[Rosie23]

I am newly diagnosed as BP so I have not been on meds for very long and currently only take 50 mg of lamictal and I have ativan for anxiety, but after learning what that drug is and how addicting it is, I decided that ativan isn't "help", so I am not taking it unless I have an actual panic attack.

But I have a problem with being emotionally stimulated, like a really fun outing with friends or family, and having it cause me to be anywhere from just a little hyper to hypo and even a low level of manic.
I kind of feel like I have to keep a lid on having a good time because I don't want to get out of hand. I tend to loose the filter on my mouth for starters and once I start talking I don't shut up.
I can always feel it happening, and I know where it is leading. But can't really stop it.
It is disappointing to know that I cannot really let my hair down and relax and enjoy myself the way other people do.

I am trying to be patient and I hope in time the lamictal works longer than it currently does. Right now it only gets me through my work day. Which I am very grateful for. When it wears off I get hypo and I would rather that be in the evening as I need to be very level for my job.

Does anyone else have this problem with this? Is it a part of being BP?

[AniManiac]

Well, from what I understand, Lamictal is better for bipolar depression than suppressing mania. So if you're having more hypo/manic symptoms than depressive symptoms, you might need a different med in the mix.

A bipolar friend of mine has a hard time with getting overstimulated. She has had to set a really strict daily schedule for meals and sleep, and a restricted diet as well, to keep things in check for herself. Hopefully you won't need to do that!

Do take it easy with the benzos - my pdoc won't even give me them. Guess I must raise one too many warning flags or something. The stuff I have for anxiety is practically useless and makes me too groggy to make it worthwhile unless I'm hysterical (which honestly never happens.)

[SunAngel]

I definitely happens to me.

Whenever I am having a really good time, I get really hypo. Even when I am in a waiting room at an appt., I talk to everyone and lose my brain to mouth filter and give them TMI.

My pdoc laughs at me because I am so open about things, but I don't get embarrassed because I cannot help it and am hoping that will just think I am very friendly, lol.

Originally Posted by Rosie23

... I have ativan for anxiety, but after learning what that drug is and how addicting it is, I decided that ativan isn't "help", so I am not taking it unless I have an actual panic attack...
But I have a problem with being emotionally stimulated, like a really fun outing with friends or family, and having it cause me to be anywhere from just a little hyper to hypo and even a low level of manic.
I kind of feel like I have to keep a lid on having a good time because I don't want to get out of hand. I tend to loose the filter on my mouth for starters and once I start talking I don't shut up.
Does anyone else have this problem with this? Is it a part of being BP?

That's a good strategy for the ativan. I have alprazolam (Xanax) to use PRN, and I'm stingy with it too. And if I'm home, even if I have a panic attack, I try to ride it out. (Mantra to self: "This can't actually kill me! It just feels like it!" Lol.)

Yes, I can get very wound up with activities. Sometimes obnoxiously so. I don't try to rein it in all that much. You know what I say about the filter? When it's not working, I say, "The gatekeeper's away!" Haha. Which... well, sometimes it's very funny, and sometimes it's just downright embarrasing. I have a really bad tendency to say unintended double entendres. Which can also sometimes be funny, but at work? Not so great! When I do catch myself (just as it starts coming out of my mouth, and not a second before!) I say, "TG the gatekeeper caught that one!"

[Rosie23]

Thanks! It is nice to know that I am not alone. It is frustrating though. I could use the ativan to control things like this, but it isn't worth it. If it doesn't get better as I increase my meds I will say something to my pdoc.

Just yesterday I had it happen and it took about 3 hours to calm down and I know where it is going and it sucks. I can't sit still but I am crashing too and I end up depressed and manic at the same time and all it takes is just the right trigger and I have a meltdown. I think that is a mixed episode?

Thanks for the feedback it is nice to know that I am not alone with that.

[AniManiac]

It does take me about 2 hours to calm down enough after a social event before I can sleep, and that actually does have a lot to do with hypomania for me (don't get enough sleep because I was out late socializing and in a different time zone to boot!)

Hard to know from your description if that's a mixed episode, but it's rough going in any case. Good luck with getting meds to work out - eventually most of us seem to find something that helps. You're still on quite a low dose for Lamictal so it may continue to improve as you titrate up on it.

