it is hard to say. there are lots of ADs and it can take awhile to find the one that works. i take zoloft, but pdoc told me it may not be good to take an AD with BP...i was just diagnosed so we are trying a low dose of zoloft to see if it helps or not (i used to take 200mg which is a lot). sounds like your pdoc may have the answers.

Effexor...but isn't this something you can discuss with your Pdoc? I'd hope that he/she'd be up on this.
I do wish you good luck though. For me, I had to insist on answers and info from my pdoc and go to therapy regularly before I could begin a long stretch of stability. It's not easy, but it's worth the effort. Best wishes.

I don't know what antidepressant would work with the other meds you are takeing, but I am sure your doc could prescribe something. Another thing could be the amount of time you have been takeing your other meds. I know that it has been 3 months since I started my meds and I am just now starting to feel ok. Just give it time I am sure everything will start to come together.

Abilify and cymbalta...with a little Lamictal and lot of xanax. Treats me pretty good.

Cymbalta is the best anti-depr. drug. (4 me anyway)

Hi Tammy, I'm taking Lexapro and wellbutrin for anxiety and depression.. Seroquel for sleep & mania. I know that lexapro stops cold my crying spells.
Goodluck in finding the right depression med for you :-)

I don't have any advice for as I'm going thru the same thing myself. I suffer from SAD but usually not this early. It really bothers me that I'm this depressed this early. Anyway just wanted to let you know you're not alone in dealing with this. Hang in there it will get better.

I could be wrong, but I thought I read in a book somewhere that paxil was a bad idea for bp. I also take lithium, but feel that if I were on lamictal the depression would be less of a problem. Just an idea.

It is hard to wait for meds to work when they sometimes take as long as 90 days to kick in. Hopefully you are doing ther things to help relieve the problem. I just read this and suggest you take a look at it and talk to your Pdoc about it.
http://www.psych.ku.edu/tlc/Therapeutic%20Lifestyle%20Change%20article.pdf
Change your life, Change your Mind by psychologist Steve Ilardi

This talks about an alternative approach but why not incorporate the 6 steps along with your meds?

I used Paxil with Lithium to treat my BP with success but it tends to reduce sexual drive and gain weight so I asked to switched to Wellbutrin.

I tried all of the above and Zoloft is the only thing that has ever helped for me. Unfortunately we are all different and you won't know until you try. I do know it is worth the journey to try to find the right combination.

I take Wellbutrin and Lexapro and that does pretty good for me.

I'm on 200mg of Lamictal a day, 300 mg Seroquel, and 20mg Lexapro, plus 1mg Xanies when I need em (daily). I've been on this routine pretty much since May, I still am depressed, the anxiety is better, and I feel more social, but I am still horribly depressed (find out your wife cheated on you and see how you take it, esp being BP1). I have constant thoughts of suicide, my work life is crap, I don't feel like I've got any friends, all the usual. I half wonder sometimes if I'm not being given a placebo. Honestly at this point I think I am going to ween off it all, it's not really doing any good after all these months, and I am concerned about side effects. Esp now that I have to take Viagra to get in the mood, normally I could go three or four times a day... Ah the joys of being f'd in the head... Sorry this isn't much advice

Have you tried cocaine or crack... just kidding. I tried wellbutrin, prozac and zoloft. They all were disastrous. I'm on lithium now and it seems to make me a zombie, but does not change how I feel and think on the inside. What a quandary.

I have tried everything under the sun ... the only thing that I found that works is Adderal and Klonipin combo, but lately I have been really depressed so I need to talk to my doc and see if I need to change doses.