Drugs, Therapy, Coping Skills
Wondering about taking medications? Wondering if they will work, or what the side effects might be like? Should you try Therapy instead of Drugs?
Here are my experiences with both Therapy as well as specific drugs such as Wellbutrin and Seroquel (among lots of others) and well as the information the doctors don't quite get around to telling you about the drugs.
Consider also checking out the Crazy Meds website. It is no longer maintained by the original author, but the site still exists and is a good source of information about drugs. It's not mobile friendly though.
Drugs - Effects and Side Effects
Lamictal
Pristiq
Zoloft
Sugar
Nutmeg Scented Moisturising Cream helps me fight depression
About Therapy
Why the language we use makes things worse. Also, why not to try to cheer us up.About Taking Drugs
Other Stuff
Best Document for the Big Picture on Being Bipolar
If you are trying to understand the big picture about the drugs that are used for treating bipolar / manic / depressed persons, check out Kevin Thompson (Ph. D.)'s Medicines for Mental Health website instead.
It is the most comprehensive document I've come across on the current understanding of bipolar disorder and the drugs being used to deal with the disease.
Unlike Crazy Meds, it doesn't deal with the details of specific drugs, but rather the various classes of drugs (SSRIs, MAOIs, anticonvulsants, etc.) and why they are being used to treat mania or depression symptoms. His document also explains in pretty clear language the available research on what is thought to be going on in your head, so you don't have to wade through reams of scientific documents.
This is not exactly a short read, but it IS well worth reading. If nothing else, read the Introduction and browse the sections on Depression and Bipolar Disorder and particularly the parts about the drugs that are used. They provide a good grounding on how the drugs we take are thought to work to ease depression and mania, and their advantages and disadvantages.
You may have to read one or two paragraphs twice to fully grasp them, but this is as clear a description as you are going to get. That's all stuff we really need to know. How else are we going to take control of our mood swings - and our lives?