[ilazria]

Bipolar seems to be like an emotional equivalent to diabetes. You can't just take a pill and make it go away. My sister is a diabetic, and I see many parallels in how my moods have to be handled and how her sugars have to be controlled.

She has a long acting insulin to help smooth the peaks and dips in her sugars. I have a mood stabilizer to help reduce how often and how high or low my moods go. These alone don't completely prevent fluctuations in either of us.

She has a fast acting insulin she uses multiple times a day, to help further bring her sugars into the healthy range. If she's really low, she eats something and takes less or none of the fast acting insulin, to help bring her sugar back up. I take ADHD medicine daily to combat the fatigue, fog and apathy that seems to be an almost constant element, no matter what mood I'm in. Sometimes, when I notice I'm having hypomanic symptoms, I can skip the ADHD meds, if it's so bad that taking it would only make it worse. I also have anti-anxiety meds to take when I need to, just as my sister has an emergency medicine in case her sugar drops so low that she needs to bring it back up FAST.

Both of our diseases are also affected by triggers. Her sugars can fluctuate depending on activity level, hormones, getting sick and other factors. Of course, she always has to follow her diet, in order to stay at optimal health. She can choose to have treats on occasion, but must take into account how that will affect her, and either adjust what else she eats, or how much insulin she takes, to compensate.

Similarly for me, activity, hormones, and illness, plus emotional triggers, sleep, and sunlight can affect my mood swings. The things I eat can also trigger mood swings. If I choose to drink alcohol or caffein, I know it will affect my moods. I have to be careful how much I drink, in order to keep the reactions minimal. In this case, tho, there really isn't any way to compensate. If I don't get a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals from the foods I eat, vitamin deficiencies can cause mood swings. Thankfully I can compensate for that by taking supplements.

Of course for both of us, blood work is important, and adjustments need to be made at times. We both have had to have doses adjusted, and medicines either changed, added or dropped due to various reasons. What works at one time may no longer work months or years later, and there isn't always a clear reason why.

I'm rapid cycling, so I feel like it works better to work holistically in controlling my moods. From what I see, most typical Bipolar meds are designed to work over a long term, with a blanket effect. This might work better for someone with Bipolar I or II, but it's obviously not working well for most of us who are rapid cycling. In any case, it seems like we all have peaks or dips still, and it doesn't sound right to me that we're just supposed to expect it and deal with it.

Just as there are different severities in diabetics, there are those of us with different severities in Bipolar. Some diabetics have to check their sugars multiple times a day, and make frequent adjustments to their medicine according to their sugar levels. Other diabetics can take a pill once a day, or just keep an eye on what they eat, and be fine. Some of us can take one or two pills, and that's enough. Others can try pill after pill, but while it might work a little, it's not enough.

Does this make sense to anyone else? Does anyone else do this to handle their mood swings?

[Amazonmom]

I am a total wimp who has never asked her NP what kind of bipolar I've got...(I assumed 2 because of the lack of full mania, and the fact that my disorder is dominated by depression).

I really like your comparison. I found it really helpful in realizing that I am not some freak because my mood regulator is broken. I am not a bad person because of bipolar. I do have to manage my disorder the best I can, or it will manage me.

[gravyyy]

This is awesome ilazria. Thanks for making having bipolar seem less "in my head."

[BNLsMOM]

That's a really good comparison. I just wish I could prick my finger and look at my blood to see which mood I am in. I tend to have mixed episodes which are hard to figure out.

What you wrote is very good, and I think it will help a lot of people reduce the stigma about bipolar. Would you consider sharing it with others outside the bipolar community?

[ilazria]

I'll share it with anyone who wants to listen to it. Not sure who else to share it with, tho :P I've just had this mental image of it in my head for a while, and figured if anyone might understand what I was talking about, it would be here.

[VickiesPath]

Outstanding, ilazria!

[cybermember]

Love the analogy! It all makes sense.

[Dave255]

Good post.

What ADHD med do you take?

I was prescriped strattera a could years ago, it made me a little tired. I should try it again sometime as meds sometimes don't work for me and than work again later, the opposite happens too.

[ilazria]

Originally Posted by Dave255

Good post.

What ADHD med do you take?

I was prescriped strattera a could years ago, it made me a little tired. I should try it again sometime as meds sometimes don't work for me and than work again later, the opposite happens too.

I take Vyvanse. I'd say it's been the one med I've taken that's given me the most improvement. I don't think it would be good to take it without mood stabalizers to balance it out. But, it does wake me up each day, which is a major problem for me when I don't take it. When I don't have Vyvanse, it's nearly impossible for me to be awake or alert until at least 11am, no matter how early I go to bed. Even then, once I'm "awake" I'm still heavily fatigued until about 3 in the afternoon. This was just unacceptable for me, since I have 2 kids. I could get myself to wake up just enough to give them breakfast, and to change diapers a couple of times. Otherwise, I was on the couch, sleeping. With Vyvanse, I'm awake, and alert. I have more mental clarity, tho I'm noticing some "tolerance" forming. But I can function more, which I just can't do without it.

The other bonus is that it's curbed my appetite. Before, I would eat and eat and always feel hungry. Now I can take reasonable portions of food, and snack less. I also don't crave "junk" as much.

[birdcrazy]

I take Lamictal, but I don't think about controlling my moods very much, even though I probably should, because when I get sad, I get too sad, when I get angry, I get too angry even on the meds, etc...

I don't know what type I have, and the doctors don't either. They are not even sure what mental illness I really have, because my symptoms are so well... not consistent with anything out there.

[thinker22]

That was the most detailed analysis I've read about Bipolar and another comparable disease. Most of the time the books or blogs just say, "It's like diabetes or having a broken leg or heart disease." They don't follow the similes though. Nice comparison to the T.

I have bipolar type one. I saw my P-doc write down my diagnostic code on some paperwork I have for a blood draw. I looked it up and it seems that BP I, most recent episode mixed, without psychotic features is my current diagnosis. I'm probably also rapid cycling though. Not sure. Usually mostly one or the other with a day or two of reprieve in a larger episode.

Brain chemistry, like blood chemistry is a tangible source/potential for illness. We cannot ignore it any more than the diabetic. Well done.