Mania?

[Scutterbug]

After all I’ve been through - anxiety, depression, psychosis, multiple sections, agoraphobia so severe I don’t leave the house, OCD, panic attacks etc, my family are now saying I am manic. I feel so happy, I keep singing, my dog spoke to me, I find humour in things others don’t (like our tree fell down and destroyed our neighbour’s garden which is awful really but I laughed uncontrollably). I feel fine and then I just feel like my brain fizzes and I feel so so happy!
Anyone had mania? I saw my care coordinator this week and she raised concern about me being “high”. I’ve not changed meds, I’m taking regularly.
Bit I feel good. And I like it!

You need to listen to your family, they're the ones that know you.

Yes, I am listening but I’m not sure what can be done I guess.

How did your dog speak to you ? Do you mean you understood what he meant when he barked ?

You need a medication review asap.

Are you on any antidepressants? For those that are susceptible they can send you manic. I took one dose of one and despite being on an antipsychotic and mood stabilisers I went to bed suicidal, took it at bed time and woke up manic and cartwheeled to the shop.

You need to make sure you are getting a good amount of sleep. High moods will make you feel like you don't need sleep. The less you sleep the higher your mood will go and the less sleep you will need.

Are you eating properly? Relying on caffeine and high sugar sends my mood higher - birthday cake always seems a perfectly reasonable dinner even when it's no ones birthday!

Do you have access to cash and credit? Get blocks put in place it's so easy to get into debt when high.

This time of year is the time when I'm more susceptible to mania and hypomania.

Best person for advice would be your GP! You can read them this post, and let them know what your family and care coordinator have said, and ask their opinion. They might have some advice or want to do a medication review.

During the appointment tell them you want to check in with them again after 2 weeks and make the appointment before you leave.

Thank you for replying guys. I feel a bit calmer now. I’ve decided to reduce my lamotrigine as I’ve googled it and it doesn’t seem like a medication that is useful to me. I’m on so many pills I think I could do with getting rid of some.

It does sound like you need to see your psychiatrist urgently. This is going nowhere good.

Please don't alter any meds. Request an urgent referral to the community mental health team if you're not already under their care and go with a family member at the first opportunity.

He said he doesn’t need to see me at the moment as he wants me to go down the therapy route now.

I reduced them over the eeekend and I feel fine. I’m under the CMHT. I tried to get in touch with my care coordinator last week but didn’t hear back. I’ll try and reach her tomorrow and let her know I’ve reduced meds.

It’s all a bit strange. I thought I could hear music coming from the cat earlier. Anyway, I still haven’t heard from my team. I feel better on the lower dose of lamotrigine. I think it dulled my emotions and now I’m feeling things properly again. It’s a mood stabiliser usually for people with bipolar so I’ve no idea why I was ever put on it!

You definitely need your meds adjusted, especially as you're now having aural hallucinations. I understand about it feeling good when you're high on a manic episode but you need to remember that after the high will always come the low. And the higher you've been the lower you'll go iyswim. Definitely speak to your cmht because you shouldn't be experiencing these things if meds are correct.

I’ll try again tomorrow. They’re not very good at responding to me.

You really shouldn't mess around with the dosage of your medication. You're not qualified to know what amount you should be taking. You need to see your GP if not your consultant to get the dose changed.

Who do you live with, OP?

I live with my husband and one of my children. My psych last time I saw him said he wanted me to come off medication and go down the therapy route instead. He said he didn’t plan on seeing me again at the moment. He’s new. My old one saw me every 6-8 weeks because he said I was unstable.

The lamotrigine will help you not go as high. You might feel better on the lower dose but what could be happening is your mood is going higher and you are losing insight. Please reach out to as many people as you can and hope that one of them listens and does a proper review of your medication

What other medication are you on?

I’m on sertraline 200mg and olanzapine 150mg then a couple for blood pressure.

Ok, you are on an antidepressant which can put you at risk of high moods and you are experiencing signs of high mood it's a real bad idea to reduce the dose of your mood stabiliser there to stop the antidepressant sending you high.

I get it, lamotrigine doesn't do a lot for me but it always a bad idea to stop one form of mood stabilisers without a plan to replace it with another especially when you are having some symptoms.

Keep track of your mood, keep touching base with family members and the cmht as much as possible

I have told my care coordinator I’ve reduced my lamotrigine and she said she will call me later in the week. I feel fine so far, happier than normal.

You need to tell your care coordinator that you're experiencing elation that started before your decision to reduce the mood stabiliser and need an urgent face to face appointment.

I am on lamotrigine and it was added because sertraline didn't help my depression enough. It works but against mania I am on lithium.

i really think I can manage without medications. I think they are numbing me and drugging me. I don’t trust the CMHT and think they are just experimenting on me.

These are starting to move towards delusional thoughts.
Have you mentioned these plans to your family? Do you think presenting at a and E would be an option if things continue in this direction.

I haven’t told my family I’m reducing meds, they’d only stress about it.

I feel pretty good though. Drinking wine tonight and I’m in great spirits, I think I’m being entertaining but I think my family think I’m being annoying! They’re no fun at times!

You probably don’t want to hear this @Scutterbug but it seems that you are repeating the pattern of messing with your prescribed medication and that has led to you being sectioned before.
Are you upset that your psychiatrist doesn’t want to see you at the moment? I could understand it if you were (and I think I would too) but sabotaging yourself will not help in the longer term. Sorry if that is too blunt but you are such a kind person so I don’t want to see you spiralling out of control again xx