There are lots of bipolar meds - what else has she tried?

Risperidone probably isn't so good for depression - it's mainly an anti-psychotic, rather than a mood stabilizer like lithium, valproate, or lamotrigine.

She had a psychotic episode and landed in the psych hospital in April and I think that is why they put her on Risperidone. Before the episode she had been on effexor for 10 years for her depression (we didn't know she was bipolar). She tried one other med - Geodon for a short period but it made her feel like she was going to have pyschosis again so she went back on Risperidone. She was so depressed that she asked to be put back on effexor. So she is on Risperidone (.5 mg/day) and effexor (just 1 per day). I think she will need to try something else and maybe she's ready for a mood stabilizer now.
Thanks, Fish, for your answer. I know you are very knowledgeable about mental health issues and I have learned a lot just by reading your answers.

hi, Geodon is another anti-psychotic.

There seems to be a trend to give people an anti-psycvhotic (one of the new expensive ones) and an anti-depressant in the US. I don't really kniow why that is other than it seems the trade name anti-psychotics seem to being really heavily marketed in the US both for on label and off label use.


It might be worth exploring using a mood stabilizer.

I just get the feeling over the years I've been here that the people on mood stabilizers seem to have less issues.

My bf is on risperidal, lithium, clonazepam (when necessary) & sertraline & is still having problems despite daily monitoring & home visits from his crisis team. He was on olanzapin & lithium previously but the physical side effects of olanzapin became too much for him - significant weight gain & sleeping up to 16hrs a day being the main problems. Since stopping olanzapin he has been very unstable & has still not found a combination of drugs that works for him. I recommend your daughter starts keeping a detailed 'mood diary' & notes down any issues/side effects as they happen to give the psychiatrist a clear picture of her state of mind. Also if she is ok with it you should make notes about how she is & seems to you. The main thing is to get an accurate picture & history so the psychiatrist can better understand & more appropriately prescribe. It is hard for them to see the full story in a brief weekly appointment & the person who is ill & suffering themselves can find it difficult to explain & remember all of their symptoms. Hope she finds meds that work for her & feels more like herself soon. :-)

Thanks so much fish & living for the good advice. I agree that she may just need a mood stabilizer. It's great to get a different perspective. It's hard because I don't get to talk to her p-doc but I will bring up to her about the mood stabilizer (instead of anti-psychotic) and mood diary.

Just an update. My daughter's p-doc responded to her e-mail and stated that she is probably going through a depression cycle and she takes a risk of having another psychosis if she goes off risperadone. She was told to up her dosage of effexor. As far as mood stabilizers, she was told to wait for her next appointment (Sept 9) and she would discuss the risks involved in her changing to them. She will not let this go with her p-doc as she doesn't want to live like this anymore.

I'm feeling better today. Thanks for your support.

My daughter was diagnosed BP last Dec, on her 35 birthday and put in the hospital.
What a great idea with keeping the journal. If mine was speaking to me, I'd sure recommend that.

My BPW on mood stabliser (tegratol) and antipsychotic (seroquel). before being diagnosed BPII she was on antidepressants only and it did not mix well with BP. Based on my experience the mood stabaliser is definately worth looking into and you should be careful about antidpressants which can trigger mania.