Posted by polarbear206 on May 7, 2002, at 14:50:25
In reply to HELP! BiPolar2 with severe depr and mild mania:, posted by Janelle on May 6, 2002, at 21:40:06
> I have been diagnosed as BiPolar2, and in my case I have SEVERE depression but only mild mania episodes.
>
> I'm trying to find a mood stabilizer that would be most effective for this particular set of symptoms. Failed miserably on Lamictal (induced intense anxiety) and Depakote (induced more and more depression).
>
> Any ideas? I'd like to find a mood stabilizer that works more on the depression side of BiPolar2 than on the mania side, since I have much more of depression than mania - would Neurontin be a good next one for me to try?
>
> Thanks to whoever can help out!
Hi!What antidepressants are you on? What ones have you tried? I would still give the Lamictal another try. You could add on the neurontin to conteract the anxiety with the Lamictal. From what I've read about Neurontin, it's not very potent used alone as a mood stabilizer. I'm also bipolar. Soft cycling and also depression dominated. No mania, just increases in energy with my ups. You could also consider Lithium. I tried lithium in the past, but I felt strange on it. Depakote made me too sleepy. What are your depressions like? Atypical? Many bipolar's do good on MAOI's. I'm on a tricyclic. I have been on Lamictal for a month now and it's working great. Best mood stabilizer for me!!
poster:polarbear206
thread:105355
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020503/msgs/105459.html