Expert: Libby Bonner - 2/21/2007

Question
does diet effect the severity and duration of manic and depressive episodes?  what would you recommend for someone to include or exclude from daily life to help with a rapid cycle bi polar?   33yr male 2003 bipolar disorder

Answer
To my knowledge, diet does not effect cycling, or rapid cycling. Some psychiatrists support the use of a very small list of supplements and/or vitamins for the general improvement of bipolar.  www.dbsa.org might have some information.  Be wary of any sites you find thru search engines [bipolar + supplements] - there are a lot of snake oil salesmen out there.

The mood stabilizer used most often for rapid cyclying is Lamictal [spelling?]  The other class of drugs used more and more for bipolar and for hard-to-treat bipolar are the "atypical antipsychotics", developed first for use in schizophrenia.  My daughter, who takes Lamicatal, has done much better since Geodon [an atypical] was added to her meds.  I know Zyprexa is often used as well.  Not sure what others are most used.

The thing I would go after, if I were you, is a good understanding of how docs address bipolar - what are the first meds that should be tried, what to do next if one/all fail, what to do after that.  Do you have a sense that your doc is following a good plan, and changing meds and/or doses when things seem not to be working out?  I think that's the key.

Here's a place to look.  Write back if you have trouble finding the info.  www.mentalhealth.com  Go to Bipolar and then scroll nearly to the end.  There is a heading like "External resources" that covers the treatment planning such as I have described.  The Texas algorithm is there, I think.  Look for words like Practice Guidelines, best practices, consensus statements.

Write again anytime...and good luck.