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Posted 10/21/2011 5:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi. I was recently diagnosed with Bipolar II after having been treated for depression for 7 years. Due to evolving symptoms, I know that the depression diagnosis was off track, however, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the BPII diagnosis. Anyone else have that experience?

I am currently weaning off of my anti-depressants and looking forward to starting a mood stabilizer to see what the difference is like. I am in my last week and the uncomfortable side effects from weaning have gotten progressively more challenging. Any words of encouragement are appreciated!
Posted 10/21/2011 7:50 AM (GMT 0)
it gets better with the right medications. also we are here for you Sue m. are you in therapy? i find the combination of medications and treatment to be very helpful. currently going through a very bad patch myself, i live with rapid cycling bi polar disorder. i also see a psychiatrist. they are the best at managing your medications and mood. i am on 2 mood stabilisers plus lithium. also i am weaning of seroquel. i find journalling helps. i write to my shrink, but for yourself and your treating team i highly recommend keeping a mood diary. welcome to the forum. with healing compassion, jamie.
Posted 10/21/2011 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
 

 Hi sue, Welcome to a new stage in your life. Ive been diagnosed now for three years, and the five stages of grief really helped me get thru this.

  1  DENIAL 

  2  ANGER

  3  Bargining

  4  Depression

  5  Acceptance.

 Im at number five now. THis is just life.  If you can find a way to live with this desease it becomes alot easier.  I have had to make some very hard choices in my life about alot of things. But today i am almost symptom free, not perfect, but much more in control of it over it being in control of me.

  THis thing takes time. Accept that and things will become alot easier.

Bill

Posted 10/23/2011 10:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi sue I was diagnosed bipolar in May this year after been treated for depression for decades. As I have said in many posts this diagnosis has added meaning to my life - it explains why I think and act as I do and above all removes the awfull sense of guilt i once felt about the cosequences of my actions. The things I have done whilst manic were and can be far reaching but I am not simply eccentric, irresponsible, foolish etc etc. as others have labelled me in the past.

I hope you feel better soon. Take care - keep sharing.

Peter
Posted 10/24/2011 8:30 AM (GMT 0)
Jamiee, Bill, and Peter,
Thank you for your responses. I have never been involved in an online support group and cannot tell you how much I appreciate your responses and support. I didn't even consider my response to this diagnosis as grief-like, however, that struck a cord with me. I am going to explore that further...thank you.

I am in therapy, however, I am feeling that I need to see my doc on a more regular basis. At this time it is just once a month and I'm needing more. Is there a standard with a new diagnosis? I'm thinking weekly or at least every other week would be more appropriate? Or at least until I'm weaned off of anti-depressants and put on a mood stabilizer.

I am in need of a change of attitude about this diagnosis. It's been kind of jarring to my identity. Like what I've known is not the actual reality...does that make sense? I keep asking myself, is that me, was that me, or is/was that the BPII? When did it start? How would my life be different had I been diagnosed earlier? (Even though I have an incredibly blessed life.) I am trying to embrace this and let it "add meaning to my life". Prayer and the support of friends, family, and now this forum is of great comfort.
Posted 10/24/2011 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
Very nice post, Sue M, and welcome to the Bipolar Forum.

The best advice I can give on your currently scheduled psychiatric visits is to say that your psychiatrist knows from what you have to say on each visit if you need more frequent visits, and he will suggest them if he feels it advisable.

Your meds should have kicked in by now and you will feel very much
relief from them alone in just days if you haven't already had an improvement in moods.

This is an illness that is a chemical imbalance in the brain and it is stabilized by medications. I would also like to say that my psychiatrist gave me four "laws" to live by after his evaluation of the illness I had.

1. Do not use alcohol; it makes the illness worse.
2. Do not eat or drink anything containing caffeine; it makes the illness
worse.
3. Take your prescribed meds
4. Get your rest.

If you can establish this routine you will be getting along 100% better in several weeks.

I would like for you to to go a website called ruthwhalen.com/caffeine
and read what her research has shown regarding the danger of caffeine to people who may be sensitive to it. It's very serious.

Prayer and reliance on an active spiritual life are of primary importance in the stability of the mind.  I'm glad you are a religious person.

Take care and keep posting as you wish and need to.

It's Genetic

Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 10/24/2011 11:22:55 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 11/4/2011 4:09 AM (GMT 0)
To put my mind at ease and to do my due diligence, I got a professional second opinion on my diagnosis. I am now accepting the fact that I have BPII and am ready to jump into understanding this better and taking charge rather than feeling like a victim.

Since this is all so new to me, I'm wondering what is the BPII? I want to learn the symptoms so that I can begin to understand this condition. I have been depressed the past week with low energy, however, right now I am feeling anxious and have an electric-like energy in my body that feels very uncomfortable. I have been biting my nails to the point of pain and twisting my hair. My house is a mess and I have a constant feeling of overwhelm. BPII I'm guessing?

