[Secretum]

i read an interesting research article a few days ago (would post a link, but you'd have to pay to read it. It was free for me through my university's subscription) on mood lability in bipolar II. Apparently, the researchers discovered that frequent mood swings could be used as a screening test for bipolar II in people with depression.

Subjects with BP II and unipolar MDD were asked whether these statements applied to them:
1. "My mood often changes from happiness to sadness without my knowing why."
2."I have frequent ups and downs in mood, with and without apparent cause."

Those with BP II were significantly more likely to admit to frequent mood swings. People with BPD were excluded from the study (because mood lability is already a well-known symptom of that disorder) so the rapid mood changes in the BP II subjects were not due to co-morbid borderline disorder.

I feel that this study explains a lot. Looking across the last several years, I have periods of several months when I was mostly depressed, other periods when I had more energy and was very productive and confident, and still other periods when I was somewhere in the middle. This seems like classic, slow-cycling bipolar.

BUT, if you "zoom in" on any given period of mood, you'll find moments, days, even weeks of symptoms of the opposite mood blended in. Zoom in even further, sometimes, and you'll see me switch from up to down to up again within a five minute span! This had really confused me: do I have a mostly ultradian, ultra rapid, rapid, or slow cycling pattern?!? I have cycles on top of cycles!
And apparently, this is normal.
Does anyone else find that they have mood swings within their normal cycling pattern?

Yes I do . I think I always have residual lingering symptoms that never completely clear either, and I have read about this somewhere once. I have "messy" Bipolar 1, and that's what I'm gonna start calling it.

[BlackPup]

definitely agree on the cycles within cycles. I don't have to go fully hypomanic to get a rebound depression
I've found it happens particularly when I'm changing meds - my brain and the meds are sort of fighting it out for who wins in the end....
Anika - I like the term messy too.... I use it too, when things are a bit mixed up - I don't like using "mixed" cos it refers to a specific condition where as messy is what ever I want it to mean

[Forgive77]

I am also a hodge podge of symptoms. I cycle within cycles too. I don't really fit in a box either. I have never read the article, but have often wondered if there was something called a cycle within a cycle. This was really cool to know.

[Capriciousness]

That is so interesting. Yes. I relate very much. Messy cycling.

[Secretum]

I like the term "messy bipolar" too. It describes my condition very accurately. And I can definitely relate to having lingering symptoms, especially lingering depressive symptoms.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one riding this roller coaster.