So I go to the NP and she takes me off of Paxil (added to my manic nature) and put me on Zoloft. I go to Crazymeds and see that Zoloft is one of the worst for BP in some aspects. I am only at 200mg of Tegretol (400mg made me woozy and dizzy so we are going up slowly), but this Zoloft decision seems strange. Can someone educate me on this?

As always you have my thanks.

A few bipolar patients benefit from adding an antidepressant to a mood stabilizer.

That may have been part of the decision.

I was on zoloft for 3 years for my panic attacks. It worked out fine for my panic attacks. Unfortunately, It made me agitated and irritable, but I was added a medication for that and I stabilized. This was before my Bipolar 1 dx.

I was put on Zoloft several years ago for "Situational Depression"...I told my doctor it gave me a feeling of being behind plate glass...not really participating just watching everything. Her response was..."Well, I've never heard that before". I felt it kick in the first day(even though she said it was impossible for that...anyway) I was a chipper for a good 30-45 minutes...then got extremely tired...then it was party time.

I'm not trying to deter you from it in anyway, especially if there is a chance it will help you...just sharing with you my experience of it. It's not a drug I would take again...maybe if my life depended on it, but I'd really have to think about it.

http://psychcentral.com/meds/zoloft.html - it lists a drug interaction there, I don't know much about mixing mood stabilizers with antidepressants(obviously, do you see MD behind my name?), but it seemed worth mentioning.

Perhaps consider asking for a referral to a PsychoPharmacologist for at least one "consult" visit?

They are drug specialists for people with complicated or multiple psych. conditions.

I tend to think that BP folks need sub-specialized medication management.