Quote:
Originally Posted by 251turnaround
I get really talkative, outgoing, fast, and exuberant. I feel like I'm on drugs and can do anything because I'm convinced I'm the most awesome person on the planet. I dissociate sometimes and lose control over what I'm saying or doing which is kinda scary. Paranoia creeps in and I've thought cops were staking out my house. It didn't really feel all that severe to me despite what my doctors and family say. I ended up in the hospital for a bit last time because of it but at no point was I completely incoherent or hallucinating like crazy. As for psychosis, it's pretty mild for me and can happen after episodes. I mostly hear talking, sometimes screeching (hard to describe), see visual distortions like breathing walls or seeing steam come off my hands. The talking in my head is bad enough that I couldn't sleep. Nonstop chatter.
But yeah it's pretty mild overall. I don't know why I'm diagnosed type 1 to be honest.
Again, it's all really mild.
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Even if your mania hasn't been dangerous, it doesn't sound mild. The problem is that if you have had full blown mania with psychosis, that someday if not treated properly (or at all) it
could become dangerous or cause significant ramifications. People with hypomania generally do not hallucinate or have paranoia to the point of needing hospitalization. It's possible that you don't have full insight into your behavior during the time you describe.
Lithium is a traditional first medication for people with bipolar type 1. In that case, it's not generally considered particularly "hardcore", but that's not saying it isn't a serious medication with potentially serious issues attached to it, for some people. I will say that my assumption about clozapine is that it is often a last resort medication because of the risks and need for frequent blood testing. Invega seems to be more commonly prescribed, from my observation.
As fern wrote, antipsychotics are very common for people prone to mania. I see many even with bipolar 2 regularly taking them. In any case, ideally we want to be on the fewest medications possible that are still effective, and the most side effect friendly (or tolerable). Many psychiatrists like patients to have a good length of time stable before cutting down medications. How long have you been stable?