This is my first attempt at reaching out to other people with BP. I am a 38 year old male that was diagnosed in January of 2006. I am currently in one on one therapy and will be seeing a Doctor on Thursday 02/23/2006, most likely to put me on mood balancers or lithium. It is making me feel good to finally get the right medication, yet I am anxious to be dependant upon pills for the rest of my life. What triggered my Major Depressive Episode, quite ironically, was the Welbutrin I was taking for depression / smoking cessation. That turned my world upside down as far as severe mood swings, depression, anger, unexplained crying spells, racing thoughts, inability to sleep. Additionally, I laid in my bderoom for 3 days only getting up to drink water and use the restroom, that's right, no food for 3 days. All of this happened after I was on the anti-depresant for about
2-3 weeks.
Maintaining my composure professionally as always been quite good, like a child being on their best behavior before Christmas time. However, when it comes to relationships, this is where most of my troubles lie. For me, when something is on my mind, the need to talk about it right then is so strong that I often times over-react when asked to "talk later". Even when taking Trazodone, I still struggle to sleep 8 hours and often times only get to 5 or 6 hours of sleep. My plan is to get into group therapy post haste, so I can talk with others who have the same or similar problems.
Please feel free to offer any constructive criticism or any helpful insight.
Thanks very much!