Quote:
Originally Posted by June08
@ Blue_Bird and @ MuddyBoots I'm not sure how you feel about birth control, or if your body would tolerate it, but one of the best things I did for my bipolar management was start taking it. Every month, I would become hypomanic a week or two before my period and then have a bad depressive crash once it started. I'd get 1-2 weeks of stability and then the whole process would start again. Since I started birth control this summer, I've only had one depressive episode (which was actually triggered by the first birth control med I tried) and one mixed episode. I haven't had this kind of stability since before I started having symptoms in 2019. |
I'm already on birth control. I was on Nexplanon for a while (the arm implant) which was actually great--didn't menstruate for almost four years--and then had a psychotic episode and got paranoid when I felt it in my arm in the shower so switched to an IUD which was absolutely horrendous. Horrible cramps, the worst mood swings ever related to my incredibly erratic cycle (I had a three week cycle for almost three months--was hospitalized four times, once involuntarily, in that period by the way--and then no bleeding for six months but crazy PMS symptoms randomly type of deal). So I had that for, I don't know, three years? Just switched back to Nexplanon in Sept. and haven't menstruated since although for a while I could tell I had a bit of a hormonal "cycle" (not a regular one still though) left that feels like it's calmed down a lot by now. I'm told usually it's the other way around where people love their IUDs but have nightmare experiences with the arm implant though.