Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (Full Version)

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zindyslave -> Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/7/2007 8:06:06 PM)

I know I have posted before on here about bi-polar but I am trying to learn if Mania is supposed to be a side effect of a mood stablizer. Or am I just really happy about how life is treating me and I don't see it that way? I am confused as hell about this, so if anyone knows if Lamictal or any mood stablizer makes bi-polar people manic please share with me.



clover -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/7/2007 8:30:57 PM)

I've never heard of Lamictal actually causing manic episodes as a side effect, but it supposedly works much better at preventing depressive episodes than it does at preventing manic ones. This is why it's usually used as an adjunct to other meds and not alone for bi-polar. If other meds aren't doing their jobs, you could keep cycling, but it's probaby not a side effect of the lamictal.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/7/2007 8:35:20 PM)

well all I am on is Lamictal and I am afraid that they are going to want to put me on an antidepressant when i go back to the doc which will only make the mania worse, i think. I have heard differnet things about Mood stablizers which is what prompted me to post this as to try and see if anyone knew for sure about this.



Siona -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/7/2007 9:08:53 PM)

I have Bi-polar1 and manic depression.
I take Lamictal as the stabilizer for the bouts rage, which works wonderfully.
Wellbutrin XL as the antidepressant, which also works wonderfully.
When taking the combination of these two medications, one wouldn't know I've been "blessed" with bi-polar or manic depression. I can lead a "normal" and full life as long as I take the meds.

To my knowledge, mania is not a side effect of any mood stabilizer.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/7/2007 9:32:51 PM)

Well, I was just feeling normal I guess you would say not bad mood swings or anything and then it just went up I was more talkative more outgoing laughing alot all the stuff that accompanies mania even less sleep. So, it very much seems like mania and I am trying to figure out since I have been on Lamictal for 2 months now what is happening, why the mania? Eventually I am afraid it will suck all the energy out of me and I will be completely exhausted and still won't be able to rest because of the mania.



sasshay -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 7:27:22 AM)

Maybe you finally feel "normal"? If your moods have been out of control and there is no medium without meds, Lamictal may have stabilized it and the true you has come through. Although, I agree with the others, combinations work better. Please inform your Master of the symptoms and warning signs. So then he can be aware of severe mood swings and be able to make you aware.

shay



Aswad -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 8:36:59 AM)

Mood stabilizers aren't usually supposed to cause mania.

That said, things aren't always all that simple with bipolar, particularly if there are other disorders around at the same time. For some bipolars, amphetamine makes an excellent mood stabilizer, oddly enough. For most (IIRC), it'll reliably induce mania right away.

You mentioned diabetes, for instance, which can have a definite impact on some things, and changing your diet, which can affect the plasma concentrations of drugs. Your doc can do a blood test to see whether this might be the issue.

Lamictal has a rather "impressive" range of side-effects, including insomnia, irritability and agitation among the more common ones, which makes me think this might be part of what you're experiencing. It also makes me think that it isn't entirely unlikely that it can, when used by itself, induce a hypomanic state.

What you're describing doesn't sound so much as a manic state as it does a hypomanic state to me, as you appear to still be acting rationally and mostly in control. Of course, I've heard different docs give different definitions of the boundary between the two, so your mileage (and terminology) may vary.

I'd have to go with what others here have said; most bipolars I've heard about require more than a single drug to reach a state which is both stable and fully functional.

A lot of what you're describing could just be your "true self" coming to the fore, i.e. remission of symptoms. Being outgoing and social, for instance. But some of it is clearly an excess of energy, if you will, and that's something Lamictal can cause. It may pass in time, or given the right dosage, but it may also be the case that you'll need to add something else to the mix.

If you haven't previously reacted badly to GABAergic compounds, you might want to consider trying a benzodiazepine or barbiturate for short-term management of these problems to see if they go away on their own. But that's between you and your doc.

In short, have the doc check your serum levels of lamotrigine, and explain the problems. S/he will probably take the appropriate steps, whatever they might be.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 10:32:28 AM)

I have been on mood stabilizers before that controlled my syptoms and this isn't what I felt like then. I talked to my therapist today and she mentioned hypomania instead of full mania because people with mania mostly don't remember how they are acting at that time. I wasn't having these feelings until like a week or so ago so being on it for two months I don't beleive it is side effects. I don't have diabetes I have insulin resistance which means it can lead to diabetes but if I get it and my weight undercontrol it won't lead to it. I am not usually social or outgoing,  I don't like being that way even now it bothers me to be around a lot of people which is a little weird since I work in retail. But I don't like groups of people and I don't like being social that much most likely because of all the ridicule I get from others, I have learned to withdraw from others, so it makes me uncomfortable to be around people on a day to day basis. I don't mind people like my husband because family is differnet, but people I don't know well bother me. My Master is bi polar also and he is trying to get his moods undercontrol also so I don't know if he has even noticed how well I have been he has seen my excitement come through on some things that is really out of character for me. I have in the past been stablized but I quit taking the meds because it was hard to get to the doctor from where I live now. But I have started going back and it is easier to get there now, so this is a second attempt at getting me stablized which maybe since I was stablized before and have went so long without meds it may prove more difficult to get me stablized again, I don't know. Just looking for ideas and advice. Of course if it gets worse I will be calling the doctor. 



