Treatment of unipolar depression with mood stabilizing agents alone?

[caz23]

I was just hoping somebody might have any experience, knowledge or general input on the subject really. Obviously I will try and elaborate somewhat on the title!

Well, I had an appointment with my psych today which went quite well. The main point of discussion was the fact that my current med combination (Trazodone & Lithium) isn't doing as much for me as it could and that basically it would be pointless for me to stay on them without at least some tweaks and changes.

Given that I have been getting on quite well with this combination in terms of it keeping me fairly 'safe' (but majorly below par) and the fact that I am relatively side effect free, I'm going to also start taking thyroxine to see if that boosts my mood. This will be a very short trial (unless it works!) and neither my psych or myself are particularly optimistic because, A. my thyroid levels were fine before I started taking Lithium and at that time I felt much more depressed, and B. my current thyroid levels realistically only need to be monitored rather than treated, according to both my psych and GP.

So, should that stratergy prove to be ineffective, it's been suggested that I cut out the Trazodone completely, keep taking the Lithium and augment it with either Valporate, Lamotrigine or Quetiapine. I'm not too worried about swapping meds if needs be, I'm willing to give most things a try and my psych is incredibly easy to work with, so no problems there.

I guess what's bugging me though really is that if I have unipolar depression, why suggest I take a combination of meds that (please correct me if I'm wrong) would not necessarily, but ordinarily be used for bipolar? I mean, I've only tried 3 AD's so why not try a couple more?

Urgh, I'm confusing myself now so I'll shut up! But yeah, just wanted to know if anyone knew of depression being treated without AD's and just mood stabilizers, and just any input would be more than welcome really!

Thank you for reading!

[dollpart]

I got tried on Sodium Valproate for recurring depression, but I think it was because I had occasional (though mild) up-swings and anti-depressants tended to make my moods a bit volatile. Not sky-high but a little dangerous.

Maybe the idea is that with unipolar, it is about a pattern too- there are no "highs" but the lows are recurrent, not constant, and can be unpredictable, so the mood stabiliser is an attempt to level you out. The problem is that, yeah, those are usually used for bi-polar, so the flattening effect can be difficult if really it's a boost you need to get you "on-par" with your undepressed mood. Maybe suggest trying more anti-depressents, or a combination of the two? Even if the answer is no, you have a right to have a say in your own treatment, particularly when you clearly have an understanding both of your condition and of the different treatment options available.