Defo agree with Elllie on the baby issue. Until you find yourself stabilizing your moods via meds I would discourage the baby issue. It is sooooooooooo stressful with everything else that goes on. I don't mean get " stable", before you have a child, I just mean get to recognize your different moods, like hypo , mania , and depresed.... if you know when there about
to happen that's a good sign, took me about
6months to figure that out, recognizing them and all. Another thing youare on SSRI and an SNRI a little different, but I wouldn't take either. Been on both , very dangerous for me, made me more paranoid , anxious, had more visions and hearing things.... They are great for depression only. That's my very strong opinion on them. Although not all BP's are alike, some people who are more depressed , well maybe they help, but I don not agree. about
knowing what youare and what your not, have ya been dx... if so take a look at our charts posted that you must have this many of hypo and at least x amount of mania episodes. That sums it up, but only a pdoc or doc , can dx you. If they do so in a 15 minutes session, find another one. Usually Bipolar people need to be on a mood stabilizer and a anti-d, to remain stable or at least try to get there.It's like a balance we need. Everyone goes their periods of denial, that is normal, especially when we have ben this way all our life. We think it's normal, because we don't know any different.Do normal people you know react the same way to situations. Normally not. I don't mean exactly the same way , but kinda. Does your hubby, mine does not defiantely. He's passive, reserved, polite, calm and hardly says a word. never overeacts, and works through stress calmly. Wow, that's not even close to me, I almost panic and cry alot.i can tell you that i have PTSD , due to a near death experience from a boyfriend, yikes and he was supposedly normal . Anyways,that was 3 yrs. ago. i got dx shortly after, cause I went in all freaked out .Google it, it tells you how long people genuinely deal with problems and what are the effecta of PTSD. I still have it. Nightmares are horrendous.Trust me , I have been through alot for my age, and dealt with alot, but not that. Although I should of had extensive counseling.It was serious!Of course family and friends think it's weird, they don't undrstand things that they normally can't se. Plus there' not alot of people educated on it,not there fault , there just not aware it exists,and if they do, they think it's crazy people, and do not put you in that category. Make sense? Ahhhhh..... the paranoia, and I thought I was the only person that did that to the extreme. Ha not laughing at you, just suprised someone else does exactly what i do. Do you double the check the locks to make sure you locked them even though you know you did. And they are locked.I have that same paranoia, which ultimately has the opportunity to make myself have a panic attack. ugh.... A good thing to do is ask friends what they do in certain situations. I have always thought I was a little different, but playing sports and doing cheerleading , I thought so I am just a little unique no big deal. My frienda will be at my house and ask me , why I am checking the door you just cheked it? It's not normal unless you are paranoid. i can se if soemthing has happened in your life to cause you to be alittle paranoid, but usually you get better with time. Take some tests online, ther's some on here too. Think about
it, what do you think. Do you think you have anything in commom with us Bipolars? Listen it's scary at first I understand, people will shun you too, and tell you it's all in your head. They don't know, it's ignorance. Also I went to church until people started to tell me things that were down right rude. Meds can help you get stable, and someone higher than me must think I can handle it. It 'r rough , but everyday I tell myself it's gonna be a good day, whether or not it is, well I started it off that way. I hope this helps and calms you a little. I am not great with advice , just with my own experiences. i am no doc, don't wanna be either, but I help people everyday. I am not just Bipolar, I am a mother, a surgical technologist, a sister, a daughter, a aunt, ...... you get the idea. Make it more than what it is. You will be fine , educcate yourself as much as possible about
it. Also read An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Jameson. I have not read it yet, due to school readings, but i headr it's great. Good luck and take care. I really hope I shed some light for you. I am glad someone on here did for me when I first started, Thanks a bunch Shannon. Sahnnon 2 and Dana.