please help - bipolar & crohn's disease and colitis

this is my first post to this board, but have posted on a similar board when i was growing up with crohn's as a teen

Ive had crohns for about 6 years, and its been a hell of a road. recently this past summer i was diagnosed with something that i had known i may have had all my life - bipolar. since ive been medicated (tried many things like abilify, lamictal, ect. and am considering other optons. i take 3 xanax @ 1mg , welbutrin xr @ 150 and lamictal 200mg.

im a college student majoring in health care administration and i feel like my life is crumbling apart.

i am currently taking 12 pentasa/day for my crohns/colitis, and even though its okay most days, stress makes it worse, which in turn makes it hell for me to go thru manic episodes... im still not even sure what "manic means" i swear on on the bad end of the bipolar spectrum, its like im never happy? i have a psych appt next time i go home, but home is far away from college and i barely have time to go back there, and my GI is a ***** to try and get an appt. i also take remicade (IV infusion) every 6-8 weeks. for the most part, my crohns have been okay lately, but there are days when i feel like i cant walk, and i never have any energy.

i figured some of you might help, any wisdom, opinions.
i dont mean to complain, all my life ive been blessed with great things, but having to hide my bipolar is one thing that really breaks me down.. i still dont even understand it.


if someone wants to email me any ideas, support, links to go to or advice please please please do.

thanks so much everyone!


{I edited out your email address -- if you want to share it, please put it in your profile. This discourages sniffer bots. Thanks, serafena}

Post Edited By Moderator (serafena) : 10/15/2008 10:56:59 AM (GMT-6)

could you please delete the previous post with that user name? thank you. i only want to be seen as peachy plum

hey PeachyPlum: I can't help much with the Chrones, but I am BiPolar II. Also, I had severe IBS all my life and when it was at it's  worst my doctor ordered Lomotil. That fixed it up, mighty quick. The BiPolr II distinction from BiPolar I to the best of my knowledge is that along with the depression, you get periods of high anxiety, high irritability, social withdrawl, for me I can just describe it as "boiling inside my skin". I don't want to deal with anyone, all I can do is curl up in a ball, in bed and wait for it to pass. This is where I'm at right now. I am miserable, cranky, the future looks so bleak, I can't deal with my responsibilities, care for my dogs, care for my dad, with Alzheimers, can't get outside my room. I want to be left Alone. Period. BiPolar I, as I understand it is much different. You feel high, invulnerable, ten foot tall and bullet proof, able to leap tall buildings in a single jump. dangerous. Spending sprees, not sleeping and so on. More outwardly distructive than BiPolar II. So, if you're feeling irritable and anxious, take consolation in the fact that it will pass, and most likely, you'll come out of it in one piece.