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Mental Health Bipolar Disorder Mega Thread

Oftentimes people will be diagnosed as schizophrenic whereas it was just the effect of a drug. Only time clean will tell.

The likelihood of having any mental disorder increases if a family member has/had it.
 
Any info appreciated please

I am a new poster, long time reader. I get this is a tight group. I suffer from anxiety and about maybe 2 years ago started hearing the info with Ketamine for anxiety and other mental health issues. Have severe panic attacks and have had to white knuckle this for years now. My sister was dx a script from her pain specialist (don't understand) however I myself am having a very hard time finding a doctor that is even willing to explore this option. I just need a door to open. Living where I do, it is impossible to find, ask, inquire...
I don't know where to go, if it took a plane ride to find the right doctor, I would do in a heartbeat. I was told that this is just in the trial part and will take years for it to possible become "legal." Any info would be so appreciated. I am told this has been a miracle for some people afflicted with anxiety. Does anyone, anyone have info. Idk if this is even permissible to post, just looking for info.
To everyone out there dealing with same issues, I pray this is something people embrace and open up to. Any info would be appreciated-
 
I had a nurse practitioner mention that ketamine treatment was available. I didn't even ask about it. She would have had to refer me to the right clinic, but other than that, it seemed like it was just a matter of a consultation with the appropriate doctor to see if I was eligible. I'm not sure if it would be covered by insurance (without some negotiation) since it's not currently approved.

Not sure how well it works for bipolar depression; I haven't looked into it lately. Maybe I'll ask my psychiatrist next visit...
 
I'm bipolar, and got diagnosed 13 years ago. I had been in a pretty good, stable state (no severe breakdowns) for almost 5 years when I developed fibromyalgia. I've been in severe chronic pain from that for 2 years now, and not surprisingly, this state of affairs triggered a bad breakdown last year. I switched meds, finally got a conclusive fibro diagnosis, and I'm out of the phase where I wanted to jump off a nearby bridge, but I'm finding so much of my experience confusing. I don't really get the manic edges anymore because I'm often in too much pain to do anything physical. These days it seems that my "up" days just have a lot of generalized agitation and frustration to them instead of the more artistically inclined mania that used to be the case. It's strange, I can still spot those same swings, but the euphoria is gone from my manic days.
 
^^ Yes I know what you mean about the struggle to stay sober with bipolar. It's no surprise that ~60% of people with the condition have at least one co-mordbid drug addiction (a rate more than twice as high as unipolar depression) -- the most common being alcohol. Often self-medication seems to work a hell of a lot better (at least in the short term) than many of the psychiatric drugs that get thrown at you. Next to alcohol, opiate addiction also tends to be incredibly common amongst sufferers. I swear this must give a clue as to the (still unknown!) aetiology of manic depression.

Guiltily today I'm going to the bottle shop to get rid of those racing thoughts and spasticated levels of anxiety (which ofttimes cannot even be silenced with a schedule of valproic acid, and buprenorphine).

Random thought: I have a theory that you can more often than not tell someone has bipolar affective disorder from their eyes alone. It's a very characteristic look. My psychiatrist noted that the only patients he has who report being able to stay awake for days with little effort are those with this condition. So what you have are eyes portraying high levels of sleep disturbance coupled with a sort of manic weariness. This is a dead give away that someone has the "fire of the mind". Here are some examples (maybe it should be called the 'crazed panda syndrome'?):

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The last guy (Burgess Meredith) is my favourite.
 
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Bit manic lately. Bought a.car that can't drive,.to go with another car I have I can't drive. Just expensive law ornaments,.couldn't resist.

Took my trazodone a few nites (half doses) and overslept. Started taking etizolam instead and lost the trazodone bottle. Continually late for work.
still unsuccessfully reducing alcohol intake.

Made a big thread that got deleted, trying to figure out what to do about my insurance. current HMO is cheap, prescribes generic non-addictive Rx, lets you see them every few months.
Other option is pricier, local doctor, established practice .. not sure what to expect?

Borderline stable these days but not by much. Violent thoughts and uncontrollable impulses have. Me on edge
 
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Any reason an increased dose.of.lamotragine would result in increased mood swings?

In the past I thought it worked well, but now that my dose was increased 33% I'm having rapid manic-depressive mood swings.

The new doctor said don't come.back for 3 months and then I'm switching insurance anyway
 
^^ if you are experiencing increased mood swings from a new medication, i recommend contacting your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible to see if you can be seen before the 3 months.
 
What dose?

you should get a better doctor. Mine would never change doses or medications without having me come back within 4 weeks.
 
SilverFeniks said:
Any reason an increased dose.of.lamotragine would result in increased mood swings?

In the past I thought it worked well, but now that my dose was increased 33% I'm having rapid manic-depressive mood swings.

The new doctor said don't come.back for 3 months and then I'm switching insurance anyway
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If your having increased mood swings from a change in dose of your medication you should go back and see your doctor ASAP. That is absolute bullshit not following up on a patient like that.

