Best "Senior" Antidepressants

I am 79 years old, Lithium (300mg night + 300mg morning) has worked for me since 1988 (35) years,

I am 79 years old (male) in 1988 I was put on Lithium (300mg night & morning).
Approximately 8 years ago I was put on Buprpopion XL 300 morning (Wellabrutin), plus Quetiapine XR 50mg + 25mg, for sleep. From my research I have found that Lithium is very often given for Bipolar. From recent reading I find that Omega 3 is very helpful (Dr. Aimen book Fix your Brain - Change your Life), which I have been taking for approximately 1 year. Hope this helps with your discussion with your doctor.
Dr. Aimen books are very informative and a great help in understanding Bipolar. Hope this helps.

Hello @mbrumpton1945 and welcome to Mayo Connect. It sounds as if you have found a good combination of medications to assist with bipolar disorder. I would like to invite you to join the Bipolar support group on Connect. Here is a link to that group, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bipolar-forum/.
It is a good place to share your journey with medications and other treatments.

The other members of that group would be pleased to meet you and learn about your journey with bipolar. Will you post again in that group?

Good question. I’ll be following this. I’m on cymbalta/duloxetine for past few years. It works pretty good. I’m very sensitive to meds too, but this one has been pretty much ok. Different dosages 20,30,40,60 at different points in time Good for pain issues, too
But, hard to wean off to try anything different so I’ll stay on it I guess.
I am 73 yr. Female. Been on all kinds of antidepressants over the years.

Hello Teresa, I am afraid you are mixing me up with someone else.
You have the wrong email address...and I am not bipolar.
Please recheck everything.
Thank you.

Hi @briarrose, sometimes it can be confusing to know who is replying to whom on the forum. As the original poster who started this discussion, you will receive a notification for every new post. Teresa's message was a reply to member named "mbrumpton1945" and to everyone interested in this topic.

You can learn more about how to understand the forums in this blog post:
- Replies and @mentions: How do I know who is replying to whom?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/replies-and-mentions-how-do-i-know-who-is-replying-to-whom/

If you no longer wish to receive notifications for this discussion, you can change your preferences:
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I hope this helps clarify.

Participants in this discussion may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Depression and Anxiety at an older age
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/depression-and-anxiety-at-an-older-age/

Thank you bnancy for your thoughts.
Yes, I also heard Cmybalta so hard to wean off of but at 73 you will probably be on it the rest of your life so no worries...and that's how I personally feel about myself. I will be on mental health medication for the rest of my life also.
I reached out to my psychiatric nurse practitioner re: my issues. Yesterday and today I cut the Paxil 10 mg. in 1/2. I did this on my own and asked him today in the hospital portal for his thoughts on doing this. Since in a previous session I mentioned Lexapro and Zoloft he is zeroing in on "those" medications to switch to. But my feeling is - he is the expert here - not me.
I want "his" thoughts on what he believes would be a safe medication for me to deal with my depression and severe anxiety disorders. I am so sensitive to medications plus I have heart disease and a host of other physical ailments. All things to be considered in prescribing these drugs for our mental health. Hopefully we can stay in touch. Thanks again.

@briarrose , i have been taking Sertraline for almost 30 years. At times i have been able to wean myself off for a few months at a time. I started at the low dose , but have been taking 150 mg for the last 10 years. It has been so long since i started taking the medicine, i don’t remember what ssri i tried before.

Thank you Colleen, I appreciate your thoughts and clarification.

It is good you have a psychiatrist nurse to help you figure it all out. I have have internists all these years. I have taken Imipramine, elavil,(amytriptiline), Wellbutrin XR, lexapro, Ritalin for ADD, now Cymbalta. For me Cymbalta has been the best, once your body adjusts. As you said, I’ll never be off it…which is OK with me. I remember life without these drugs. Not fun at all. ESP.the anxiety
I also have heart disease and Cymbalta hasn’t been a problem with BP elevation. At first,maybe, but settles down after a few days.
Let us know what happens in your journey.