Dual Diagnosis - alcoholic/addict & bipolar

Liam92

Greenlighter
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
2
Hey guys , this is only my second post so bare with me. I was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was prescribed latuda and zoloft. Does anyone have any experience with this combination or possible tips on what to expect? Also how do you deal with your mood swings? Wether I'm depressed or severely manic, self medicating seems to be the only consistent remedy in helping balance out my emotions .
Thanks for taking the time to read this guys
 
Hi Liam, welcome to TDS.:) How long have you been on the two drugs? I don't have any experience to offer but I know that sometimes it can take several weeks to really see the effects of drugs like Zoloft.

Are you self medicating with alcohol or with multiple substances?
 
If you're going to start taking medication youre probably going to need to put down the booze. Dangerous combination. But keep fighting for a cure to your pains. Unfortunately I have no experience with the combination
 
Mostly I go into solitude.. this isn't good but I find reading relaxing and tend to delve right into books. I used to drink enormous amounts of vodka and have found reading to be less destructive. As much as I am against it, I will sometimes go to aa meetings just to be around people like.me
 
They put you on two uppers like that? Latuda is essentially the counter to lamictal, read the website it's purpose is essentially to put you in a state of hypomania (happy) but zoloft an anti-depressant well I'd have to know more about how it worked my wifes on it but I've never taken it. I'm type 1 (I get hallucinations, however these were caused when I was on oxy's something my psych seems to ignore) my natural state is manic and essentially it's what I think really helps going through wd. But I kinda know how to control this state and it definitely takes some practice to learn (specifically impulse control, learning when to shut up and think before you speak, etc). On one hand you are so freaking energetic and naturally happy all the time (till you hit those lows), on the other hand I have no filter like most people say so what comes out of my mouth tends to be the unadulterated truth that people sometimes have troubles following, I'm incredibly impulsive, and ... well just go read the definition of manic I'm the fucking poster boy for it. The thing is though, with bipolar the natural state can change at any moment and right before I wrecked my motorcycle and spent the next decade on opiates, I was incredibly depressed and angry. So when I started the opiates they leveled me out (I was always mildly depressed, latuda didn't exist during this time). I had quite a bit of pain so I felt justified, even when I stopped using I kept reminding my wife "the further and further I get out from the drugs the less likely I am to go back, do you think you can handle it if I return to playing mind games and trying to make you cry" (I went from happy go lucky kid to incredibly mentally abusive, and it happened overnight). The big problem was, latuda didn't exist during this time only Lamictal (and well lithium but FUCK lithium, no seriously FUCK IT HARD). Lamictal turned me into such a zombie I couldn't do my job (I'm a programmer) hell I could barely function. So yeah I wasn't manic, I wasn't depressed, I wasn't me, I really barely existed. Which I seriously considered being just to mentally castrate myself so I would stop treating my (at this time fiance) like shit, I really lucked out I ended up on opiates at that time.

Anyways in long winded way, if only Latuda would have existed at that time, I would have been all over that so fast because that's all I ever wanted to be, like I was in high school, like I am now. Happy, energetic, I could do a bit without the impulsiveness since about 3 years ago I became financially responsible after trading out one after another after another new car and new motorcycles. Relocating my family to SF, having an affair, etc. But remember, I'm the poster boy for Manic this drugs aim is to make you a step below that where you should be able to control the impulses a lot better than I did. For me to get a handle on them it basically took 9 years of my father being mentally abusive to me to "get my priorities straight", "think before you speak", etc. And I still suck at "thinking before you speak" part.

One last thing, this may or may not apply to you, I was shooting opiates for years and years and honestly I think genetics (aka being manic) for my helping with quitting. Those feelings of cravings feel just like when I get a burst of energy, so I turn them to laughter and I get +10 happiness to an already incredibly high level of happiness. So if you are currently depressed, or drink to stop being depressed you might just get the fucking shock of your life on that drug (I know a couple of BP people that are in AA and on disability for being BP).

Not exactly what you wanted (I have never used it) but it's my fucking backup drug from what I've read about it. Just understand seriously heed the warnings about side effects, the big one really is it can send you past hypo and straight into manic. If you don't have the practice controlling this you might wake up worst off then with drugs. I woke up one day to about $300k in debt, oh and stay away from gambling, never had a problem with it, but since being a kid I've just known that would probably tickle my mania so hardcore that I would never leave (and I hate poker, have you ever watched an impulsive person play poker it's kinda bad).
 
Direct copy and paste from http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/hypomania-mania-symptoms
Hypomania:At first when I'm high, it's tremendous ... ideas are fast ... like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear... All shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there ... uninteresting people, things become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive, the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria ... you can do anything ... but somewhere this changes.

Mania:The fast ideas start coming too fast and there are far too many ... overwhelming confusion replaces clarity ... you stop keeping up with it … memory goes. Infectious humor ceases to amuse. Your friends become frightened ... everything is now against the grain ... you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable, and trapped.


If you have three or more of the mania symptoms below most of the day -- nearly every day -- for one week or longer, you may be having a manic episode of bipolar disorder:

Excessive happiness, hopefulness, and excitement
Sudden changes from being joyful to being irritable, angry, and hostile
Restlessness, increased energy, and less need for sleep
Rapid talk, talkativeness
Distractibility
Racing thoughts
High sex drive
Tendency to make grand and unattainable plans
Tendency to show poor judgment, such as impulsively deciding to quit a job
Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity -- unrealistic beliefs in one's ability, intelligence, and powers; may be delusional
Increased reckless behaviors (such as lavish spending sprees, impulsive sexual indiscretions, abuse of alcohol or drugs, or ill-advised business decisions)

Some people with bipolar disorder become psychotic, hearing things that aren't there. They may hold onto false beliefs, and cannot be swayed from them. In some instances, they see themselves as having superhuman skills and powers -- even consider themselves to be god-like.

Up to you as something to look forward to, I love it but this is "me" this is "who I am", I think it might be better to say I float between the two states. A couple of times I started SEEING 16bit doom characters (those little floating heads, no audio) they were following me around the house (this is no joke) the difference is the whole time I realised they weren't real. I wasn't confused and believed they were there but none the less I kept seeing them. I've never had an audible hallucination... ever.
 
Latuda is a highly effective med
but the akathisia is a total deal-breaker with that one.
Never felt anything so horrible in my life as Latuda akathisia.
 
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