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Mental Health Diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2?

RichardMooner

RichardMooner

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
351
So, my therapist and I have had a long run at trying to figure out an official diagnosis for me, or whether I have one or not, and I know she has been tinkering on the edge of Bipolarity, but when I went into my last appointment she had made her "official decision", being that I am in fact Bipolar. I guess it makes sense to me, but I don't have a whole lot of understanding and have a hard time finding reliable sources on the disorder, so I figured I would ask you guys here on Bluelight.

I guess I'm wondering what symptoms people may experience with this disorder and what drugs seemed to help with them? Mine range from extremely obsessive, intrusive thoughts/OCD, crippling anxiety and panic attacks, mood swings that range from depression/suicidal ideation/intense loneliness, to Euphoria, apathy, or anger and irritability, ADD, paranoia, and insomnia.

I respond very poorly to the vast majority of conventional prescription drugs such as SSRI's, stimulants, SNRI's, Anti-psychotics, Tricyclics, etc.... I'm currently on Ambien XR, Vyvanse, and Wellbutrin, but I believe the plan is to start me on some sort of RX for mood stability, and possibly a Benzo (Although, I'm kind of terrified of Benzos).
 
If you have paranoia you should be way more scared of Vyvanse and Wellbutrin especially both together.

BP2 is mood swings from severe depression and hypomania and moments of normalcy inbetween. Your depression could be a psychotic depression were you develop a thought disorder or delusions from information that you have no evidence for such as taking medical advise from a drug forum over a doctor and being unable to be talked out of it would meet the criteria for psychosis, seriously.
Example: If we all said you were aspergers and your doctor said you were BP2 and you believed aspergers as your diagnosis that would be a psychosis.

The moments of normalcy should have no psychosis otherwise thats schizoaffective.

Your hypomania is elevation in mood, energy and productivity that dont meet the criteria for mania(psychosis needing to be hospitalized), so the hypomania isnt an issue unless your environment makes it an issue ie you get in to a fight due to agitation or anger.

The key thing to a BP2 diagnosis IMO from what I have read, is how normal you are when your mood is normal, however you say you also have ADD and OCD.

Due to the meds you are prescribed I am curious to know if you have a substance abuse history?

I have never heard of anyone being on your cocktail with your list of disorders.
 
UncookMyBrain said:
If you have paranoia you should be way more scared of Vyvanse and Wellbutrin especially both together.

BP2 is mood swings from severe depression and hypomania and moments of normalcy inbetween. Your depression could be a psychotic depression were you develop a thought disorder or delusions from information that you have no evidence for such as taking medical advise from a drug forum over a doctor and being unable to be talked out of it would meet the criteria for psychosis, seriously.
Example: If we all said you were aspergers and your doctor said you were BP2 and you believed aspergers as your diagnosis that would be a psychosis.

The moments of normalcy should have no psychosis otherwise thats schizoaffective.

Your hypomania is elevation in mood, energy and productivity that dont meet the criteria for mania(psychosis needing to be hospitalized), so the hypomania isnt an issue unless your environment makes it an issue ie you get in to a fight due to agitation or anger.

The key thing to a BP2 diagnosis IMO from what I have read, is how normal you are when your mood is normal, however you say you also have ADD and OCD.

Due to the meds you are prescribed I am curious to know if you have a substance abuse history?

I have never heard of anyone being on your cocktail with your list of disorders.
Click to expand...

The Paranoia is caused by psychotic-like obsessive thoughts, and although it is ironic, it is completely true that the Vyvanse/Stimulants in the prescribed dose are the only drugs that have ever helped with the OCD/Intrusive thoughts.

I'm not quite sure whether you're using an analogy in the second part of the post or not, but if not, my intentions in this post are not to disregard my therapists diagnoses or suggestions, but rather to get advice from people who have experience with BP2, as my therapist told me she would like me to do some research on the disorder and drugs used for the treatment of it. I believe her diagnoses is correct, and also believe that a mood stabilizer is a good idea.

The moments of normalcy do not have symptoms of psychosis other than the OCD.

I have never been in a fight due to agitation or anger, my usual response to anger is isolation and avoidance of the person I am angered with, and then confront the situation reasonably whenever I'm back to normal.

