how can you be bipolar if you dont always have one extreme or the other... surely then you are just "in a mood"

[sheneversaidit]

I think I am well and truly going mad. I have been years ago DX as bipolar but after so long being totally balanced and happy and normal the DX was retracted. Now I am losing the plot. I dont want to be DX again but I cant sleep, I am doing things I shouldnt and thinking things I dont want to. And I cant snap out of it. So I was reading about bipolar, you havent got to always be in one extreme or the other, but then what makes it different from just going through a "manic phase" - it wouldnt justify treatment for your whole life for just a few episodes would it. I dont want to get into the depths of my depravity right now. Suffice it to say I am not like other people.

Never had a Dx here, but I do believe I have it too.
Never had the crazy highs, but the crushing depression and horrid thoughs have been around for years.
The addicitons, the madness, then a wee bit of normality and back down again. The craziness with spending money, the frustration and just generally being on an emotional rollercoaster.

Know how you feel x

I just cant bear going back on serious medication. I've been down that road before and it was awful. Now I am just on prozac and for years it has worked brilliantly.

Could be Borderline Personality Disorder rather than Bipolar? (Sounds more like it in Purpleone's case anyway).

I agree with Manatee... it sounds more like BPD than Bipolar - however bipolar is the label that people are more likely to be given - it's more socially acceptable to have a chemical imbalance than a "personality disorder".

interesting - was just thinking about this long term meds thing on notevenamousie's thread and whether the approach of meds for life is shifting in favour of just treating the episodes

I think anyone who has truly had a full blown manic episode will have been treated and diagnosed, it's not an easy illness to hide is it? and if you've had a couple of those then you have to accept there's a lifelong possibility of having another

I do think it is mad just being on an SSRI if you've got bipolar though - how long have you been doing that for?

I have just been on prozac for about a year now - I came off olanzapine and before that lithium.

Am feeling much better today - I got a whole nights sleep last night and feel much more calm and peaceful than I have been.

glad you are feeling better

bit , would love to ditch quetiapine (only slightly less fattening than olanzapine)

well I ditched olanzapine because I gained so much weight - an unbelievable amount. It is slowly coming off. My olanzapine was actually originally prescribed for migraines, it didnt work though. At any rate I began having a creeping feeling that the meds were doing more harm than good so I decided to try just prozac - which has been great - til about 2 weeks ago! watch this space