I understand that usually people who become manic or hypomanic usually its not that safe to be prescribed any antidepressents which are usually the best for people like me who have a social anxiety disorder. It can make them manic.Besides the benzodiazepines which I know enough about. Are there any other meds that can be used to treat anxiety for long term use with someone that has symptoms of hypomania or mania.
I take Effexor ER, which is an anti depressant and an anti anxiety all in one. I am also on a mood stabilizer, Lamictal. Effexor works great for anxiety. I also take xanax at night time, but I take it too when I get panic attacks, and xanax works wonders! While some anti depressants can cause mania, if you are on a mood stabilizer you shouldn't have a problem with it.
I take Effexor ER, which is an anti depressant and an anti anxiety all in one. I am also on a mood stabilizer, Lamictal. Effexor works great for anxiety. I also take xanax at night time, but I take it too when I get panic attacks, and xanax works wonders! While some anti depressants can cause mania, if you are on a mood stabilizer you shouldn't have a problem with it.
Buspar is strictly an anti-anxiety medicine that can be taken as a stand alone or in combination with other meds. It works quite well.
I understand that usually people who become manic or hypomanic usually its not that safe to be prescribed any antidepressents which are usually the best for people like me who have a social anxiety disorder. It can make them manic.Besides the benzodiazepines which I know enough about. Are there any other meds that can be used to treat anxiety for long term use with someone that has symptoms of hypomania or mania.
Prozac is another good choice for an anti-anxiety med. I take Prozac for my bipolar depression, but I've found that it also helps relieve the anxiety I feel when I'm manic or am having a PTSD flashback.
I'm on 4 mood stabilizers (Depakote, Risperdal, Clonazepam, Topamax), so I don't need to worry about Prozac causing mania.
Besides, I've been taking it since January and haven't had any problems with mania despite this.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
I take Effexor ER, which is an anti depressant and an anti anxiety all in one. I am also on a mood stabilizer, Lamictal. Effexor works great for anxiety. I also take xanax at night time, but I take it too when I get panic attacks, and xanax works wonders! While some anti depressants can cause mania, if you are on a mood stabilizer you shouldn't have a problem with it.
I know quite a few people with BP who take Effexor for anxiety and they all report very good results. Anti-depressants are generally good for treating anxiety. I'm not sure why, but it may have to do with the calming effects these meds have.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
I suppose then its not that bad to take a antidepressent with a mood stabilizer to help control you anxiety then. This is good news because when I meet my pdoc on Wednesday I can ask him about a med for my anxiety. Thanks for everyones input.
an ad is the way to go. it prevents anxiety whereas a benzo treats it after it starts. you don't want to take a benzo on a daily basis - it's addicting.
an ad is the way to go. it prevents anxiety whereas a benzo treats it after it starts. you don't want to take a benzo on a daily basis - it's addicting.
i take celexa, it is pretty good.
I take 2 Klonopin 3x/day and have not had any problems with addiction. The potential for addiction varies from person to person.
By the way, my new pdoc specializes in addiction, so if he felt that there was a high potential for me to become addicted to Klonopin, he would not have agreed to prescribe it.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Last edited by dreams in neon; 04-04-2009 at 09:12 PM.
I suppose then its not that bad to take a antidepressent with a mood stabilizer to help control you anxiety then. This is good news because when I meet my pdoc on Wednesday I can ask him about a med for my anxiety. Thanks for everyones input.
As long as you take one or more mood stabilizers, you should not have a problem with mania. Since you're already taking 2 (Lithium and Tegretol), you should be fine.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
I take 4mg of ativan and I don't think I've had any addiction myself to it but the problem is that I could take 10 or 15mg a day and still not have my anxiety calmed down.
I take 4mg of ativan and I don't think I've had any addiction myself to it but the problem is that I could take 10 or 15mg a day and still not have my anxiety calmed down.
Have you tried taking doses as high as 10 or 15mg? If not, you may want to consider it and discuss this with your pdoc.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
My pdoc said not to ever do that. He said that itwould be too much for me. What do people really take that much of it?
The recommended dosage of Ativan is anywhere from 2-6mg.
Obviously 4mg of Ativan isn't helping your anxiety, so it's pretty clear that your dose needs to be raised to 5 or 6mg until you reach a therapeutic level.
If that doesn't help, you may need to be switched to a different med altogether.
Investigating anti-depressants may be a good idea if that's the case.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
Last edited by dreams in neon; 04-04-2009 at 09:25 PM.
The recommended dosage of Ativan is anywhere from 2-6mg.
Obviously 4mg of Ativan isn't helping your anxiety, so it's pretty clear that your dose needs to be raised to 5 or 6mg until you reach a therapeutic level.
If that doesn't help, you may need to be switched to a different med altogether.
Investigating anti-depressants may be a good idea if that's the case.
What other antidepressents are out there. I know there is effexor, zoloft, celexa, prozac, paxil and thats all that I can remember for the moment.
