I hope you feel better soon....)))hugs(((

well I guess all you can do is talk to your pdoc about it. Sorry I don't have a better answer. I know I can't take AD's at all they make me manic. I think AD's don't work for a lot of BPers so you are not alone.
big hugs xxxxx

PS You might want to ask about Abilify; I take it alone and my depression hasn't really returned.

Thank you both for listening - and Thanks for the advice, it's only been a week on the new med so I gotta stick it out for a while. Don't see my pdoc for another month and I was so hoping this new med would work. Maybe it will and I'm just not giving it a chance. It took away my anxiety, I feel calmer, maybe that was all it was meant to do. I just never ever feel happy. But at least I've got some meds to try - that's better than when I had none!

I was just taking 1/4 tab of Wellbutrin for SAD. It makes me so high, that I needed a AP to sleep at night. It also helped with energy.

So I did some research, and found out both Wellbutrin and Zyprexa are very hard on the liver. So I gave them to hubby. I also stopped the maintenance Valtrex my idiot pdoc gave me to keep the shingles from returning, and now I have energy. It isn't suppose to affect the liver, but when the liver is compromised everything affects it. So, I need to fire that pdoc for another reason. He is a drug pusher.

I've had bad luck with AD's in the past, it took me ten years to find one that actually worked for me.

I am so self focused. Sorry, heretic, that you are feeling down. I hope you can find a good combo for your. Do you live where the light is getting less? It was dark at 8am this morning, and it really triggers SAD for me. And dark by 4pm.

Sounds like you pdoc is just another like mine. Pill pusher, and no answers. I would try exercise. That is something that gives natural endorphins and help with my mood. If I don't exercise, I start to go down. I would also look at what you are eating. Healthy eating helps the brain to work better. Just some thoughts for some directions you might want to look into.

jessb138 - Ten YEARS to find one that worked? ARRRGGHHHH - I am barely making it day to day hoping each day that these damn pills will work.
Angela - yeas, diet and exercise are important and I do get a lot of exercise each day and don't eat to badly. You're right, food helps the brain.
But I know how sick I am, it's been a long road for me to accept that I need to be on meds and now that I am it's just such a frustrating process to find the right combo. But I'll quit whining now and suck it up. At least I'm lucky enough to have meds to try.

I have been having a hard time finding the right combo. My pdoc actually told me that Zyprexa is the last thing I can try. It's hard and I know what you mean about the guinea pig thing; I think alot of us beepers do. Hope you find the right combo soon((HUGS))

I have been battling the depression for a long time too and you have my sympathy because I know just how discouraging it can be. My depression used to be a constant but now it's more situational. I have tried so many of the different anti-depressants and am taking Wellbutrin now and it does tend to make me manic so I take more or less depending on my mood. I suppose a doctor would not like to hear that I am metering my own medicine but it's my body and my understanding of these medications that keeps me going. I was fine earlier and am depressed tonight but it's something that happened and not the old constant depressed feeling for me. I hope you find something that works for you,it's not easy as you already know.Hang in there and keep trying.

I hope that the depression lifts for you real soon...(((hugs)))

My pdoc put me on an older AD called amoxapine(Asendin). It works as an antidepressant but has antipsychotic properties too. I've not had any side effects from it either.

Hope the med works for you soon!! Hugs!!

I went through the same thing ... this trial and error drug testing business. This Antidepressant (AD) + Antipshychotic (AS) seems to still be the current BP cure approach to deal with the cycling up and down.
It' s a simple idea .... kind of like putting one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake in your car ...
Didn't work for me .... the AS was never any good for me, just made me wasted and dull minded.
All I can say is it is a crappy part of a journey I had to make ..... yes lots of guinea pig stuff.
It seems hopeless when you are on one of the failing drug trials... as it makes you worse not better.

That was 4 years ago and I've learnt so much since then. No smokes , moderate alcohol use, tons of excercise, good food, a touch of zoloft every now and then ; regular sleep and acupuncture for anxiety have become my solution ...
The failures feel bad, but bear in mind that it is a process of elimination. Right now you may feel like your losing this current battle .... but you need to lose some battles to win the war. Hang onto that. How you feel today doesn't need to be how you feel forever ... if you keep fighting and trying stuff until you find what works for you.
Weird feelings : Examine each strange emotion .... do a reality check to see if something in your world should reasonably make you feel that way. If there's not, then it's either the BP or the drugs.

Hang in there and good luck !!! :)