Mental Health Biploar 2

[T1gersxjaw]

Hi everyone. I had a few questions about bipolar 2 (as I was recently diagnosed) because I don't fully understand it yet.
To those of you who have it, and who have knowledge of it, what are the main differences between it and Bipolar 1?
Is it just mania versus hypomania?
I've also heard that Bipolar 2 is kind of a bleak diagnosis, as there isn't much you can do to treat it. Is that true?
I was recently diagnosed after years of diagnoses all having to do with my pretty severe depression. I was put on a combination of 60mg Latuda, 10mg Brintellix, and 300mg Wellbutrin.

Thanks, and sorry if this question wasn't worded very well. I'm a little, out of it.

 

[herbavore]

Here is a link to the bipolar megathread which might be helpful in terms of other people's experiences.

I have been reading some fascinating stuff from this author as well:http://blogs.psychcentral.com/bipolar-advantage/ There is so much in popular culture that gets passed off as science that I like to at least ferret out some different voices.

 

[neversickanymore]

Your exactly right bipolar two usually manifests itself mostly in depression with periods of hypomania. Im not totally up on BP1 one but its includes mania which can include psychotic breaks. If you ever took a ssri and had it make you feal awfully wired up.. that was likely mania.. steroids such as prednisone have a good chance of causing this as well in BP people.


There are a few good options for medications.. lamictal is a very good option. Usually tolerated amazingly well by most people. There is a rash that you can develop which will mean you need to stop taking the medication. But if you are like many bipolars who have been on a long string of medications for depression that seemed to have the worst side effects and seemed to sometimes do allot more harm than good, then you may finally be in for a treat. A medication that works and does not make you feal awful. You may want to explore this option with your physician.

I would also seriously consider CBT as by altering the way we think and behave we can often significantly curtail symptoms.

A really good place to start to do this is to no longer judge anything as good or bad. If we get away from this black and white extreme thinking it can help us from bouncing from depression to hypomania, back to depression.

I would also make aerobic exercise a four day a week part of your life as it can do wonders to help stabilize brain chemistry.

Getting and staying on a strict sleep schedule can also do wonders but it is something that is often difficult.

Hope this helps and you find the relief you are seeking.

 

[lolsem]

Hi there I also suffer from bipolar 2 & am on a lot of meds that have, for quite sometime, kept me relatively stable I still have ups & downs but I now find I can manage them a lot better. Unfortunately I think if an issue comes up; when perhaps you have hormonal changes, more trauma or something else that seems to de-stabalise one completely, & then it's about getting stable again. For instance I recently had a miscarraige, and from all the hormonal changes there was another slight 'shift' persay in my brain chemistry. So now I must admit to being very unstable & am seeking help to get back to stability & being able to manage myself. I hope that maybe helps a little? It certainly can be treated, just for different people requires different doses of different meds. I've posted somewhere here about my meds as I'm unsure they are working well at the moment. But Anyway! From a fellow sufferer it's not bleak I promise