Is it possible for antidepressants to make a person, who is not bipolar, manic?

Question

Let's say it was Paxil that did it. Would another antidepressant such as Zoloft or Prozac be okay?

Answer 1

My first mania was triggered by an antidepressant. I was cyclothymic before that and have had other manias since, not from an antidepressant. So I clearly have bipolar disorder, even though it wasn't diagnosed until an antidepressant triggered a mania in me.

That happens regularly, mania from an antidepressant in someone who wasn't previously diagnosed as bipolar. How many of these patients are in fact bipolar and how many aren't? Who can say? How many years of follow-up are enough to say someone who never has another mania isn't bipolar? I never have seen an article pretending to make that claim. It's uncertain.

If someone has had a mania, he or she is liable to be put on mood stabilizers which makes it safer to try an antidepressant again. For years I was on Wellbutrin with my lithium without any problem from it.

How long does one need to be on a mood stabilizer after a mania induced by an antidepressant with no other indications of bipolar disorder? There's no scientific answer to that, no study with enough follow-up to say. There's trial and error that doctors do. There are risks to assuming this is not bipolar disorder. This is what Dr. Phelps at BipolarWorld says on the subject:

http://www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2002/ph721.htm

I am a retired neurologist. I once had a patient who had an episode of localized weakness suspicious for MS, but he never had another episode, so he could not be diagnosed with MS. He eventually died from something else. At autopsy he certainly had MS, with multiple plaques on the brain, but only this one had ever caused symptoms.

There is no autopsy for bipolar disorder, no way to know definitively that this person did have bipolar disorder while that person had a different mood disorder. As with MS, a person might have one episode of mania in a lifetime, and therefore not be diagnosed as bipolar, yet might turn out to have the right genes for bipolar disorder, whenever they figure those out, or some neurochemical trait that no one knows how to measure now.

Until we know that kind of information about bipolar disorder, no one can say with certainty that any people who have a mania provoked by antidepressants aren't bipolar. Instead a psychiatrist can work with such a patient on meds, knowing the risks both ways. Some would be like Dr. Phelps in that link above. Some would do it differently. There's no single right way to do something that's trial and error.

Answer 2

YES!!!!! If someone is on the wrong medication it can cause a lot of side effects but that doesn't mean they will have the same reaction to another medication in the same class or family. The hard thing with antidepressants is the patient is usually so depressed they want immediate results but many medications such as Paxil require 90 days to reach their full theraputic effect. If a patient of mine is suffering from depression, I stick with them, and run through the medication possibilities with them until we find the right medication for them. It's just hard for the patients to keep faith in me and continue what often becomes, a trial and error process because not everyone responds the same way to every medication. Have faith!

Answer 3

It is certainly possible, but unusual. I would recommend obtaining a second opinion on your depression diagnosis. Manic episodes resulting from antidepressant use are generally a sign that you don't have basic depression. Prozac and Zoloft are SSRIs like Paxil so they wouldn't help the problem. If the episodes persist, your doctor may try a tricyclic or MAOI.

I hope your issue is resolved.

Answer 4

Some of the antidepressants, such as SSRIs (includes Zoloft, Paxi, and Prozac) can be energizing. I'm not aware of any research that indicates they could cause mania if mania was not already present. As every individual responds to drugs differently, if one antidepressant isn't working for you or has unpleasant side effects, try another one.

Answer 5

i'm in elementary words answering this because I extremely have some journey with the count number; you want to search for advice from a wellbeing care professional ASAP with any questions you've. yet... Antidepressants gained't set off bipolar ailment. What they could do is make the manic episodes that include the ailment extra extreme, and reason the speedy cycling you reported. the actual shown truth that you're nevertheless having depressive indications is a unique signal that you in all likelihood favor clinical take care of bipolar ailment. because you're extremely journey the depressive lows, it takes extra time to leap from manic episode to manic episode--a lot so that you in all likelihood do not credit the situations once you're feeling extra suitable to a ailment. you in all likelihood in basic terms imagine your indications have lengthy gone away. the quick of it is, Bipolar ailment is a lifelong ailment. It really would opt for the help of classes the position it is extra viable for some human beings. even if the actual shown truth that antidepressants led to what they did means you had the ailment till now you went on them, and nevertheless have it after. that is somewhat equivalent to at least some thing that occurred to me. Ask for clinical care with a uncomplicated drug like Lithium; you'd be surprised at how nicely it treats both depressive and manic indications.

Answer 6

It depends on the individual. I took Prozac and it made me shake inside really bad to the point where my Psychiatrist took me off of it. Prozac helps 9 out of 10 people but it made my whole body shake. Always consult your doctor on these issues. Even then, it takes time for them to figure out what the right combination medications is right for you. Hang in there.

Answer 7

sure it is possible the antidepressants can affect the person's mood. It depends on which type of antidepressant you are taking.

Answer 8

Yes it is possible!!! It's more related to the dose.
Of course you can try another one but by consulting your doctor. Try do adjust dose in first place.