Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose76
I am rapid cycling and it is wearing me down something awful. Any rapid cyclers reading this thread? Any advice on stabilizing. I am dealing with being diagnosed as bipolar and then undiagnosed, and then a repeat of that. I thought rapid cycling was from hour to hour. Now, from my reading, I see that's more a symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder. Rapid cycling is 2 weeks down, then a week okay. That is what I seem to be dealing with. I wish some pdoc where I go for meds would understand how wearing this is. Probably I have not explained it well enough. I want to get off this Merry- go- round. I am litterally sick to my stomach with the mood swings.
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Hi Rose,
I am also a rapid cycler with mixed episodes. It sounds like you are having mixed episodes. When I was unmedicated my cycling was very fast, like yours. I was also surprised to hear that rapid cycling was "supposed to be a certain way". One thing you need to keep in mind, Bipolar doesn't play by the rules all the time and everyone is different. There are a lot of factors involved including your own chemistry. I personally found the only way to control it is with medication. Borderline has a lot more involved with it than mood swings. Your relationships with other people are more reflective of that.
Do you keep a journal? It might be helpful to log your cycles and how to are feeling to give to your doctor to better explain what you are going through. Has he prescribed any meds yet? If so, maybe they need to be increased. Have you given them enough time to start working?
For me, and i wonder if it is because I am a rapid cycler, I increase and decrease based on the stress in my life. I have been on meds a long time. Recently though, because of increased stress, I asked for it to be increased. I find that is helping a lot. I hate the side effects but I hate the hospital more. Also, again for me, I find an anticonvulsant coupled with an antidepressant to be the best "cocktail". But again, everyone is different as an unfortunate as it is, you have to keep trying till you find what works. Trust me when I say that once you do find the right combination you will feel immensely better.
Hang in there...
Alex