For those with bipolar 1 ?

Those of you with Bipolar 1 , when you hit hypomania how long does this usually last for you before you hit full blown mania, if at all? And also, were you able to tell when you were going to high, or did you have no insight into this. If you did have insight, what were the tell tale signs for you?

I am hypomanic now, but for the life of me cannot recall how long it lasts before I am in real trouble (I know different person to person), I want to enjoy it a little but am also scared I am in for another ugly ride.

Thanks so much,
Anika

And why the heck am I taking so many meds if I am up for months then down for a month then back up, I mean five years of this and still not stable. I know I "need" to take them , but this is getting silly, tweeking here and there and all over the place. I am not seeing the benefit right now. I could do this on no meds.

And sorry if you guys are all sick of my lately, I am just going through some weird times, and I am pretty lonely, I feel like this place is my saving grace right now. thanks you so so so much, Anika

In the beginning of Aug. hypomania started and lasted about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Sometimes I was aware that I was hypomanic and sometimes not. However when it changed to mania that was unfamiliar for me since this was my first true manic episode.

I knew something was very wrong, because I would cry from frustration, had anxiety, disorganized thinking, was EXTREMELY irritable, very forgetful, staying up late, losing weight and so on. My Pdoc increased my med slightly 2 times and I managed to work for about 2 weeks as the symptoms went from mild-moderate to severe. Then one day I woke up, showered for work and just sat there paralyzed...I knew I could not work or if I tried I may get fired, so I called my husband or he called me?? I told him I was in trouble, could not go to work and didn't trust myself (I had a suicide attempt in 2009) and that was it we made the decision that I should go to the hospital.

Even at the hospital with meds increased 2-3 times the mania continued, but I was safe. So, I've learned from this that if I know I'm hypomanic then intervention must begin then, not once I have full blown mania. I think once the mania has taken over it must be way harder to control at that point... Live and learn.

My hypomania usually turns into a mixed episode if I don't do anything about it. It is tricky because I think I have depression, but there is so much energy involved. When I get hypomanic, I can feel it now that I have a diagnosis and some awareness and I usually tell my husband and therapist so that they can intervene before things get bad.

My hypomania usually lasts for a day or a few, then subsides. Exception being summer of '09 when I went into a manic period for 9 weeks and this fall, where I'm having a mixed episode (reminiscent of fall of '02) ever since returning from LA around September 5th. I'm depressed, but accomplishing a lot. Superficially functioning, but I feel dead inside and almost at the end of my rope.

My Bipolar is basically 80% depression, 20% mania. But for the two major manic episodes I have had in the past, my hypomania probably lasted about a week, slowly becoming more severe with the addition of paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. I did not have very much insight at all, and it ended up with a suicide attempt. (Not because I was depressed, but due to a big delusion I was having at the time). I had to be hospitalized, of course, and once I was taken off prozac (it had triggered the manic episode), I came down slowly.

Medication can be frustrating because of all the combos that don't work, but hang in there. I too thought I'd never find the right meds, but I finally found them in May and they've been working pretty good since then. I hope you're able to find your right "cocktail" of meds as soon as possible!

(((((Anika))))) I'm really sorry you're struggling with loneliness. I wish I could help.
As for time on hypomania, I honestly don't know. I feel a stressed tension in me most of the time. When I told my pdoc about a recent dreamy suicidal impulse she told me it was manic psychosis. I had no idea I was manic until she told me.

Sorry I chopped up your post, I did it so I could remember to respond to all the things I thought of while reading it......

The last time this happened to me, I was hypo for 3 days. I cannot tell the signs when it phases into manic because I'm too busy hoping it'll stay and won't turn into mania. I can only tell when I've hit manic.

If you've been with the same psychiatrist for these past 5 years, maybe you should seek a second opinion.

We are not sick of you. This forum would be slightly boring, with much less posts to respond to if you weren't posting. And you obviously (by what you say) need support and have questions.... Thats the whole point of this place!

My hypomanic occurances usually last a week to a week and a half. For the most part I generally only get them when my pdoc changes my meds or such. They don't happen very often these days. I guess that's good but I kind of miss having those periods of time where it feels like the world is smiling at me.