I do not have a substance abuse history. I smoke weed occasionally, and take opiates in low doses, rarely, but not it is not common at all. Maybe every two to three months.

The wellbutrin really doesn't do much, I notice slight elevation in mood when taking it, but it's not significant. I've only been taking it for a couple of months, and plan on getting off of it after speaking with my therapist. The Ambien is fairly new, and hypnotics were kind of a last resort after trying multiple other sleeping medications. I only take it as needed.
 
Hiya, a fellow bi polar sufferer here, I can go to extremely high to a deep, dark depression, aside from the drugs I abuse I am on a mood stabilizer called lithium, it has made a tremendous difference to my life and keeps me balanced. Bi polar sucks eh! Xxx
 
Rachella666 said:
Hiya, a fellow bi polar sufferer here, I can go to extremely high to a deep, dark depression, aside from the drugs I abuse I am on a mood stabilizer called lithium, it has made a tremendous difference to my life and keeps me balanced. Bi polar sucks eh! Xxx
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! Sounds about right. The highs I wouldn't call "extreme" for me, but I definitely feel on top of everything, slightly euphoric, and very optimistic. Glad lithium works well for you, i've heard mixed things about it. For some people it seems to work really well, and others say it turns them into a zombie. I've haven't been on it though.
 
Its a great drug though, you take it at night so it wont sedate you in the day. What are your highs like? I spend every penny in my pocket, talk 100 miles another, get a very high sex drive etc......
 
Stay away from Zyprexa unless if you want to become a zombie and knocked out all the time. I tried it once and it put me straight to sleep.
 
Rachella666 said:
Its a great drug though, you take it at night so it wont sedate you in the day. What are your highs like? I spend every penny in my pocket, talk 100 miles another, get a very high sex drive etc......
Click to expand...

Basically high sex drive, very productive, kind of reckless, crave smokes endlessly, kind of euphoric, and very confident.
 
noonoo said:
Stay away from Zyprexa unless if you want to become a zombie and knocked out all the time. I tried it once and it put me straight to sleep.
Click to expand...

Seroquel did that to me. Knocked out for 48 hours on the extended release. Woke up periodically and ate an entire package of hot dogs in the course of a couple hours. haha.
 
Zyprexa worked great for my BP II. The only thing that ever helped, honestly, and I took a lot of different stuff. Coming off of it sucks though, I know feel schizo which is super sweet (sarcasm). Don't know of anything else that helped any of it. If you are manageable without meds, try and make it work. For the love of god, please. Exercise, don't eat total crap, pray, meditate, play with your dog; try EVERYthing before meds. Coming off of medication is a nightmare and I've kicked a substance or two. Think of all the symptoms you are experiencing now plus withdrawal. Sucks a lot. I don't have a single answer for addiction, mental health, or any of this crap but I sure wish I never started any of it. Proceed with extreme caution. Best of luck.
 
RichardMooner said:
So, my therapist and I have had a long run at trying to figure out an official diagnosis for me, or whether I have one or not, and I know she has been tinkering on the edge of Bipolarity, but when I went into my last appointment she had made her "official decision", being that I am in fact Bipolar. I guess it makes sense to me, but I don't have a whole lot of understanding and have a hard time finding reliable sources on the disorder, so I figured I would ask you guys here on Bluelight.

I guess I'm wondering what symptoms people may experience with this disorder and what drugs seemed to help with them? Mine range from extremely obsessive, intrusive thoughts/OCD, crippling anxiety and panic attacks, mood swings that range from depression/suicidal ideation/intense loneliness, to Euphoria, apathy, or anger and irritability, ADD, paranoia, and insomnia.

I respond very poorly to the vast majority of conventional prescription drugs such as SSRI's, stimulants, SNRI's, Anti-psychotics, Tricyclics, etc.... I'm currently on Ambien XR, Vyvanse, and Wellbutrin, but I believe the plan is to start me on some sort of RX for mood stability, and possibly a Benzo (Although, I'm kind of terrified of Benzos).
Click to expand...

