[TicTacGo]

I have bipolar and my doctor really does not want to risk an episode. She is reluctant to put me on an SSRI and I am on risperidone and flupentixol for anxiety (which given the circumstances are not helping) so I was wondering if there are other antidepressants for anxiety with less of a possibility for a manic episode, or something else for the treatment of anxiety as I am finding the current meds only slightly helpful.

[xxenigmaxx]

Try rexulti.. Getba sample from your pdoc.. If he doesn't have any... . Have him request some

[Guiness187055]

Wellbutrin works well for me. You could try some of the old school tricylics.

[lost_lover]

I think my definition any antidepressant is going to risk a manic episode but probably some more than others. I have had very good results with Welbutrin and Effexor.

[harmonyinheart]

Buspar is not an antidepressant or benzo. Works for some and doesn't for some. A hit and miss med but worth a try

[harmonyinheart]

Also a neuroleptic may help. Like Seraquel

[harmonyinheart]

Originally Posted by xxenigmaxx

Try rexulti.. Getba sample from your pdoc.. If he doesn't have any... . Have him request some

Rexulti was bad for me, more anxiety and more bipolar symptoms. But it is worth a try because I know a lot of people have benefited from it

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Gabapentin? I find it really helpful and really like it better than klonopin.

[Guiness187055]

Lamictal helps with depression which can help to ease anxiety.

[TicTacGo]

Thank you for all the replies

[still_crazy]

hi. gabapentin, lyrica, of course a benzodiazepine, but long term use can be problematic for a lot of people. buspar does help some people, although my former shrink told me she didn't much care for it, and it seemed to work best at boosting antidepressants.

another poster mentioned tca drugs. im no expert, but with lithium and tranquilizers on board, id be cautious, but some of them can be helpful. there's one...here in the US, the trade name is Surmontil. It isn't very popular, I don't know that it ever was a best seller or anything, but....chemically, its somewhat similar to clozapine. it can help with sleep in the short term, and over the long haul it can help with anxiety and mood w/o as much (over)stimulation as many other options.

there's also amoxapine. i think other posters have tried this psych drug. i haven't, although a former shrink mentioned it once, for an episode of particularly severe depression. its a tca that does double duty as a tranquilizer/"antipsychotic." given what you're already taking, I would think/assume that you'd want to talk about reducing or stopping the other tranquilizers if you wanted to try amoxapine.

amoxapine sometimes works more quickly for mood, anxiety, and agitation than other available options. i read an abstract for a small study, back when the 'atypicals' were all on patent and too expensive for many less affluent nations, that compared relatively high doses of amoxapine to risperidone, for psychotic disorders. the amoxapine was tolerated as well as the risperidone, and it had a more pronounced, beneficial impact on mood and anxiety symptoms.

hydroxyzine is an old school antihistamine that is frequently used for psychiatric indications. doses seem to vary wildly, from 50mgs total per day to 200+mgs per day. in the 50s, it was sold as an "atarctic"--hence, one of the old brand names, "Atarax"-- a drug that could induce a state of calm without excessive sedation. long term use seems to be reasonably safe, although there are case reports here and there of tardive dyskinesia over the long haul.

now and then, some anti-epileptic drugs are used in agitation and anxiety. personally, if you think this might be a viable option, I'd try something that doesn't require much blood work, such as trileptal or lamictal. lamictal, of course, can help reduce the frequency of lapses into depression. trileptal (for me...) seems helpful for agitation and for hypomania, not so much for full on mania or depression.

every once in a blue moon, psychiatrists will pull out a barbiturate. i had an acquaintance who was given phenobarbital as a night time sedative. phenobarbital is also an anti-epileptic. it has a long half life, so a night time dose can often reduce anxiety and agitation during the day. why this person's shrink went for the phenobarbital over something more modern, i have no idea, but it did help.

i can't really think of anything other than those options. i hope this helps.