[estimated prophet]

I was diagnosed about a year ago as Bipolar 1. Before that i spent about 4 years on Ciliex Welbutrin and Xanax as having depression and anxiety. I am how on lithium Seroquel and Xanax. It has aeemed like an uphill battle tweaking and changing my medicines. I feel like everytime i start to feel better it comes back and hits me again. I have mainly almost free of depression, but the mania keeps coming back. Finally the seroquel has been keeping me mellow for about 4 weeks. Does this game ever stop?

[Direction]

Welcome! Being the med guinea pig can really be tough. One thing to consider is to look at other coping strategies to help. So maybe meds can get you part of the way and other strategies such as symptom recognition, symptom management, etc can get you even closer to your goal of managing this. Accepting that a certain amount of ebb and flow of the ups and downs will happen regardless of the meds can be of great help. One of my newest strategies is I started using oil pastels this year

[AbeIsAbe]

I just started to be a "med guinea pig" as Direction put it. My fear is that this will continue longer. I think Direction has a good suggestion and that it may be part medication, part coping skills. I, in my area, have groups that I can go to. There is one in particular that I am starting in a week or two that is called DBT (dialectical behavior therapy). It's going to teach me how to cope with my emotions. you should look into the possibilities in your area.

[estimated prophet]

Thanks for the insight. I have definately been working on and getting better with symptom recognition. Its funny, because a few days before i start my mania episodes i get very creative. Then it happens. Ha. Thank you for the advice.