What's the best mood stabilizer?!
Question: Recently, I found out that I'm bipolar and I was wondering what the best mood stabilizer was? I have already tried Lamictal and I had an allergic reaction. What's the next best thing? I really don't want a medicine that will make me gain weight!
Answers: Recently, I found out that I'm bipolar and I was wondering what the best mood stabilizer was? I have already tried Lamictal and I had an allergic reaction. What's the next best thing? I really don't want a medicine that will make me gain weight!
I was diagnosed as bipolar several years ago. There's a few mood stabilizers out there that work, it just depends on each individual person and how their body reacts to it. The first I tried was depakote. Yeah, I gained A LOT of weight. But, it seemed to help... for awhile. After increasing the dose up to 1750mg/day, I was just a zombie. I tried Lamictal and got the rash, so I quit taking that. Then I found a dr who wanted to try Lamictal again, but this time I started at the smallest possible dose and stayed there for several weeks. Then went up 25mg for another few weeks. And so on. I'm up to 200mg/day at this point and have had no rash or anything. The worst side effect I've had was acne for about two weeks, and now that's gone. Ask about Abilify. I tried that for awhile and it seemed to work at first, but quit for me after a month or so. A lot of people seem to have a lot of success with it. Lithium is another one to try, but like the Depakote, there's blood tests, weight gain, etc for some people. Right now I wouldn't worry too much about your weight. Try to get your meds straight and then worry about the weight. Just take care of yourself and eventually the rest will fall into place. Good luck.
Really, everyone's body reacts differently do different medicines, so sometimes one medication won't work for one person but will work great for someone else, that's why it's important to report regularly to your physician while on these medications.
Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac Etc all work in different ways, so it's important to see a doctor and express your concerns with him/her.
smoke a lot of weed!