Posted by Ritch on December 23, 2002, at 22:55:14
In reply to Bipolar II and Trileptal questions:Ritch, posted by nmk on December 23, 2002, at 14:50:58
> Hi Ritch,
>
> Thank you to responding to my previous post. I really appreciate the help you have given me. Can you or anyone explain to me what bipolar II is since I can't seem to get a clear response from my pdoc? I have never had an episode of mania in my life, just postpartum anxiety and depression but I think the Trileptal is starting to work. How does Trileptal work on the brain? Do I really need an antidepressant with it or is it possible to lower the dosage (125 mg zoloft) once I am stable for awhile? At night, I am taking 15 mg of remeron and 25 mg of seroquel and basically, I think I am on too many meds. Thanks for all of your help.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> NicoleI have felt like I have been on too many meds for several years now, so don't feel like the lone ranger! If you want to find a textbook definition of BPII, go to http://www.mentalhealth.com/ and then click on "disorders" and go from there. If your dx is accurate, you want to be especially careful of antidepressant usage. If you don't have any hypomanias or "mixed" depressive symptoms in the absence of antidepressants, you may in fact not be bipolar, but simply having adverse reactions to antidepressants. Trileptal is an anticonvulsant medication that blocks voltage-sensitive sodium and calcium channels which helps prevent the spread of excessive "signal tranduction" which could result in seizure. Reductions in the seizure threshold generally tend to reduce symptoms of mania and hypomania and in some cases anxiety.
poster:Ritch
thread:133006
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021223/msgs/133048.html