shakufa -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 11:10:44 AM)

i am also bi polar, manic depression and ADHD plus I am co-dependent too.  I am also on lamictal for mood swing and i am doing great.  I know that if i do not take my meds my Mistress will know about it as it turns my behavior and mood off and i can not handle things at all. thru the help of my Mistress i have learned alot.  As for manic i have never had one since i have been on lamictal at all so no You are just feelign great about Your life as i am too. 

shay



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 7:16:33 PM)

No it is possible to be manic while on Lamictal, just because your moods act differently under Lamictal doesn't mean mine will do the same. Everyones body responds differently under each and every medicine. Just because I can take something that works great for me doesn't mean it would for you, and vice-versa. 



earthycouple -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 7:38:57 PM)

I'm not sure why this is a question asked here and not to your physician.  Every one is different, as you said, and asking for laypersons' advice on something like this is dangerous.  I highly suggest calling your physician and trust he will understand your questions and concerns.  If you don't trust him for that it's time to find a new M.D.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/8/2007 8:00:56 PM)

I talked to my therapist today and she told me if it gets worse to call the doc I have to go there next monday anyway and she seemed to think I could deal with it until then unless it gets worse I was just trying to find some advice before I went to see if anyone had any information on mood stablizers doing that because my impression was that they were supposed to prevent that, at least that is what I have read when reading the articles I find on bi-polar. 



Aswad -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/9/2007 3:58:37 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: zindyslave

I was just trying to find some advice before I went to see if anyone had any information on mood stablizers doing that because my impression was that they were supposed to prevent that, at least that is what I have read when reading the articles I find on bi-polar. 


Supposed to? Yes.

However, things don't always work as expected, particularly with bipolar. Even us "regular" unipolars can have unexpected reactions; for instance, diazepam makes me violent, while phenobarbital rounds off my edges and acts as a mild stimulant for me, along with making it easier for me to wake up.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/9/2007 10:45:00 AM)

Well, I guess when they study the reactions of these medicines they should include how possible it is to cause Mania. That would seem to me like something they should do, of course the only medicine that has ever been approved just for bi-polar was Lithium, and I had no problems with that. Thank you all for your replies.



StacyCat -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/9/2007 11:52:40 PM)

Lamictal has many antidepressant properties on the lower dosages.  And, since it has a long titration period, it might take a while for that to go away.

Calling your doctor would have solved that question.




zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/10/2007 6:17:18 AM)

Well, I didn't want to call when it is close to my appointment. I wish he would have told me that when he started me on it because he started me on Lamictal and Celexa at the same time and that seems a little redundent to me.



KatyLied -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/10/2007 8:05:11 AM)

Prescribing mood disorder meds is a guessing game.
Here's how it's been explained to me.  The psychiatrist looks at patients similar to you in age and symptoms and try meds that worked well for those patients.  What may seem redundant to you may be what has worked wonders for someone who presented very similar to you.  It seems to me that you need to be distracted from your illness and find some other things to focus on.  Allow the meds some time to work.



Celeste43 -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/10/2007 1:02:54 PM)

My oldest doesn't have mania, she alternates between depression and anger. Lamictal is ace for this. For more classic bipolar with mania it is very common to have an antidepressant added to the mix. However by itself, antidepressants can cause mania or hypomania in a bipolar. Which is why you should first be stabilized on another med; lithium, depakote, lamictal, or one of the others and only afterwards have the second med added. Doing it one med at a time allows you time to adjust to the new med and find the optimal dosage, something that can take up to six months and also allows you to know which med is causing which side effect.



zindyslave -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/10/2007 7:12:51 PM)

Well I would just feel better if I was on something that had helped in the past. I know that may seem stupid but I know what has worked and what hasn't I will bring it up with the doc Monday and see what he says.



minnetar -> RE: Bi-polar Mania on Mood Stablizers? (5/11/2007 4:13:53 PM)

zindy,
Good luck with it.  As said previously, unfortunately this is an inexact science and the physicians are continually trying different mixes to find the right ones for each individual.

minnetar



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