What to do , When the doctors running out medications to treat Bipolar Disorder?

Question

BEEN ON THE FOLLOWING MEDICATIONS THEY ALL HAD SOMETHING THEY DID OR DIDN'T WORK OR MADE ME FEEL SICKER , WHAT TO DO : GEODON , ABILIFY, TOPOMAX, LAMICTAL , LITHIUM, SEROQUEL, HALDOL,
MELLARIL, SERENTIL, STELAZINE, DEPAKOTE , NEURONTIN , LEXAPRO, ZOLOFT , EFFEXOR, PAMELOR , ATIVAN , TRANXENE, TRAZADONE ???

Answer 1

Trileptal, tegretol ... Don't know of course your exact history the key is usually getting just the right dose and combination and it's a real *#&$ trying to figure that out. Don't ever let them add/subtract make more than one change at a time, that helps to pinpoint better what is better and worse. Sometimes two meds at a 'substandard' dose do more than one med at what is usually a therapeutic dose. People are so different. My son's doc insists that 7.5 mg of abilify at 260 lbs can't possibly do anything for him, but 10mg makes him twitchy and 5mg does nothing -- 7.5 means the difference between holes in my wall and no holes in my wall -- that was his 'miracle med'. of course it's different for everyone. Getting exact dosing can be the trick. Most antidepressants won't work until you get a good mood stabilizer on board, wellbutrin actually has a different action that is often less of a trigger in bipolar. Takes a while but too many possible combinations to give up yet.

Sometimes doses need tweaking rather than crossing the med off the list as not working.

And electroshock therapy isn't the nightmare it was earlier in the century. I'd like to see what's happening with the magnet therapy, haven't checked on it lately -- get an MRI you'll feel better, for a day or two anyway.

Answer 2

Wow, you've really tried a lot. It's so hard sometimes to find the right ones without side effects, or with side effects mild enough that they are tolerable. How about Wellbutrin, Tegratol, Trileptal, Buspar? There is a medication called Clozapine (Clozaril) that is an anti-psychotic that has helped people when nothing else did. It can have very serious side effects though and requires frequent blood tests. It's pretty much only used for severe psychotic features that have not responded to anything else.

The truth is, most meds are going to have some side effects and none will eliminate symptoms altogether. When effective, they will reduce the frequency and severity of symptoms and make the illness more manageable. Also, some of the milder side effects will often go away after your body adjusts to the meds. Other meds take 4-6 weeks to be fully effective.

If you have tried all of these, you already know this stuff.
It might be worth sitting down and making a list of all the meds you have tried, how long you took them, what dosage you were on, what side effects you had (the best you can remember anyway...I know I always have trouble remembering the dosages of past meds) and taking a good look at it. Figure out which meds made things worse/caused intolerable side effects and see which ones are left. It may be that the right combination of some of those medications will be effective for you.

The good thing is, they will continue to develop new medications with less side effects. The more they learn about the biology of bipolar, the more they will be able to directly treat what's going wrong.

It's also important to have a very regular sleep schedule, eat a healthy balanced diet, get exercise, avoid mood altering substances...and personally, I think, get some sort of cognitive behavioral therapy. I highly recommend trying a therapy called DBT. It's helped me make some real changes in my life where all other therapy and even meds have fallen short. Medication isn't magic...if only it were that easy. But they can help you to be stabilized to the point where you can work on the other aspects. When the symptoms are out of control, it's very hard to do the things you know will help (work out, eat right, not abuse substances, etc.)

Is it possible that it is not bipolar, but something else that is similar in symptoms?

Answer 3

My brother is bi-polar manic depressive.....he is 50 and he feels best when he is on his Prozac with the Lithium..atleast he can function like a real person. Are you taking the meds separately or combining several to get best results? You aren't drinking beer with the drugs are you? That will defeat the purpose and it is not a wise decision to do both at the same time.

Answer 4

I have heard that the VNS ((vagus nerve stimulation)) can help people with depression

Answer 5

That's pretty much all of them. I would focus on behavior therapies to help recognize symptoms of mania etc.

Answer 6

celexa is a new one and there is at least 1 more new one out I know..just don't know the name...VNS is supposed to be 75% success rate...check it out

Answer 7

sounds like you need something besides just medication ...

yoga and meditation can do amazing things...