I was taking 2 medicines to handle my bipolar 1: an antipsychotic and an antidepressant. I stopped because I felt nothing. Not fear, no sex drive, no passion, nothing. It was a tough call to make but I know that if things get bad I can take the meds again. But having no sex drive when you are married is a dealbreaker.
What alternative strategies do you all employ to handle your bipolar disorder?
Talk to your doc, don’t just stop. It’s easier to switch meds when you already have a baseline of that same class in your system. Coming off between trying different meds in the same class is not recommend.
Also, it took me 4 different meds until Lithium did the trick. 300mg@2/day
Therapy is helpful as another commenter pointed out. But it’s not always a complete alternative to medication, it’s best used in conjunction with. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to go off their medicine without consulting their physician. If your current meds aren’t working for you there are a lot of others out there. Finding the right combo can be a process. Right now my bipolar is very well managed and I have minimal side effects from my medications but it took me some time to get there. For sure look into therapy but talk to your doctor too. Be safe.
Yes, I’m not against meds per se, but yeah I already suffer from the side effects of my blood pressure medicines and just had too many side effects going on all at once. I’ll talk to my doctor as well.
Therapy is an excellent strategy for those with bipolar. As a physician, I see my patients that struggle with it feel comforted when they know they aren't going to cycle into a manic episode and have been dealing with the side effects (weight gain) in their case. It has been tough for them balancing therapy, medications and other health conditions, but keeping in contact with them and having them give consistent feedback on what's going on, i have seen tremendous success.
Yes, weight gain was another side effect of the medication that made me unhappy. I gained weight while on it and I am actively losing weight right now. I’ll see if I can get some therapy. Thank you!
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