The Bipolar Support Thread

[BippityBoppity87]

Hi everyone Just thought I'd start a shiny new thread for anyone who is suffering from bipolar disorder.

Hope everyone is ok!

Oh god I did something really really stupid the other night. I joined two dating sites. I don't know why I did that, but I've deleted them now. So embarrassing. I don't know why I do this. So maybe I am hypomanic right now as it's not something I usually do 🙁

I applied to Aa for a £10,000.00 car loan not thinking for a minute I would get accepted and I have a car. But was accepted and they phoned me which I ignored so they emailed me to make an appointment or pick a car.

I think if I was hypomanic I would be on my way to a new car.

I have to admit to being on a dating site but I joined 5 years ago (pre diagnosis) and met a few random men. But being older (45) it's mainly 29 year old looking for sex and I can't be arsed with that.

Good move coming off then. I'll probably take mine down if I can work out how too

I've done exactly the same thing before. Well when I was single and pre diagnoses, but I'm not single anymore, that's the problem.

I've never bought a car! I bought a £1k hand bag off a whim. I still use it tbf. Mine is online shopping.

I bought sooooo many cars 🙈🙈🙈 3 new ones all at once and then later even escaped from hospital (under section) to buy another car which I taught patients to drive in, over the golf course 😀 and I wondered why my psych told dvla I wasn’t fit to drive. I did keep one of the cars!

I've just been put on Lithium after trying everything else. Thai does not mix well with alcohol as I have discovered after two incidents of drinking. Finding it hard to stop as I'm feeling so depressed. Not had a manic episode since last June, but then had a breakdown in the summer and another one two weeks ago. Kids have had to go and live with their dad for a few weeks, really miss them. Lithium takes 6-8 weeks to work, don't think I can cope with being away from them for that long 😢 I hate this illness, it's draining me and I can't get out of this depression. I had a great stable few months last year and I want to get back there but see no light at the end of the tunnel. Even leaving the house is a challenge!

Oh no Why! I'm starting to hallucinate mice everywhere again and I hate it.

Hiya @imabloodymess Oh no, depression is horrible. I had a pretty bad spell last year, although I'm now convinced it was probably a mixed episode.

My main symptom of hypomania is that I am very sexually aroused 24/7 and nothing helps.

I have been on lithium for years. Really good med.

I haven't been stable since I stopped pregabalin last April. I am suspecting that sertraline destabilises me, because I have been high despite of mood stabilisers I take. I am also on lurasidone, lithium and lamotrigine. On pregabalin I was a stable zombi who slept a lot.

Glad to hear more love for lithium! Apart from antipsychotics and benzos for acute mania, lithium was the first drug they gave me. Have had little breaks from it over the last twenty years 😯 but always go crawling back in the end. It’s not like being on anything at all, yet it works so well.

Viscous- that is my main symptom, constantly horny lol that, and I clean like a maniac, say Inappropriate things and my brain goes a million miles an hour.

I'm hoping the lithium will work, I'm still on, quetiepine, lamotrogine, duloxetine and diazepam! Apparently the idea is to wean me off everything else eventually but I feel like a walking pharmacy 🙄

I found lithium very helpful for a number of years. It really levelled my mood out. I don't know what happened but after 3 years I just had terrible shakes and had no doctor at the time so stopped it. It really pulled me from a depression too

I find it sometimes needs help, take a small dose of olanzapine from time to time, but as I can’t take anything that might help bipolar depression (tried lamictal - too activating, latuda - did nothing) I live in fear of becoming properly depressed. I suppose they would have to give me something?

I'm hoping I will be given lithium. I'm only on the anti depressant and the anti psychotic. They are now suspecting bipolar type 1 I was told to ring my psychiatrist if I get any worse.

I don't know though, from anyone that has seen my posts over the last few months, does it come across that way? I usually have very little self awareness so I have no idea until I'm out of a mood episode and I'm a bit more stable.

Interesting that they still use bipolar 1&2 somewhere. Here it is just bipolar. When I was first diagnosed it I had manic-depression. Interestingly I didn't have any psychotic symptoms before I had given birth second time. Very clean bipolar back then.

That's what I thought, I thought it was just a spectrum? I don't know anymore. My therapist kept swaying between type 1 or 2 but because I suffer from hallucinations and paranoia (hence the antipsychotic) they suspect type 1.

I'm going to talk to my psychiatrist about this at my next appointment. I have A LOT of questions.

bippity it might be worth writing down things you want to talk to the Doctor about, I get into my appointment ms and my mind goes blank

We don’t use types 1 or 2 here either (England) just ‘bipolar affective disorder’ but my first psych diagnosed me with ‘manic depressive psychosis’ not very up to date even then!

Hope you get some answers Bip 💕

That's what I thought as well, I didn't think there were types anymore, that's why I'm so confused. Plus I really, really hate this, I hate everything and having to see people and be on meds, I just want everyone to leave me alone.

I remember feeling that way too when I had CBT fortnightly and my psychiatrist every week it can be really overwhelming

Yeah it does get that way. And I think, ok I'm fine, everyone has just over reacted here. Can I be discharged now please? But I know it doesn't work that way, and I know if I raise concerns that I want to be discharged that will just ring alarm bells for them, so I can't win.

Hi all, I’ve not been on here for a while as had a bit of a ‘wobble’.

I wanted to ask some advice about a relative who has just started taking quetiapine - is it ok to drive? When is the best time to take it if it makes them really sleepy?

When I was on quetiapine I took it at night and was usually okay to drive the following day but I would also wait and see how I felt the next day as it can make you very drowsy when first started.

I take quetiepine, I drive in the morning and it's fine. Can take a while to get used to so don't drive if it makes you sleepy. It will depend on the dose, I was on 100mg but now on 50mg, I tend to get an afternoon slump and have to have a nap then x

Quick question.

I've developed a cut in the corner of my mouth ever since I've started taking aripiprazole. I don't know if it's related or not or if I'm lacking in some sort of vitamin? It's not a cold sore.