Please help.......Mania and Lupus question

Hi. has anyone ever had severe mania and the only thing i have noticed that helps is when they give me IV steroids. then i get complete relief. i can sleep. my thoughts slow down, i am not paranoid. (i know i must sound crazy)

i just made a clear correlation with my mania and IV solu medrol. when i got the 3 day iv pump i was the calmest i have been in years??? same with 100 mg of solumedrol daily. calm.

it's when they steroids leave my body. about 2 days after??

i hope this made sense. i can't get my thoughts straight again. has anyone experienced such a think and what and why am i like this?????????????? (i think my doctor does not see this in me bc before i was trying so hard to be calm. act calm) and then i started getting steroid infusions and i forgot about THIS.........now it has been over a week without steroid infusion and i am losing my mind.

sorry if i sound insane. i just feel like there must be a correlation here. to lupus and my mania.

steroids are calming???????????????

thanks ahead of time for anyone who answers. it hurts too much to type again too.

p.s. my pain progresses as my mania does. really badly (thought you should know that)

hope you all are well. (somewhat well)

Post Edited (Ms. Wonder) : 10/18/2010 12:03:08 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Ms. Wonder. You may have CNS (central nervous system) complications of lupus. Take a deep breath, tell your rheumy, then see a psychiatrist and neurologist. Severe depression was my first symptom and I've now been on anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, and/or anti-psychotic drugs since 2003. I was diagnosed with lupus 2005. All my neurology tests are essentially normal, but obviously my psychiatrist is one of my main docs.

The feeling that you can't slow down your thoughts is an actual psychological condition called "racing thoughts."  I've had racing thoughts, depression, attempted suicide (glad it didn't take), severe anxiety and auditory halucinations (thinking I hear the door bell, music that's not there) to name a few. Does all this mean I'm crazy? Probably, but at least I sought help and there is medication to treat all the crazies I experience.

Lots of us on the forum have lupus fog where you just can't think straight and can't remember anything. We've had long threads about lupus fog. Don't discount lupus fog cause the cognitive problems it can cause are severe. I had reached a point where I couldn't drive, I forgot things I've known how to do for years, and developed a severe odd stutter my rhuemy described as a record skipping. The chemo drug Cellcept has been a life saver. It doesn't help the psychological problems, but does great things for my cognitive issues.

So do as Lynnwood suggested and see your doctors ASAP. You don't have to live like this. Love, Crazy Butterflake