changing meds

[Iona_Viona]

i have been on epilim for bipolar for about 2.5 years.

i am dx bipolar, borderline, and eating disorder.

i think the epilim isnt working. because despite being at the right blood levels the medication is not stoping my mood swings. and i have been very depressed lately

im scared to stop taking it and talking to my doc about this for the following reasons.

i dont want him to completely stop me on a mood stabiliser cause so far epilim has been the most stabilising drug for me and i have tried many different antidepressants and antipsychotics.

and i just get the impression he is more into antipsychotics then mood stablisers. but thats only because he never saw me before i had a mood stabiliser. i have been on them ever since i strated seeing him. so im scared he will say go it alone with no mood stabiliser, just an antipsychotic which i cant do. my moods are so up and down i cant handle it.

how can i apporach him with this?

[Loon-A-TiK]

without knowing what meds you have and haven't tried, i can't give my $.02 about what meds to perhaps suggest to him. i also don't know your pdoc. some, like mine, will listen to me and if i don't like something, won't make me take it (like when i quit topamax and strattera). others would expect you to do their bidding and would consider you non-compliant if you didn't. i'd kind of feel him out to see how he'd react to rebellion.

if possible, just tell him you won't take another AP, and that you need a mood stabilizer for reasons x,y,and z. he should understand that, if he's the open-minded kind. if not, you may be at his mercy, and need to rationalize more.

give it your best shot. you may want to tell him just what you told us, that APs don't work for you and that mood stabilizers do. he'll probably want to go with something that works and will hopefully give you your mood stabilizer. if you haven't tried it already, my personal love is lamictal. i love it and they couldn't pry it from my dead fingers!

best of luck

loon