Hi I'm Bi-polar, do you have any questions?

As the title says I am Bi-polar and I was wondering if any of you had any genuine questions relating to my condition that you would like to ask, you know the kind of things you don't find the answer to in the medical journals.

Fire away.

Are you on anti-depressants?

Do you believe your manic depression can be cured?

Do you feel medication is necessary?

What I mean is, I realize it has benefits, but do you feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? How do you feel about not altering your brain chemistry and just being you?
Thx


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Yes! i have a question

What days do you find you are mostly in a depressed or sad mood?

Or

What months in the year do you find you are Down & Gloomy

reply to post by jheherrin


Yes I do currently take anti-depressants along with an anti psychotic (Citalopram and Olanzapine), but I am pretty sure this is a permanent condition. I have Bi-polar type 1 with rapid cycling.

No questions! But welcome to the forum from a guy born a year before you. The 80's rock bro!

(I'm also bi-polar.)

Originally posted by spinalremain
Do you feel medication is necessary?

What I mean is, I realize it has benefits, but do you feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? How do you feel about not altering your brain chemistry and just being you?
Thx

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

I am currently on medication because I think my illness is intensified by stress and other pressures and I am under a lot of them right now. I did live a long time without medication and I was fine although I have a susceptability to moodiness and ill formed decision making when I am in the peaks of my cycles.

At the moment the medication is helping no end but it also has lots of side effects like tiredness, weight gain and an overall dulling of personality.

Originally posted by FeelingPure
Yes! i have a question

What days do you find you are mostly in a depressed or sad mood?

Or

What months in the year do you find you are Down & Gloomy

I have rapid cycling Bi-polar disorder but it seems to be triggered a lot of the time by restraints. I get an intense feeling of isolation or inprisonment when I cannot get around and do what I want to do, this causes sometimes servere depression that can last weeks. Unfortunately like many people who suffer from this condition, money problems follow me around due to my intense instinct to be out and about when I'm in mania. And obviously this causes the depression when the cash runs out and then the opposite end of the cycle engulfs you.

I realise that many people won't understand how something as materialistic as money can have such an effect on a person's health, but in the case of Bi-polar it is inherent.

Originally posted by michael1983l
reply to post by jheherrin

 

Yes I do currently take anti-depressants along with an anti psychotic (Citalopram and Olanzapine), but I am pretty sure this is a permanent condition. I have Bi-polar type 1 with rapid cycling.

That saddens me. While I believe in the genetic link for manic depression, I have discovered that a healthy lifestyle can negate the need for anti-depressants, and that one can, thru lots of work mentally and physically, reach a point of being fairly balanced mentally.

Originally posted by michael1983l
As the title says I am Bi-polar and I was wondering if any of you had any genuine questions relating to my condition that you would like to ask, you know the kind of things you don't find the answer to in the medical journals.

Fire away.

How long have you had the diagnosis of bi-polar?

When not on medication, how you you handle the peaks and lows in your disorder?

Was it difficult to find the right bi-polar medication?
(I mean did you have to go through several types of anti-depressants, stabilizers and anti-psychotics before you found a good working combination?)

reply to post by jheherrin


Yes a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle can combat the effects of depression by the natural production of dopamine and endorphins which will help with the moods. Unfortunately the mania cannot be curbed naturally and in my case my mania has been behind a lot of destructive tendancies upon myself.

reply to post by michael1983l


Hey Michael, have you ever self medicated? Say when you're feeling decent, knowing howl ong you can go before the crap hits the fan.

A few years ago i went through an angry stage. Went down the rabbit hole (thinking depression must have an end, little did i know). Was on meds for about 18 months before i stopped.

I often went from nice and high before going down the drain a few times within a day (Ultra-rapid). I had to go off mine though, simple because i went from over-emotional to a complete zombie that couldn't give a toss.

Best thing about meds is it does take those emotions dancing around your head and subdue them.

Saw a doctor who still wants me back on meds, which i did buy a script, but i'm pretty scared i'll supress my emotions again and just become systemtised once more, which i do not want to do since discovering a few things.

Originally posted by michael1983l

Originally posted by spinalremain
Do you feel medication is necessary?

What I mean is, I realize it has benefits, but do you feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? How do you feel about not altering your brain chemistry and just being you?
Thx

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

I am currently on medication because I think my illness is intensified by stress and other pressures and I am under a lot of them right now. I did live a long time without medication and I was fine although I have a susceptability to moodiness and ill formed decision making when I am in the peaks of my cycles.

At the moment the medication is helping no end but it also has lots of side effects like tiredness, weight gain and an overall dulling of personality.

Exercise then meditation then exercise then meditation or Tai Chi which combines both into one could help.
Sometimes you have to make changes not just cope sometimes just coping is what brings about stress and its manifestations
Anywway good luck but you could do worse than meditating and exercising

Have you ever taken adderall pills to help with focus?

reply to post by Darkblade71


I have been diagnosed Bi-polar for about 9 months but have been receiving treat ment for 2 years. The doctors are very reluctant to diagnose Bi-polar and they were just treating me for depression for a long time. I always knew from adolescence that something was not quite right but my behaviour was just attributed to being a moody teenager.

I have been through lots of differing medication types and yes it was difficult to obtain the right balance. You need to find the right mix and luckily for me the Olanzapine and Citalopram seem to work. The Olanzapine however acts as a sedative, dulls your personality and causes rapid weight gain, all of which I am none to keen to have on any permanent basis.

In dealing with the depression and mania when not on medication, the answer is in a destructive way. I have a tendancy to turn to anything that has you living in fast forward or on the edge and are an emotion junkie. This would often come in the form of drugs (coc aine/ecstacy), alcohol and gambling. You have to live life to the extreme to just feel content.

How long is it between the depression and mania cycles? How long does the mania last?

reply to post by JamesGC


I have self medicated in the form of illigal substances but in the long run that only makes things worse and is a short term fix. I am very reliant on medication currently but I am looking for a way to naturally deal with the illness.

reply to post by FeelingPure


I have never heard of adderall pills, is this something you believe may help?

Are there any forms of natural ingredients that might help with your condition?
There must be something available somewhere, like in the back street if China Town, that can help.

Also, when you get your Doctor's bill, do you ever feel like maybe you might be getting double charged?
Maybe you can get away with having to pay half of your bill by telling the doc to collect the rest from the other guy.

reply to post by phantomjack


Like I have mentioned I have the rapid cycling type of Bi-polar and my moods can change almost on an hourly basis, although this is not normally the case. My moods tend to last 4 or 5 days but the depression can last for weeks sometimes.