Can antidepressants make a depressed person turn bipolar?

Sometimes people are misdiagnosed as having 'Major depression" when, in fact, they have BiPolar depression.

Each has their own medication.

If someone has BiPolar, and is prescribed an antidepressant medication, they may have a reaction---such as a manic episode.

It is so important to have an accurate family history to tell the psychiatrist.

As both depression and Bipolar run in families. (As does schizophrenia)

Several years ago, here at Y!A an adult male suffering from generalised anxiety disorder, yet no previous history of bipolar disorder or depression was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after taking a SSRI antidepressant such as Paxil for the G.A.D., but I wasn't monitoring the situation closely at that time.

From Y!A more recently:

bumblebe... Member since:

09 March 2010

"Are mood stabilizers the same as antidepressants?

Antidepressants make me bipolar, so my dr. had me switch to a mood stabilizer. Now, I dont flip flop between extreme depressed/angry to extremely happy anymore...but neither do I feel anything.

It used to be extremes of this:

x_x >:( :D

But now its just this: :- /

Is that normal?" ...

From: http://www.psychforums.com/anti-psych/topic116160....

Antidepressants can cause bipolar

by Copy_Cat » Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:11 am

"If you were not bipolar before taking anti-depressants then anti depressants caused it.

A manic reaction to anti depressants is not a symptom of bipolar, its a manic reaction to anti depressants.

Every day they tell people hurt by anti depressants they are bipolar and need more drugs". ...

From: https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en-AU&source=h...

Depression is not a Chemical Imbalance in Your Brain - Here's Proof

articles.mercola.com/.../frightening-story-behind-the-drug-companies- creation-of-medical-lobotomies.aspx‎

6 Apr 2011 ... Depression is a non-physical medical condition, which is why using ... beliefs was Dr Mercola's statement that SSRI's "cause" bipolar disorder.

Is The Mental Illness Epidemic Caused By Psychiatric Drugs?

articles.mercola.com/.../the-epidemic-of-mental-illness--why.aspx‎

13 Sep 2011 ... Visit the Mercola Video Library ... Most of you have probably heard that depression is caused by too little serotonin in .... The episodes of mania caused by antidepressants may lead to a new diagnosis of "bipolar disorder" and ...

With females, however, hormonal fluctuations should also be considered, so view my previous answer about mood swings at https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20... although the time scale of mood swings is usually more regular, and over shorter periods of time than bipolar mood swings.

No

Modern medicine has a pill for everything

Life is about ups and downs, its totally unrealistic to believe we can experience our lives up and happy all the time.

The Pharmaceutical Companies have sold us a lie, a belief we can or should expect to always be happy.

The same with antidepressants these should only be used as short term interventions not as a crutch to live our lives.

If you have issues go and talk them through

Free yourself

You may be having a serious side effect to your medication. Don't panic. Phone your prescribing doctor as soon as you are able to. He/She may want to wean you off it.

I'm not sure whether you say you have Bipolar or think you might have it because of mood swings. If the mood swings are just the medication then it's not bipolar. Either way contact the doctor.

It all depends on the patients present age, physical fitness and mental health conditions. Please bring the patient to a clinic near your place and consult the doctor for this purpose. You should not be an idle spectator. Know what is at stake. Pl. don't risks in such critical situations and dire circumstances.

Please help that depressed person immediately without fail.

... Well, I guess I'm gonna have to be the only person to explicitly tell you this, since no one else has done so thus far.

No, you are not bipolar.

Here's why:

In the cases where taking antidepressants for previously-diagnosed depression leads to the person being diagnosed bipolar and placed on a mood stabilizer, it is because the antidepressant triggered an acute manic episode. What you are describing is NOT an acute manic episode. In fact, nothing about what you're describing says "mania" in the slightest. Mania is NOT just a happy mood. It is very debilitating. It causes extreme insomnia, racing thoughts, irritability and rage (which can include violent behaviors), impulsiveness, lack of judgement, and in very severe cases, hallucinations and psychotic episodes.

To answer your question, yes, it's normal to have these mood swings while on antidepressants. It's not exactly ideal, though, so you may want to think about talking to your psychiatrist to replace your meds with different ones, or to add a new medication.

So, to reiterate:

1) NOT bipolar disorder.

2) It's normal and to be expected.

3) There's probably a more efficient medication out there for you.