I've started a mood stabilizer today and know it will take some time to kick in. Any suggestions on what I can do in the meantime to help?
Posted 11/5/2011 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
If you can get out for a walk, that would help with the electric-energy. I would love to testify that once the medicine kicks it that every thing is better. But alas id doesn't When I am overwhelmed, I try to pick one thing to work on. ie., I will brush my hair and then leave it alone, or but it up to keep it out of my fingers. We each have to work on our cooping mechanisms. How 'bout painting your nails? Or digging in the garden, so the nails are UN-apatizing.
Good luck! Write lists so that you can remember what works and what doesn't.
Posted 11/5/2011 5:52 AM (GMT 0)
1 DENIAL

2 ANGER

3 Bargining

4 Depression

5 Acceptence

so true yeah
Posted 11/22/2011 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Im new to this forum and im a wife of a BP husband,Im enjoying everyones post to help me cope with this diease.I hope to leave more info in the future.Just excited that i can relate to people that are going threw the same thing.Thanks!
Posted 11/22/2011 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
I would like to welcome you to the forum, bpwife63, and I hope you will find the support here that will make things much better for your life.

There are some experienced, smart people here who have dealt admirably with the illness.

Please post again when you feel that you wish to let us know more.

Take care.

It's Genetic--just a visitor to this site
Posted 11/22/2011 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your welcome and support!

I am waiting for my mood stabilizer to kick in and in the meantime have reduced my anti-depressant. I'm having a hard time in the interim. I've been depressed, angry, irritable and, unfortunately, taking it out on my family, mostly on my husband. He's been supportive, however, it's been extremely hard for him. He is taking it personally.

I don't know how to get through this stage more gracefully. I have three more weeks until I've reached my desired dosage of Lamictal and don't know if it will have kicked in by then or will need more time before it does? Any suggestions?
Posted 11/23/2011 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, Sue,

Your new mood stabilizer will kick in before you're up to standard dosage.

If it's just for a few weeks that you're seeking suggestions, I would say that the quickest way to bring some relief is to eliminate any kind of caffeine from your diet--that includes tea (which can contain caffeine), coffee, over-the-counter pharmaceutical products containing it and anything else that has caffeine in it. Eliminate chocolate, as well, because it contains theobromine, and that's a very close cousin to caffeine. Don't drink anything that has alcohol in it. All these things make bipolar illness worse.
(Please see ruthwhalen.com/caffeine for further data.)


Watch your diet; try to make it more on the alkaline side than the acidic side. Please go to a website called Alkaline Foods.com and
search for the ones that are appropriate for reducing the acidity of your diet. All dairy products are digested as highly acidic and may cause irritability. Cheese of all types is particularly irritating.   White flour products are not beneficial.

I posted earlier on your thread regarding the 4 "laws" given to me by my psychiatrist. You may "page up" on this thread and find them if you wish.

Aspirin may help some folks to calmness (in addition to their prescribed meds). In fact, my psychiatrist recommended aspirin because it does help.

Take care and get back your good health with meds, diet, and exercise. (That's the one that I fail to follow through on, and it's very important to exercise at least three times per week for good feeling tone in bipolar illness.) And, Sue, we're not doctors here so we can't say that this or that will work; we may describe to you only the things that we have found to be helpful for us. 

Please talk to your psychiatrist about taking anger out on your husband.  That's extremely painful for him and is something that you will wish to correct in your emotional makeup as you continue counselling.  You may also find information online about correcting anger in bipolar depression.  It's also identified as a problem in alcohol abuse; so if you have used alcohol in the past to self-medicate, you need to be sure that you remove all of it from your diet in the future.

Drink water--and plenty of it.

Then wait for your mood stabilizer to kick in.

Best wishes,

It's Genetic

Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 11/24/2011 9:12:05 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/23/2011 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
 

  You have to give these meds time to kick in, and also you have to understand that the first med may not be the right one for you. I for instance started with abilify, which helped a bit. After 30 days of this i was put on respirdal. That was like a bolt from the blue. 

  Now after six months on 1 mg of respirdal i talked to me doctor. I had had six months of "normal" and normal was, well, boring. LOL LOL My doctor agreed to allow me to reduce my meds while watching for bad things. I now take .5 mg as needed. But i was normal for 6 months. I could understand and make great strides in my therpay. What i allowed myself to do was have a bit more of the "happy" part of bipolar in my life.

   But that is what worked for me. May not be the path for you. But getting 6 months of normal was fantastic, i could really compare and contrast how out of control i was. 

  LIfe is very good now. Hang in there, it does get better. 

  Bill 

 

Posted Yesterday 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi sue,
I have and am still having issues myself. Was always diagnosed as "major depression" after my last time in I.c.u. They diagnosed me as bi-polar. The great thing is is that I am finally on the right medications (abilify,trileptal,remeron) I do not even think that way anymore and my anxiety Is gone. So the positive thing is they found the right medications for me. I also went through a 10 week out-patient program to deal with diagnosis, it was so helpful. It was nice to be around others that have experienced similar things.
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