Let’s talk meds! These are just the medications ive taken and my experience with them. Your experience could be different. What didnt work for me could work for you! Please always listen to a trusted doctor.
Abilify: let’s start with the one im currently on. I’ve been taking this medication for 4 years now. I was prescribed this alongside lamictal and then lithium. To me, this medication saved my life. In rehab i was on both Abilify and lithium. Taking them together made me feel stabilized for the first time in years. Today i take Abilify alongside some anti depressants to treat my mood swings, anxiety, and ADHD symptoms. I’m on a very low dose of Abilify and have been on the same dose since i started taking it. I take it at night and experience no side effects from it.
Lithium: the scary one. When they told me in rehab they were putting me on lithium i was terrified. All i had ever heard was all the negative side effects from it, and that you could get poisoned from it. However, lithium saved my life. Lithium stabilized me while i was experiencing extreme mood swings. I took it for about a year and a half, until my hair began to fall out. That was a side effect i was unaware of. I never experienced any other negative side effects from lithium and would say it helped me a lot when i was in need of it.
Lamictal: my least favorite medication i have ever taken. Immediately i experienced horrible side effects. I had to go to the hospital because I developed THE rash, if you know what im talking about. Luckily we caught it very quickly and i was taken off the medication right away. I wasnt on it long enough to experience any mood changes.
Risperdal: this was the very first medication i was given at 16 the first time i was diagnosed with bipolar. Pretty quickly after starting this medication i experienced negative side effects. Being so young i really only remember the negative side effects. I can’t remember it effecting my mood much.
These are the medications i have tried after being diagnosed. I also take SSRIs and anti craving medication. I can talk more about those if you’re curious! Medication changed my life so much. I am so much better than i ever have been thanks to the medications i take today. Bipolar is an incurable illness, but it is treatable. Remember always take your meds!