Depresion/Anxiety OR Mood Disorder

[aCakes]

I have been to Dr. A for years and have taken SSRI's on and off. The best was Celexa and did great on it for a year. It just made me have trouble waking up and made me late to work every morning. Then I moved and went to a new psychiatrist, Dr. H, who knows me less but was more thorough like taking blood and mouth swab test, etc. He seems to think I have a mood disorder (bipolar spectrum) on the the depressive side and thinks Mood Stabilizers like Lamictal would be better for me. He says SSRI's aren't working out for me becuase I have alot of side effects like sleeping too much, etc. He says SSRI's probably cause me more axiety (some do, but Celexa didn't). I listened to him and tried Lamictal, but stopped 2 1/2 weeks after taking the 200mg dosage because I didn't like how I felt. Probably I should have given it more time. Oh, and he had me on 2mg of Abilify too (maybe until the Lamictal had time to kick in.) I went back to my old doc instead Dr. A (who knew me for years) and he says that other doctor is wrong that I do not have a mood disorder, that I have depression and anxiety and wondered why he gave me Abilify, an anitpsychotic. So, I went back on Celexa and it's not working like it was before. It seemed to be the only med that worked for me the best. Basically I think I've had depression lingering most of my life and then major depression every once in awhile when something scary or major happens (double depression). Who's right?

[yannat]

I've tried most all the med.s for Bi-polar.   I'm 48 and I've been dx since I was 29........I finally detoxed and took nothing for 3 years. My Bi-polar kicked in  '08 and a great Dr. treated me with Remeron and Ambien for sleep I did great and just tapered off Remeron and now I take Cymbalta and Lyrica for 2 months so far I'm good....Now I've got Fibro so my Bi-polar seems like a small thing.  I do know what happens when I get off med.s tho I get manic but Remeron is great. It got me sane and on track when nothing else worked. Best of luck to you!  Yannat

[aCakes]

Thank you for responding! After some research I'm learning that this "Depression on the Bipolar Spectrum" aka "Mood Disorder" is something that is newer in the Psychiatric world and that my long term doctor may not be on that wave length yet. I do not have manic episodes, just anxiety and depression (depression is the biggest culrpit). I worry and replay negative thoughts in my head alot. Celexa helped but not like it did the first time around I took it. I do have a touch of OCD, but not too major. My doc upped the Celexa to 30mg and then added 75mg of Wellbutrin and I'm noticing it's helping some (still giving it more time).

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Since you have two different diagnoses from two doctors, it is really difficult to assess what exactly you are suffering from. For this you need to write down all your symptoms as they appeared and the effect each drug you took. Then you need to go to both the doctors because this is not something that can be assessed on net. The doctors or psychologists in their team need to administer the questionnaire according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to assess what you are really suffering.

The second doctor actually started a broad spectrum treatment. Mood disorder includes depression, mania, bipolar, and substance abuse. Abilify is indicated for depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and could have worked if you had taken it for some time. Please discuss in detail with each of your doctor. You need to make a change in the treatment because SSRI including celexa are not working. Take care!

I sincerely hope you will find this information useful in your journey towards better health.

Hope you get well soon! Good Luck and take care!