Q. I have a 18 yr old daughter with Bipolar with BPD being the secondary diagnosis. She has been in the hospital over a dozen times in the last 3 years. Currently she is in a mental hospital taking the medications Depakote, Risperdal and Trazodone. She is not getting any better in fact getting worse. She is constantly injected with Haldol and Advant. Is there any other type of medication that might work better for her condition. When she takes an antidepressant she goes into a manic state. At the present time she is depressed and feeling hopeless.

A. Studies at Johns Hopkins (Prozac) and U Penn (Zoloft) showed these drugs work pretty well if your daughter has Bipolar II disorder, and do not induce mania. Possibly Serzone would work if she has no obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Ask your doctors what is best. There is not much data for me to go on, so I do not want to steer you in the wrong direction. Clearly, if her course is not good, changes need to be made.