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Bipolar: Enlighten me! Please! For my friend.

by PharmToBe25, Dec 03, 2008 08:58AM
Okay long story short. My best friend and his gf aren't getting along; basically it's almost over. My question to you is if fluoxetine (she may have bipolar) is taken for several years at the same dosage, would this outburst (which just happened recently, her slumps of being very unhappy and depressed) be caused by the dose? Meaning, could it help if she was to up her dose, or change medications? I don't want to see them break up, they were very happy. I am not fully aware of this disorder and know it can take years to diagnose.

She also said she tried every med out there, but this was years ago. Is there any new medications out there, recently released (in the past couple of years) that I could suggest that she might of not tried. Or would just a simple prozac dose increase be good enough? She said the higher doses made her sick, but could that be because a few years ago that dose, in particular would make her sick, and it could be beneficial now?

Thank you very much.
Member Comments (3)

by azalea82, Dec 04, 2008 08:02PM
To: PharmToBe25
If she is bipolar, a mood stabilizer is the treatment of choice.  Fluoxetine can make bipolar worse.  Lamictal might be a good option.  

by monkeyc, Dec 04, 2008 08:09PM
She may have bipolar?

The first thing she needs to do is see a doctor.  Suggesting drugs is dangerous and inapproriate as none of us are doctors and none of us know this patient not that a doctor is going to seriously prescribe what you ask for.

As for the tried every med.. I hear that so often from people and most of them tried it for a few weeks - it takes weeks for MS drugs to be fully effective.

If she is bipolar and she is taking Prozac without supervision its a very very dangerous place to be  - SSRI drugs can cause mixed episodes in some people and those are the most dangerous of states so she really does need to see a doctor.

Also note that long term SSRI use is also bad even in unipolars it can lead to symptomatic behavior, dependance and emotional blunting.

Ultimately you need to only suggest one thing - see a psychiatrist and get diagnosed.  No it does not take years to get a bipolar diagnosis.  You cant suggest drugs as you are not a doctor and nor are we.  

People please do NOT suggest medications to people asking questions like these - this sort of advice can be very dangerous.

by bernie40, Dec 05, 2008 06:36AM
As monkeyc has said only a psychiatrist can diagnose and treat bipolar.

No matter how many drugs people tell you about on here - from their own experiences and not as health professionals - we are all different in how we react to them, so what works for one won't necessarily work for another.

If this girl is diagnosed BP she will want to educate herself on the types of medications available, yes Lamictal is one but there are many others and she really should be guided by her psychiatrist.  If she is diagnosed she can come on sites like this or do research on the internet regarding the medication she receives.  Advice on here is purely based on individual experience and no medication should be taken without it having been prescribed by a psychiatrist who will be monitoring its effects.
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