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

reply to post by Alxandro




Luckily for me I am in the UK and medical treatment is free, well aside from my prescription charges. There are natural ways of lessening the symptoms but at the end of the day Bi-polar is a genetic disorder and nothing will ever cure it. A healthy diet with a high intake of fresh fruit and vegatables helps a lot, unfortunately financial restraints stop me from being able to run the best diet for my condition.

reply to post by michael1983l


Thanks for the answers

Try turning some of those self destructive impulses into constructive ones.
If you can catch yourself at just the right moment and realize what you are doing,
you might find yourself volunteering in a soup kitchen or something along those lines.

Learn to bungee jump for the highs (or some sort of semi dangerous very adrenalin filled sport)
and then volunteer for a good cause during the lows.
Both of these things will help to turn your disorder into something awesome when not medicated.

Just my opinion.

reply to post by michael1983l


Well i have some friends that are bipolar i know one of my mates said he use to take adderall & it helped him to overcome depression, You could seek some advice about adderall! i do hope you find something that works great for you!

In my opinion and experience, if you're leading a healthy lifestyle, your mania should lessen, if not go away completely, and the 'cycles' will be more or less normal. In my opinion and research, they know very little about bi-polarism, and treating something they don't understand with anti-depressants will someday be viewed as flawed, even possibly dangerous, therapy. In fact, I don't trust a lot about modern psychiatry at all, really, and I think in many cases it is all about the greenbacks and making the drug companies richer. As someone else suggested.. a healthy lifestyle and meditation can do wonders. And if I were you, I'd get rid of that thinking that this is a permanent 'disease'.

I was on Cymbalta (duloxeine) and Zyprexa (Olanzapine).

The Cymbalta was kick-arse at first. In 2 days i went from crazy (Highs - talking nonstop/no sleep whatsoever/ lows where i was just sleeping or hurting myself) to feeling like i was almost a zombie. Anyone with rapid bi-polar i'd think anyone would love that first hit, but i came to realise that in the long term it was pretty frigging dangerous.

Went from the typical dry mouth, slight weight gain, crap sleep, but after a while i completelty lost my libedo and even at the very end, couldn't climax what-so-ever, so i got the hell off it wondering what else it did to me that i don't know about.

Got myself Pristiq (devenlataxine) now. Want to do some research first.

But i run in the morning, get plenty of daylight, and have my own veggie garden and fruit tress and herbs where most my diet is grown. So i don't know.

reply to post by Darkblade71


That is very good advice and it is certainly the path I want to take. Something I haven't mentioned about my illness so far is the servere lack of motivation in the lows and the racing ideas in the highs. I often find myself starting unrealistc or overly optomistic projects or interests only for the motivation to do this completely extinguish when I come down from my high. I have a lot of great ideas but never really the metal to see them through, it is so frustrating.

reply to post by michael1983l


Yeah, i have a fair few writing mates who have this very issue. Deal with the issue of living off medication. having ideas, and doing great things, but living with the real life problems that face them. When they take the medication they often are not able to meet deadlines because they just can't put their mind onto paper. See it so often. Mind you these people (writers/journalists) are very lazy and don't try and help themselves (Diet, fitness, daylight etc).

reply to post by michael1983l


You gotta use the highs to get things ready for the lows.
Also get some very supportive friends and explain about the lows and your intent on turning them into something positive. Have your buddies help you to get your butt out the door and where you should be.

Originally posted by JamesGC
reply to post by michael1983l

 

Mind you these people (writers/journalists) are very lazy and don't try and help themselves (Diet, fitness, daylight etc).

What you say there is actually attributed to the illness. I have a chronic lack of motivation except when in my high periods. A lot of people label you as lazy but it isn't, you just seem to lack energy to do even the simpleist of tasks. This is another frustrating aspect of the illness.

reply to post by michael1983l


Which pole is best for ski-ing?

I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in 2009 and currently take anti depressants (citalopram)
anti psychotics (risperidone) and mood inhibitors (depakote)

my question is this... do you find that at times the medications sometimes make the symptoms worse specifically a depressive cycle?

peace

Originally posted by Ph03n1x
I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in 2009 and currently take anti depressants (citalopram)
anti psychotics (risperidone) and mood inhibitors (depakote)

my question is this... do you find that at times the medications sometimes make the symptoms worse specifically a depressive cycle?

peace

Absolutely, when they first had me on anti-depressants with no other medication it would make my mania unmanageable, I got that bad I was putting £1000 on a single race in a bet and going on 2 or 3 days worth of drinking binges. But even now I find my mood stabalizer makes my depresssion worse when I am in that stage, so yes I think that the medications do come with their own problems. But since I have been taking my medication I have stopped my fits of rage where I will smash stuff up around the house. So it is worth the side effects for me.

reply to post by michael1983l


This may be true. But if i can have the illness and do it, when can't they even ever attempt it?

Mind you, the second half of the illness isn't just about doing something, it is about doing it long-term, and that is bloody hard.

