Hi,

My name is Jenna. I was just diagnosed on November 8th this year with Bipolar 1 Disorder. I had gone to the hospital for a suicide attempt and ended up in an instituion. Thank goodness they were able to help me because at that time I didn't know where my life was going to go. At the time, I believe that I was in a mixed episode and I started hating the way I felt. After I was diagnosed, I was put on 100mg of Lamictal 2 times per day, 30mg of Cymbalta 1 times per day, and 40mg of Strattera once per day. Yesterday, I was put on 2mg of Risperdal once per day. Let me tell you, Risperdal works amazingly, but at the moment it makes me feel VERY drowsy. I guess that's why my doc put me on it at nightime. Haha. Anyways, I'm doing and feeling much better than I was before and I know that this is only the beginning of it! A couple of times, I have wondered if I'm only normal, and I'm not Bipolar, but as with a lot of people who get diagnosed with Bipolar think, I thought I wanted to go off my meds. Then I realized that that would not be a good reason because I looked back on how chaotic my life was before treatment and that is enough to make me not want to stop my meds. Well, in a non-manic way, I can definitely say that I feel amazing and I am finally living my life the way I've been needing for as long as I can remember!

Jenna
XO