anti depressants make me manic....just on a mood stabalizer and that works great for me

I'm on Celexa, Remeron and Lithium. Taking an antipressant with no mood stabilizer is not safe for bipolar

I'm taking an anti-depressant and mood stabilizer. it works okay most of the time, but we all have our ups and downs. I'm on Celexa and Abilify.

I am taking an anti-depressant and a mood stabilizer. Seems to be working well for me. I just recently changed meds so I'm waiting to see the full effects. I have to be on some sort of anti-depressant because I run so depressive. But when I'm manic, we (psych and I) obviously lower the anti-depressant dosage or discontinue it completely.

I'm on Prozac, Depakote, and Risperdal.

Because I'm such a rapid cycler, I'm on seroquel xr (max dose), trileptol (max), and xanax (max for anxiety and panic attacks).

I am. I just started Paxil and I take Abilify and Lamictal. Xanax is for the anxiety part of my disorder. My doc is awesome so I know we will find the best combo. I have a lot of crashes with my BP disorder so an antidepressant is necessary.

Anti-D's make me manic also..I take Depakote 750 Mg's
BuSpar,an anti anxiety med,Klonopin also an anti anxiety med.

Many BPI people don't do well on anti-D's...problems with mania....

It's not etched in granite, though, DD.
I thought it was- the ol' no antidepressants for BP1' thing..but apparently that's in dispute now..

for some it's ok with lots of mood stabilizers/antipsychotics.

What it comes down to is it isn't all figured out- bipolar & how to manage it perfectly with pharmaceuticals.

Yes. I am on Effexor XR, Lamictal, Buspar, & Risperdal.

Cymbalta, Depakote, and Seroquel here. We're hoping to cut out the cymbalta altogether after my divorce is final. Right now I'm on the lowest dose. I get manic on higher doses or if my other meds are lowered. Unfortunately, I historically get suicidal w/o the a/d. *sighs*

Would seroquel taken at night to help me sleep...200 mgs..be counted as a mood stabilizer? I can still get very irritable... and sometimes 1 mg of klonopin won't even slow me down

So I have a question for your question:0)

(I'm newly dx'd) but why is there a "cocktail" if you will, of meds for bi-polar. What I mean is, how come it seems that people work better with 3 types of meds vs. just one med? Is that usually for everyone, or are there some that take just one prescription?

Most Bipolars react quite badly to Anti Depressant's such as SSRI's.
Lamictal is great for Bipolar Depression and Depakote is great for controlling the highs. Those two are the least invasive on your brain chemistry than conventional anti-depressants. Often when you do see a cocktail including an SSRI it is in combination with mood stabilizers such as the ones listed above in order to avoid the fall-out.
These are questions to discuss with your PDOC, in my purview conventional doctors lack the expertise to provide a proper Rx. :)
I wish you well and be well... :) Cheers!

I have bipolar 1 and I'm on Lamictal and Wellbutrin (as well as Respiridone and Ativan). This has worked for me for as long as I've taken them, which is 6 years. I try very hard to avoid stressors, so I'm not sure how effective they would be if really challenged.