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Bipolar Disorder/Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Disorder II w/ Rapid Cycling

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Expert: - 8/2/2009


Question
Dr. Goldberg

What do you find to be the strongest combination of mood stabilizers for people with treatment resistant bipolar II with rapid cycling?  Is this combination overly sedating?

Bryan

Answer
Hi Bryan . . .

When I treat a patient with a rapid cycling form of bipolar disorder it is usually necessary to put together a cocktail of "mood stabilizers."

Frequently a patient will have their rapid cycling mood disorder controlled with:

Lithium
+
Depakote
+
Tegretol or Trileptal
+
Keppra or Topamax

While many medications are involved, the doses of each medication can often be kept relatively low, thus preventing sedation.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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Ivan Goldberg, M.D.

Expertise

I am a psychiatrist/psychopharmacologist with many years of expereince in treating individuals with depressions, manic-depression (Bipolar Disorder), other mood disorders,. I am especially interested in the psychopharmacologic treatment of individuals with so called "treatment-resistant" syndromes.

Experience

I have been on the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I am currently in full-time private practice in New York City.

A.B. Johns Hopkins University
M.D. N.Y.U. College of Medicine

I am the creator of Depression Central:http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html

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