Monday, January 10, 2011

Antidepressants and Bipolar

I've been taking antidepressants for a while now.  I asked my primary care doctor for them about a year and a half ago.  I started on a very low dose of 20 mg  of fluoxitine (generic Prozac) a day.  I eventually increased it to 40mg after 6 months or so. 
I started to realize that my depressive episodes were not that bad, but my episodes of anxiety were pretty much all the time. 
I was originally prescribed the antidepressant because I told my Doctor about my anxiety.  She said anxiety and depression was linked and that the fluoxitine would help...

But...
http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/antidepressants-for-bipolar says:

"Treating a depressive episode in bipolar disorder is controversial and challenging. Using antidepressant medication alone is not recommended because the drugs may flip a person into a manic or hypomanic episode. Hypomania is a more subdued version of mania. Antidepressants alone also may lead to rapid cycling. In rapid cycling, a person may recover more quickly from depression -- but may experience mania and then another episode of depression."

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