What dose are you on? Lamictal can sometimes cause a sort of stimulant effect that isn't mania but can make you more wired all the same. But all meds effect everyone differently so a increased dose could indeed set off mood swings and your doctor is bordering on negligence by not following up after changing your dose.

I am really dreading the thought of winter and just thinking about it is making me depressed. I was totally miserable all of last winter and i have not been that depressed for that long in a long time. I don't know if i can handle another year of that.
 
I understand the concern with Lamictal. My wife and I are both bipolar and she was recently on Lamictal. It's the only thing so far that's worked well for her. Unfortunately, she became covered in bruises and developed a rash characterized by multiple raised black pin marks. Scary stuff. She is starting Wellbutrin this weekend. I hope things go well. She's been hallucinating from time to time and the only thing that brings her down is an extra dose of Buspar and Ativan. Bipolar is a tricky beast. Never know which way it's gonna go from minute to minute, day to day.

I myself am currently dealing with Prozac poop out and trying to induce a manic episode, stupid I know, but I can't resist the urge to feel the high, the invincibility and being the light of the room. I'm a shy person by nature, so being talkative is a rush for me. Good luck with your meds and we are all here to support you.
 
Nighthowl said:
I understand the concern with Lamictal. My wife and I are both bipolar and she was recently on Lamictal. It's the only thing so far that's worked well for her. Unfortunately, she became covered in bruises and developed a rash characterized by multiple raised black pin marks. Scary stuff. She is starting Wellbutrin this weekend. I hope things go well. She's been hallucinating from time to time and the only thing that brings her down is an extra dose of Buspar and Ativan. Bipolar is a tricky beast. Never know which way it's gonna go from minute to minute, day to day.

I myself am currently dealing with Prozac poop out and trying to induce a manic episode, stupid I know, but I can't resist the urge to feel the high, the invincibility and being the light of the room. I'm a shy person by nature, so being talkative is a rush for me. Good luck with your meds and we are all here to support you.
Click to expand...

Are your wifes hallucinations related to mood (as in she get's them when manic, mixed state or majorly depressed) or are they independent of her mood? Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness much like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined. Where as you usually only get hallucinations while suffering mood swings if you have bipolar disorder you can get them anytime with schizoaffective disorder. Though they use pretty much the same drugs for both which is a mood stabilizer and if needed a anti-psychotic. Has she tried any of the anti-psychotics to help her mania and hallucinations? If she's manic trying a mood stabilizer or a anti-manic drug with a anti-psychotic would make much more sense then just putting her on Wellbutrin. I take Wellbutrin for bipolar depression and especially seasonal affective disorder but when i am manic or in a mixed state i usually need a fast acting anti-psychotic like Zyprexa combined with a benzo like clonazepam to bring me down.

Thankfully Lamictal has worked for me with basically no side effects. I have to take seroquel or Wellbutrin with it sometimes depending on my mood swings but Lamictal has really helped stop the rapid cycling and mixed states especially.
 
She takes Seroquel along with the Wellbutrin. Her hallucinations are independent of her mood. Her father is schizophrenic so you may be onto something there. Thank you for your input. I'll bring this up to our pdoc next appointment.
 
I have mania with psychotic features and ADHD and PTSD from abuse and I find that Lamictal and Dexedrine have held up for years. I have a supply of Haldol and Ativan for mania if it comes on because I go off and when it starts, I can catch it at a certain point before it takes me over and I stay that way 7 months to up to 1.5 years on my last one. My last one ended like paranoid schizophrenia so I don't play with the mania. I had my first manic episode in the summer that I was 5 years old... I took stopped sleeping, took off in the middle of the night and was found all over the place in my town (small town), was singing non stop and wouldn't shut up at all. It is embarrassing now and my issue is mainly mania. It freaks me out to think about that.
 
Beginning to think I might have some sort of issues going on in this area, it's hard to say what's the drugs and what is me though.

Just trying to get clean again at the moment but once I do I've got a feeling I might have to open my mind to the possibility that I'm not as ok as I would like to be.
 
so I had my first appointment with my psychiatrist today, and got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and of course generalized anxiety. I'm on lamictal 25 mg then going up to 50mg next week, 10mg buspirone x3 and 1mg clonazepam x2. I'm hoping this helps me. I've been struggling for a while now and finally got help so I'm proud of myself. only issue is the doctor is out of network so I have to pay up front and then I can get reimbursed 60% by insurance.
 
Hi, great to to read stories from other partners in misfortune. My Bi-polar broke through in my early 20's but wasn't diagnosed until my late 20's due to the fact that I refused to aknowledge I might have a 'problem'.. Up until the diagnose I was heavily selfmedicating mainly with cannabis and psychedelics (mushrooms, lsd, salvia, ketamine etc. long list :) ).

At the moment I'm prescribed Depakote (Valproic acid), alprazolam and zolpidem (always short cycles) . I'm eager to dig up my stash of lsd and recently acquired AL-LAD but I want to know from others who are also prescibed Depakote if there might occur any problems.
 
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