Q. I wanted to know about taking lithium 600-900 mg a day with St. John's Wort. I've been taking lithium for about 4 years now, & while it's helped I still feel unstable. It seems like BPD is treated with antidepressants. I used to take Zoloft w/ lithium but I can't afford it anymore. Also I've been diagnosed with manic-depression but I feel that is wrong and I'm much more similar to this BPD. Anyhow, I hope you can help me with my question.

A. Lithium is a surprisingly good medication fro treating BPD, it just has a lot of side effects. Arthur Rifkin and his colleagues did these studies in the early 1970s in New York City. St Johns Wort is probably not going to help. Antidepressants are the way to go. More specifically, Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, and Luvox all work (SSRIs), Effexor XR works (SNRI), and if you do not have obsessive compulsive disorder, Serzone works (5HT2 antagonist). The medications are expensive, but all of the aforementioned medications are available for free from the pharmaceutical companies if you have a need for them and cannot afford them. Ask your doctor, and they can order them.

You probably have BPD. Most people get diagnosed with bipolar type II disorder since it sounds less offensive to have and insurance companies will pay for a diagnosis of bipolar II but not BPD