Hi Philip,

I am on Effexor XR for Bipolar. I have always felt it was odd that I was on this and have mentioned this to my doctor who has told me not to worry and simply asked me if I feel ok. I am feeling well and stable. That said, I am on 9 other medications and it is very likely that one or many of them are off setting the Effexor. Is it common for one to be on so many medication when one is Bipolar? I don't want to return to the hospital, however I am concerned about taking all of these drugs.

Thanks for your great blog.

No suggestions, based on experiences of myself and family members with antidepressants, all gone bad. [as in severe suidical ideation bad].Off the antidepressants, back to "normal".

here goes:

antidepressants, like alcohol, illegal drugs, and walks in the park, sometimes "take the edge off."

I enjoyed the antidepressant Desyrel® (Trazodone)when I was younger, though I might be suffering from erectile dysfunction from it. At the time I received no warnings of side effects and such.

Poor girl. She had a baby recently and came home from the hospital and dealt with a burglary in her flat that scared her terribly.

I wonder if this is why the docs across the pond put her on Effexor.

Azureone, that is one hell of a lot of medication. 9 psych drugs?

Say something nice about anti-depressants...digging deep...ok

Prozac helped me at a time when I was so depressed I couldn't do anything but cry and sleep. I had no side effects and I was able to go off Prozac abruptly without any withdrawal effects. I called it my miracle drug, and it was.

I am not going to say any more because this is supposed to be nice things only.