Have you considered that your problem may be spiritual and not biological? There is no proof that bi-polar is an existent biological condition. It is based on a hypothesis. Have you looked into the history of psychiatry? It is very bad every step of the way. The DSM is literally pulled out of thin air. A bunch of rich people with ties to the pharmacological industry simply vote on what the symptoms of your alleged incurable brain disease are. Do you truly believe your problem is an incurable brain disease and not a spiritual problem?
 
jammin83 said:
Zyprexa worked great for my BP II. The only thing that ever helped, honestly, and I took a lot of different stuff. Coming off of it sucks though, I know feel schizo which is super sweet (sarcasm). Don't know of anything else that helped any of it. If you are manageable without meds, try and make it work. For the love of god, please. Exercise, don't eat total crap, pray, meditate, play with your dog; try EVERYthing before meds. Coming off of medication is a nightmare and I've kicked a substance or two. Think of all the symptoms you are experiencing now plus withdrawal. Sucks a lot. I don't have a single answer for addiction, mental health, or any of this crap but I sure wish I never started any of it. Proceed with extreme caution. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

Couldn't of said it better myself.
 
jammin83 said:
Zyprexa worked great for my BP II. The only thing that ever helped, honestly, and I took a lot of different stuff. Coming off of it sucks though, I know feel schizo which is super sweet (sarcasm). Don't know of anything else that helped any of it. If you are manageable without meds, try and make it work. For the love of god, please. Exercise, don't eat total crap, pray, meditate, play with your dog; try EVERYthing before meds. Coming off of medication is a nightmare and I've kicked a substance or two. Think of all the symptoms you are experiencing now plus withdrawal. Sucks a lot. I don't have a single answer for addiction, mental health, or any of this crap but I sure wish I never started any of it. Proceed with extreme caution. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

I meditate regularly, work out, and eat pretty well. I just wish I could find a good psychologist in my area. Until I move, medication is the best route. I'm moving to a larger city within the next couple of months, so hopefully, I'll be able to find a psychologist that actually knows what they're doing, and getting off of medication will be a potential option.

Sorry about the WD's, sounds horrific. Took 6 months before I was back to normal after quitting Lexapro, so I can kind of understand where you're coming from, although, I'm not too familiar with Zyprexa WD, and Lexapro was merely psychological. Still a living hell though....

Thank you for the input, and best of luck to you. <3
 
NOtoInvega said:
Have you considered that your problem may be spiritual and not biological? There is no proof that bi-polar is an existent biological condition. It is based on a hypothesis. Have you looked into the history of psychiatry? It is very bad every step of the way. The DSM is literally pulled out of thin air. A bunch of rich people with ties to the pharmacological industry simply vote on what the symptoms of your alleged incurable brain disease are. Do you truly believe your problem is an incurable brain disease and not a spiritual problem?
Click to expand...

I don't really believe that it is solely either one of them. I think that material and social conditions influence biological responses to our environment.
 
RichardMooner said:
I don't really believe that it is solely either one of them. I think that material and social conditions influence biological responses to our environment.
Click to expand...

Psychiatry preaches that bi-polar is a biological disorder, a purely internal one, that can not be cured. You are not on any devastating drugs right now but trust that they DO prescribe devastating drugs for bi-polar.

Seek peace from God and be careful with trusting human opinions. Humans are, after all, prone to error and there is no objective biological test that can show you that you are in need of medication for bi-polar. Are you comfortable with being put on drugs that affect the brain in ways we do not know based solely on your psychiatrist's opinion?
 
NOtoInvega said:
Psychiatry preaches that bi-polar is a biological disorder, a purely internal one, that can not be cured. You are not on any devastating drugs right now but trust that they DO prescribe devastating drugs for bi-polar.
Click to expand...

Actually, bipolar is categorised as a "biopsychosocial" disorder, which is pretty much what it says on the box. It's a biological condition strongly influenced by environment, upbringing, life time experiences and socialisation.

Bipolar has possibly one of the widest prescription profiles of any mental health condition. There are a lot of different medications that work in a lot of different ways that are prescribed for it. Some might help you, some might be a really wrong fit.

Seek peace from God and be careful with trusting human opinions. Humans are, after all, prone to error and there is no objective biological test that can show you that you are in need of medication for bi-polar. Are you comfortable with being put on drugs that affect the brain in ways we do not know based solely on your psychiatrist's opinion?
Click to expand...

I'd trust the opinion of the guy with the minimum ten year medical education and experiencing treatment other people with mental health conditions much more than I'd trust priests and religious text interpreters.
 
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