Quote:
Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse
Your Lamictal dose is small to start with. They have to titrate up slowly due to the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (I'm sure your pdoc explained this). By contrast, I'm on the "whoa dude, that's really high" dose and am basically maxed out at 400 mg.
Glad you went in and got some answers. FWIW, I think your pdoc is right on with the diagnosis. It may change as time goes by and symptoms wax and wane; I started out with bipolar NOS and ended up being diagnosed bipolar 1 during a severe depressive episode, which is not usually when a person's BP dx gets "upgraded". I think my IP pdoc must have gone through my records and seen evidence that my manias met the criteria for BP 1. But even if he pulled that diagnosis out of his arse, three more mental health care providers did study my history and re-diagnosed me with it three more times, so I guess I'd better start believing it. LOL
Please do keep us informed of your progress. There's a pretty steep learning curve with this illness, so read everything you can about it. Participate in studies if you can and you're sure everything is above board. And of course, talk to us anytime---we've all been there, done that, and we continue to fight this beast every day. Hugs.
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Hmm, should I be concerned if my pdoc didn't explain anything about my meds? In fact, I think all she said was "this is to help you sleep, and this is to help with the manias and depression". To be fair, I did push my 1 hour appointment into 2 hours and she missed lunch, so I was being pushed out the door.
Thank you, I am glad too. Thanks for the second opinion on my diagnosis. I did have it in my mind that I'd be classified bipolar I with the intense (couple of) (short) manias, but her diagnosis makes sense to me. I spend a lot of my time depressed these days with a few spurts of increase goal oriented activities and a lot of irritability. I'm just glad that I've not had to legitimately go IP. I have this fear about losing my freedom, even for 72 hours. (Being imprisoned in your own mind certainly doesn't help with that, but hey, at least it's my own mind and not someone else's :P ).
I certainly will! Thank you for your support. I feel like I've read a whole lot about bipolar disorder already, but I also know that I've only scratched the surface. I think BD is as diverse as people themselves. I guess all I really know about it is my own experiences. Thank you for taking the time to level with me on mine
Be well, and thanks!
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Diagnosed as having Bipolar II on 25 Oct 2017
Taking: Risperidone 1 mg, Lamotrigine 25 mg
Riding on the bipolarcoaster since 1983