If you are currently taking an antipsychotic medication, it is not wise to add on all sorts of “natural cure-alls,” as these can have a negative effect on your mood.
Ephedra is a concentrated natural compound, which causes weight loss. In those of bipolar disorder, ephedra causes mania and possibly psychosis, depending on the dosage and length of time that it is taken.
Saint John’s wort is extremely dangerous for bipolars to take under any circumstances, combinations or not. Saint John’s wort works excellent for depression. Unfortunately, it will throw your mood into full blown mania.
Melatonin is a natural compound that helps regulate your sleep patterns. With downers such as anti depressants, melatonin can be overkill, causing excessive lethargy or hospitalization, depending on the combination.
Velarian is another natural sedative, which is dangerous if taken in conjunction with anti depressants.
But what about over the counter synthetic medications?
You should be careful with pain relievers like ibuprofen, especially if on lithium, as these drugs are both removed from the body by the kidneys. With the lithium salts and the pain reliever combined, your kidneys can be overworked to remove these components from your body, resulting in kidney damage.
Anything that contains pseudoephedrine is a stimulant that can trigger mania. This includes some over the counter cough syrups and decongestants, although pseudo ephedrine is being increasingly removed from products, as it is used in the manufacture of meth.
If you are considering any combination of drugs, it is always a smart move to consult with your psychiatrist before making any changes to your treatment. Some of these drug combinations are no joke and can cause serious health problems. If a psychiatrist is unresponsive and will not aid in helping you set up an effective treatment plan, don’t be your own doctor. Select another psychiatrist. It may take a couple tries before finding one that is right for you.