Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 1/24/2006

Question
I started with a problem of what appeared to be depression at the age of 10 which rapidly grew into anger, aggression, anxiety, etc... I am 26 now and have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I am currently undergoing Neurofeedback in which I started roughly 3 months ago. I still seem to have periods of highs and lows. (More lows than highs.) I have tried various meds when I was younger which all made me sick. At this point in my treatment, my pdoc is recommending Lamictal in particular. I have extreme anxiety and an overwhelming fear of meds. I am hoping to find if there are any herbal remedies for bipolar disorder that would help symptoms to make things a little easier, that don't have the harsh side effects short term and long term of these bipolar meds. I would appreciate any info you might have on the this. Thanks.

Answer
Hi . . .

I am not aware of any effective herbal treatments for people with bipolar disorder.

Please remember that bipolar disorder is a potentially lethal disorder with a mortality rate of about 15%. While all medications involve the risk of side effects, Lamictal and the other medications used to treat people with bipolar disorder are much less dangerous than untreated bipolar disorder.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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