Does anyone have any experience with mood stabilizers?

[Naomi]

Hi friends. I'm going to be starting one today and I'm just curious about other people's experiences. Did you find that it helped, improved your quality of life, helped with irritable/frustrated/disappointed/angry/sad moods, did it help with depression at all, did it help energize you?  And also, feel free to share any side effects or if it didn't work for you. Thanks everyone!

[Naomi]

Thanks FP. Will keep everyone updated in case it ends up being useful to someone else.

[Roses]

Hello Naomi. I was put on the mood stabilizer Abilify & I took it for 10 years until it became too expensive. It worked wonderfully at keeping my moods stable & I had no side effects. I hated to stop it because I no longer had those times of sadness, anger & hopelessness.

My doctor then put me on the bi-polar med Risperdone about a year ago. I've found it doesn't work anywhere near the Abilify & my depression is creeping in despite being on an AD. So last week the doctor had me start another bipolar med called Lamictal. I guess they use the bipolar meds for mood stabilizers nowadays. I guess it will take a couple of weeks to know if it's working. That's what I hate about trying the different meds, it takes time.

I'm very hopeful since I've read good things about it & it's very inexpensive.

Best of luck with yours Naomi. Mood swings suck & are very hard to deal with.

[Naomi]

Hi Roses. I tried Risperidone and it didn't do anything for me. Started Lamictal today. Hoping it does something. In the past SSRIs haven't done much, so I'm trying different types of meds in hopes something with work. If not, maybe a newer SSRI. Thanks for sharing! Let me know how the Lamictal goes and I will do the same.

[Naomi]

FF - a lot of them are anti seizure meds that have also been found to work for mood stability in patients with bipolar, bpd, etc. They have side effects that aren't great if you get them, so they are not as popular as ssri which do have side effects of course, but tend to not be as bad. Look up Lamictal and you'll see what I mean.

[Lechter]

You might want to research Tianeptine which is a serotonin uptake enhancer.

Many folks report positive results with mood stability, particularly in its sulfate form.

Lots of good info here if you care to search on Tianeptine sulfate.

[maeve]

naomi,
I've taken lamictal as a mood stabilizer for about a year now for bipolar disorder and it has worked great for me. It is technically an anti-seizure med, and you are right they are great for bipolar. I felt like I was experiencing the world in a whole different way after starting because after a couple weeks of taking it I couldn't help but think "wow, this is how normal people feel everyday". so, easy to say it works great for me.

[Naomi]

naomi,
I've taken lamictal as a mood stabilizer for about a year now for bipolar disorder and it has worked great for me.  It is technically an anti-seizure med, and you are right they are great for bipolar.  I felt like I was experiencing the world in a whole different way after starting because after a couple weeks of taking it I couldn't help but think "wow, this is how normal people feel everyday".  so, easy to say it works great for me.

I don't have bi polar, but my doctor said people with my diagnosis have also had success with those types of meds, so I'm pretty hopeful since ssris have done nothing for me in the past. I'm a week in and so far no side effects *fingers crossed*

---

You might want to research Tianeptine which is a serotonin uptake enhancer.

Many folks report positive results with mood stability, particularly in its sulfate form.

Lots of good info here if you care to search on Tianeptine sulfate.

Thanks lechter. That wasn't one my doctor and I considered, but I'll research it and see what the deal it and if it might help for my diagnosis. Thanks so much!

[Zweistein]

Question. I am suffering from panic anxiety attacks. My psyciater did prescribe Cymbalta 120 mg a Day. Before that I was prescribed Diazepam/bromazepam/oxazepam for my panic attacks. I had to tapper Down my benzo’s when I started on Cymbalta. Although Cymbalta is working, I haven’t totally been free from panic attacks.
I was thinking of getting some benzo’s to help when I’m hit worst. I found a vendor for DAZ Diazepam 10mg. I don’t know anything about these pills, so I wonder If anyone in this forum having experience with these DAZ Diazepam pills. Are they any good?

[Roses]

Hi Roses. I tried Risperidone and it didn't do anything for me. Started Lamictal today. Hoping it does something. In the past SSRIs haven't done much, so I'm trying different types of meds in hopes something with work. If not, maybe a newer SSRI. Thanks for sharing! Let me know how the Lamictal goes and I will do the same.

Hi Naomi.  I just want to let you know that I'm on week one of the increase of 50mgs of Lamictal.  So far, I feel a bit better in my moods but I'm not sure how 

many mgs are effective.  I go back to the doc next week so I will see what he says.  I'm hopeful it will work.  How about you Naomi?  How are you feeling?