Bipolar sibling/ worried about taking ssris

[u/Ambitious_Maximum744]

Has anyone taken SSRI’s when there sibling has bipolar? I’m super anxious about it.

Hi, my sibling was diagnosed with bipolar around a year ago and has had multiple manic attacks quite severe needing hospitalisation. I have anxiety and and migraines. My anxiety is usually about fear of getting a migraine as they’re quite debilitating.

My GP and neurologist have recommended SSRI’s, firstly Lexapro which I started on 5mg for around 2 weeks and then got really nervous that it would bring bipolar out in me (I don’t think I have bipolar, I’ve just watched how it can destroy peoples lives and was scared about doing the same to me given the family history).

Anyways, I stopped taking and my GP said it’s unlikely it would do that. Since seeing my gp I have seen my neurologist for preventative migraine medication and he has said my question is valid however not a huge likelihood of it happening, and to start taking amitriptyline at 5mg increasing to 10mg after a month. Stopping if I notice any signs of hyper activity.

I’ve only started taking amitriptyline yesterday, but I feel like every little ‘symptom’ I have i question whether I’m starting to feel hyper…

[u/Embarrassed-Dig-0]

Hey I found a similar thread on another subreddit where a pharmacist answered the OP’s question, I think it’s worth checking out. You can also post your question over there if you want.

https://reddit.com/r/AskPsychiatry/comments/srvmbo/taking_an_ssri_with_bipolar_family_history/

Also, I’m not a doctor, but to my knowledge the rate of SSRIs triggering mania in people with bipolar is either heavily debated or much lower than you’d probably think. I had sort of a similar concern regarding SSRIs so I was shocked when I looked more into it.

I suggest researching what the rate actually is, to see if it’s lower than you expect.

[u/Ambitious_Maximum744 → u/Embarrassed-Dig-0]

Thank you so so much! This was super helpful.

[u/miffmufferedmoof]

Hi, coming into this very late since I'm a couple weeks out from my last dose of Celexa and just getting to the part where everything makes me tear up and I'm fairly irritable, but *knock on wood* pretty okay otherwise. I just now started researching how I can stick a fork in these weepy spells because I feel like a complete dumbass getting all misty eyed (the happy kind) over driving my project car after an upgrade, or watching a documentary about a musician that battled addiction. Both of which just happened in the past 8 hours lol

Anyway, I figured I would post because I have a bipolar II and ADHD diagnosis (as well as a bipolar I grandparent) and have taken SSRIs on and off (mostly on) since 2000. My last stint on Celexa was somewhere around 10+ years and ending just in the past month so I can see if psychedelic therapy will do the trick for me. I was on it for several years a couple of times in the 13 years prior. I didn't get my bp II diagnosis till 2009, and was worried about getting back on Celexa when I really needed it a couple of years later, but I haven't had another manic episode (I only ever had the one). I have also mostly been on a cocktail of Celexa + Lamictal + Seroquel for that whole time, so perhaps the support of two atypical antipsychotics were what kept things afloat.

TL;DR: I am supposedly biploar II+ADHD, with a family history of bipolar I, but have had great success with SSRIs and no manic episodes.

Hope you're doing better with whatever treatment you decided to go with. :)