I do not have experience with an MAOI but I do have bipolar and ADD. What I can say is that getting stabilized has helped my anxiety. Hasn't cured it, but has definitely made it more manageable. This is quite a specific question and maybe you should try posting in the medication section. Anyways, welcome!

 

oh okay, thanks! where did i post it?

 

ah, i see, thanks. that was an accident

 

Maois are supposed to be good for really bad depression so I imagine it should help with bad bipolar related depression as well. Have you ever tried lamictal? That's supposed to be good for bp2 depression as well. I was prescribed this but I read that hairloss is a common side effect from this drug and I don't want to make a bad problem worse!

 

Bronto you are lucky getting prescribed Parnate. Do you feel that your mood goes back to "normal" in between hypomanias and depressions?

I am bipolar 2 and I am taking 900 mg of lithium, 150 mg of Lamictal, 150 mg of Wellview trend, and right now I am on 30 mg of Parnate. I just reached this dose recently and I think some of thebenefits are still kicking in but I feel so much better.

I feel like bipolar 2 patients do not receive the right care. First there is an unwarranted fear of antidepressants making the situation worse. Although this is arguably true for bipolar one, I haven't seen any evidence of all that is true for bipolar 2. Many studies and literature blithely describe "bipolar" without differentiating 1 and 2.

The second problem I have seem is a myth that Bipolar depression does not respond to "antidepressants." I have seen a few studies that reach this conclusion and they all do not test whether "antidepressants" work, only whether SSRIs work. And of course the SSRIs do jack ****.

The recent trend is to put everyone on antipsychotics. The new generation of antipsychotics does not cause any dramatic problems, but there is a very significant risk of metabolic issues that lead to diabetes. This is like 20% of the people to take them. I think antipsychotics are over prescribed and the risks are underestimated.

This is why I say you are so lucky. I had to do my own research in order to get prescribed Parnate - and I am lucky enough that he is willing to work with me.

Feast your eyes on this metaanalysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26479223/?i=5&from=/2053632/related
73% response rate is no joke. The average of the other therapies was like 27%. The Parnate group had 1/3 the switch rate into mania of the placebo group.

Of course I can't guarantee whether party is going to work for you individually, I would just suggest you consider the benefits, and if side effects bother you then be patient because they often go away in time.

If you have anymore questions I can probably answer some of them. It is clear from your post whether you have any specific issues you want to discuss. I just had to rant a little bit about the poor treatment quality that bipolars often receive.

 

Bronto you are lucky getting prescribed Parnate. Do you feel that your mood goes back to "normal" in between hypomanias and depressions?

You do realize mate that this guy has moved on now? His posts are from last year.

Don't worry - it happens a lot on here. I'm glad something has helped you anyway. I'm bipolar as well.