I mean, maybe it was just me, but when i had a high, i'd eat everything from the fridge because i was happy and had a huge appetie. Of coutrse, that was balanced when i was having a low and eating one decent meal every 2 days at best.

Nothing worse than eating say one meal in 3 days and someone forcing you to eat, and not being able too 9I remember at home mum forced me to eat, and half way through i chucked up on the plate cause i just wasn't hungry and my body just didn't want it).

Exercise is hard too, or can be. Can't exercise when your're in bed till 7pm and go to bed at 7am. And when you're high, you have millions of other things you want to do.

Originally posted by michael1983l

Originally posted by Ph03n1x
I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in 2009 and currently take anti depressants (citalopram)
anti psychotics (risperidone) and mood inhibitors (depakote)

my question is this... do you find that at times the medications sometimes make the symptoms worse specifically a depressive cycle?

peace

Absolutely, when they first had me on anti-depressants with no other medication it would make my mania unmanageable, I got that bad I was putting £1000 on a single race in a bet and going on 2 or 3 days worth of drinking binges. But even now I find my mood stabalizer makes my depresssion worse when I am in that stage, so yes I think that the medications do come with their own problems. But since I have been taking my medication I have stopped my fits of rage where I will smash stuff up around the house. So it is worth the side effects for me.

Thanks for the reply...

I find that when my mood is low it's hard to motivate myself to do anything and when my mood is high i tend to do all sorts of unpredictable things like take a swim in the irish sea in november resulting in hypothermia.... i have never really connected my problems with money to my condition but now that you mention it i suppose i do tend to waste it during my high periods...

i hope you continue to do well and stay in control...

Peace

reply to post by JamesGC


Everything you have said there is very true of the illness. What people struggle to understand about Bi-polar is that every day is a battle in one way or another be it when you are on a high or a low. It is no coincedence that there is a 20% chance of suicide and I think a divorce is even higher than that. So yes life is very difficult as a person suffering from Bi-polar but most of the time you have to suffer in silence because most just cannot comprehend your symptoms and how you actually feel.

Hi Michael,

I'm bi-polar too. I tend to get manic much more than depressed, but when I do get down it sucks. I used to do a lot of self-destructive things too, until I learned to recognize the cycle. I tried a bunch of meds, over the years, but I can't stand the weight gain and feeling not myself. I did the best on Topomax, but my work is in computers and I need my brain, so I couldn't stay on it for long. I did not like feeling numb and like I was losing my personality. I actually love the "magic time" part of the mania, it is when it gets "peaky" that I hate it. I start to feel very fragmented and the racing thoughts cause a lot of anxiety.

Anyway, the past fourteen years I have been exercizing and eating a healthy diet and it has made a huge difference. I have not been on any regular meds since my early thirties, I only take an anti-anxiety med as needed, which is usually on plane trips or every once in a while. I know it is hard to eat healthy if you are strapped for cash, but you might try to increase your veggies and protein and skip soda pop and just try to make the little changes that you can afford. If you live somewhere with weather that permits, try walking and work your way up to running - that is free. If your weather is not so good, see if you can find an inexpensive gym or take a class - usually the city you live in will have community services programs that offer some classes like martial arts or zumba for less than through a regular gym. Or, pick up some used exercise tapes and try working out at home. Just some ideas, for you, if you are thinking about how to get off the meds.

Gwynnhwyfar

reply to post by Ph03n1x


Thanks for the wishes and it is somewhat comforting in a funny kind of way to hear of other people that suffer with the same problems that I do. It means that we are not fighting this alone and that people can get on with their lives despite this illness.

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


Thanks, it is good to know there is a way of life that doesn't invovle meds and hopefully I will be able to get there soon.

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.

What are the criteria to diagnose Bi - polar ? What was the diagnostic point ?

Originally posted by michael1983l
reply to post by JamesGC

 

Everything you have said there is very true of the illness. What people struggle to understand about Bi-polar is that every day is a battle in one way or another be it when you are on a high or a low. It is no coincedence that there is a 20% chance of suicide and I think a divorce is even higher than that. So yes life is very difficult as a person suffering from Bi-polar but most of the time you have to suffer in silence because most just cannot comprehend your symptoms and how you actually feel.

Tell me about it man. Almost lost my partner before I saw a doctor, because when i was low, I’d get angry (coming straight off a high, no downtime) where I’d always get in a fight and try to break one of my bones through anger (never with luck). But because of medication and having no emotions at all, she dumped me because I never had the motivation to do anything but watch television, eat, sleep and what be it. Even with medication, you only go so far, but others think the meds will make you "Normal".

How did you do with school, employment? I was diagnosed later in life, but looking back I’ve pretty much had these highs and lows since 16, and work and education never really worked well.

One thing about the illness from my side is my mind. My mind NEVER stops. If i was having a high, i was productive to a degree (become VERY social, risk taking etc.). During a low, I’d look as depressed as any kid I suppose, but my mind....millions of thoughts, a million miles an hour.