart issues it says can happen
Don't know if I can afford Latina and lithium gave me lots of
side effects
Sooo confused

[BlessedRhiannon]

I've been diagnosed with Bipolar 2 and primarily experience either depression or mixed states. My pdoc calls me rapid ccling - I used to experience different mood states on average once every 2 or 3 months.

For me, the current mix I am on is working exceptionally well.
-50 mg of Seroquel for skin picking and other compulsive behaviors (it's the only thing that has ever worked for the skin picking - I tried going completely off Seroquel and a lot of compulsive behaviors came back. 50 mg is the minimum dose for me to keep the skin picking at bay)
-150 mg of Lamictal
-3 mg of Vraylar

The Vraylar took about 6 months to become really effective for me. I had a really bad depression last October/November, but since that episode I've had one tiny depressive episode and no mixed states. It's been long enough since that huge depression that I would normally be mixed by now and I'm not. I'm really very happy with this mix of drugs. Vraylar is ridiculously expensive but my insurance covers all but $90 and there is a discount card you can get which brings my price down to $15.

[nataliepatricia6183]

Thanks for responding
I think I want to try lamictal again
Never heard of vraylar
Seroquel got me fatter...
Hopefully I'll find a good combo

[BlessedRhiannon]

Originally Posted by nataliepatricia6183

Thanks for responding
I think I want to try lamictal again
Never heard of vraylar
Seroquel got me fatter...

Lamictal seem to be a very subtle drug - it just kind of quietly works.
Vraylar is VERY new but it's been very successful for me. I haven't had any side effects on it, and I tend to be very sensitive to side effects. It's supposed to be weight neutral and I haven't gained any while on it.
Seroquel - yeah, the weight thing is why I tried to get completely off of it. I'm hoping that with the low dose I'm on that it will have less of an impact on my weight. I'd love to be off of it, but I like not having compulsive behaviors even more.

I hope you can find a combo that works for you.

[popuri88]

my doctor is not 100% about my BP type, but he believes I'm rapid-cycling and I have mixed episodes. I'm on lamictal (lamotrigine) for hypomania and it does work well to keep mood peaks at the bay.

I'd also call it a subtle drug: almost no side effects and I didn't notice GREAT changes in my moods besides not letting me get hypomaniac (which is already great). I take 50mg daily, which is a low, entry-level dose, and I believe it can't stabilize all "kinds" of mood swings by itself as it did nothing to my impulsive mood or angry peaks, but that's just a suspicion.

I hope I can stick with it as an anti-hypomania medication, because it's cheap and worked! I just feel like I need another mood medication to go with it and my antidepressant, though I really wished my suspicions were wrong. Time will tell.

[still_crazy]

hi. akathisia can be rough. :-(

Low doses of some older antipsychotics/tranquilizers can be useful, without as much weight gain as the newer ones. Perphenazine, loxapine, stelazine, etc. The higher potency ones, like stelazine, have more potential to cause eps and akathisia, but dosing is key.

have you ever tried amoxapine? its a tricylic antidepressant that is partially broken down into loxapine, which is one of the "better" older antipsychotics (so says my current shrink, lol). I just bring it up because my last doctor thought it might be good for me. I declined (I had bad experiences with a tca drug), but some people swear by it.

Symbyax? Its one pill, zyprexa and prozac. The combination has been studied and can calm you down, help agitation and anxiety, mood swings, etc., while also elevating mood. The downisdes would be...well, its zyprexa. plus prozac, lol. Weight gain can be an issue with zyprexa, but some doctors prescribe metformin or other drugs with it to reduce that adverse effect.

I'm diagnosed as Bipolar I, but really its mostly hardcore depression, plus I had a nervous breakdown (psychotic mania or...something...) a while back. I take abilify, trileptal, and wellbutrin, plus I take lots of supplements (Orthomolecular...helps me...). I do better on a high dose of Abilify, or at least...I do right now.

I hope you can find something that helps get your problems under control.