Hi there, my father is bipolar and is taking Olanzepine 20mg and Depakote (unsure of that dose) and has been doing so for around 2 years now. He sleeps 18 hours a day (I'm not exaggerating) and he says he is depressed, despondent and shows little interest in anything. We had a meeting with the doctor to talk about his medication in the hope of changing it but she didn't seem to want to change it at all, after a lot of pleading and talking she agreed to add in a low dose of an antidepressant. Now, the thing is, I am aware that antidepressants are bad news for bipolar patients and she even said that he will need to be monitored closely on this in case his mood becomes too high and he starts going manic. I brought in some suggestions for alternatives for the Olanzepine, one of which was Lamictal, which is an alternate mood stabiliser that specifically is known for helping with the depression. She didn't seem interested in prescribing this medication, should I talk to gp? What to do?

Has anyone here taken Olanzepine and Depakote? What were your side effects?

Has anyone taken Lamictal? What were you side effects?

Should he be taking TWO mood stabilisers like this?

What are you opinions on adding in another medication, i.e the antidepressant, rather than switching one of the mood stabilisers?

Thank you!