Mania

Not to make you paranoid but multiple doctors have told me that SSRI’s (often used in anxiety disorders including OCD, in my understanding) can increase the risk of experiencing mania. First I was diagnosed with OCD and then a couple years later I was diagnosed with bipolar. For years I was on SSRI’s but a few years ago I got off of them (mostly through tapering slowly over months) and I don’t plan to return to SSRI’s.

I am not trying to convince you to stop taking an SSRI but if you eventually receive a bipolar diagnosis you might consider asking if getting off the SSRI could help. If you do plan to get off, you can either go at the doctor’s pace or you can try going much slower (tapering over months) - various online communities have protocols for tapering. Among others some to check would be Ann Blake Tracy’s Facebook groups or Dr Peter Breggin’s book “psychiatric drug withdrawal. Whatever you do, I recommend staying ON the mood stabilizer the doctors recommends even though tapering communities sometimes encourage getting off all medications. I tried getting off my mood stabilizer but it turned out badly. I am glad however that, as a bipolar person, I eventually got off the SSRI medication.

Thanks for all the info that’s so helpful. I’ve tried a few SSRIs previously and found if anything they made things worse. I’m currently taking clomipramine which has been the best med so far. I’m getting mixed opinions from different therapists about what condition I have it’s so frustrating. Thanks again

Hey, do you mean that you get very fast changes in mood and are almost ‘elated’ with certain thoughts when they feel ‘just right’ etc? Sorry only asking as I’ve not heard much about this/not sure what it is but I think I might relate