[tcmoon52]

This is exactly what happens to me. I get excited then hypo manic and periodically I really take over every conversation. For me , I don't realize it until I am two thirds of the way through the evening. tom

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Rosie23

But I have a problem with being emotionally stimulated, like a really fun outing with friends or family, and having it cause me to be anywhere from just a little hyper to hypo and even a low level of manic.
I kind of feel like I have to keep a lid on having a good time because I don't want to get out of hand. I tend to loose the filter on my mouth for starters and once I start talking I don't shut up.
I can always feel it happening, and I know where it is leading. But can't really stop it.
It is disappointing to know that I cannot really let my hair down and relax and enjoy myself the way other people do.

I am trying to be patient and I hope in time the lamictal works longer than it currently does. Right now it only gets me through my work day. Which I am very grateful for. When it wears off I get hypo and I would rather that be in the evening as I need to be very level for my job.

Does anyone else have this problem with this? Is it a part of being BP?

Well, I have no advice on Lamictal. I was on it started 25 mg dose, then they put me up to 50 mg and I got hives. Thank goodness they were not the the really dangerous hives or they caught it fast enough. Either way, I didn't get to take it long enough to know.

But, emotional stimulation causing you to swing either way are triggers. And anything can be a trigger. For me, too much emotional stimulation either way triggers me. And it takes me forever to switch back or sometimes I don't switch at all for days. Depends on what it is. One thing my husband is really good at it grounding me, even though he doesn't know it (even though I tell him.) Like if I get upset and I talk to him my disorganized mind is grasping at too many things at once. Talking to him he is more able to see the important parts and points them out to me. Or if I'm starting to be too hyper he lets me know. Ironic when the person with ADD has clearer focus than you do. LOL

I have the talking problem, too. Pressured speech! Hurray! I tell myself "I'm not going to talk too much today. I'm not going to talk too fast. I'm going to stay on topic while talking." It only works when I'm depressed or closer to the middle. Even the slightest hint of mania and I can't shut up.

[bluemountains]

Yes, I have this same problem, and I find that the more hypomanic I am, the more I tend to ramble before thinking.

Unfortunately, this evening I am quite hypomanic, and I had to serve communion at church. As the people came through the line, I found myself accidentally adding a few extra comments, especially to the children. I hope that I didn't offend anyone! I knew I was in trouble when I could not sit still throughout any of the service, and I had purposely tried to avoid being a volunteer, but I got a text message asking me to do it yesterday.

Now I am trying to come down and settle enough to play Santa. Plus, the inlaws are here, so I have to try to maintain a calm demeanor. My chest is hurting from the stress!

bluemountains

[nacht]

I definitely become hypomanic when overstimulated. Christmas week is actually a great example of that for me, in fact, because it happens every year without fail. This one has been no exception. I was fine the first couple of days, got all my chores done, was able to get some bills out of the way, and baking, but then yesterday and the day before that my productivity was gone and my brain was off to the races. All that energy just devolved into marathon pacing, or as my boyfriend put it, "Go find something to do, you're about to wear a hole in the carpet!" I was talking loud and fast at my family's gathering last night, saying things I knew full well were completely inappropriate in front of the little ones... thank goodness everyone else had had a bit to drink, because I was the only person who noticed, I think. I took a Restoril last night knowing I'd need it and I'm actually glad I did. This is the first Christmas in five years that I haven't been up at 3am pacing around my boyfriend's mother's home whispering to myself nonstop and trying to find something to do while waiting on everyone else to wake up (and that is a loooooong wait when you know no one else in the house will be up before 8am).

[unaluna]

IS there a cure for this, besides a dog muzzle? Or "mindfulness"? I used to say I have two speeds, "fast", and "off".

[bluemountains]

[QUOTE=hankster;2163193]IS there a cure for this, besides a dog muzzle? Or "mindfulness"? I used to say I have two speeds, "fast", and "off".[/QUOTE

I'd like to know this answer, too. I get so tired of going double-speed, explaining my dumb comments with more dumb comments.

[theGirlNextDorm]

It's been interesting reading all this, because even though I am bipolar 1, my symptoms are so well controlled on lithium that I don't really have any manic symptoms that I notice. My mom says she can, though. It's kind of annoying, because even though I've always occasionally spoken fast, ever since I went manic last spring she'll badger me about the slightest increase in how much I'm talking or if I'm too happy. This is just at home, too; when I'm in public, I do the "in-public" self-check. In regards to your problem (sorry I kind of ranted there), is there anything else you can try taking? Lithium, perhaps? I tend to recommend it because it works so well for me.

[AniManiac]

Originally Posted by hankster

IS there a cure for this, besides a dog muzzle? Or "mindfulness"? I used to say I have two speeds, "fast", and "off".

Funny, I've literally had people say, "you never turn off, do you?"

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by theGirlNextDorm

Iis there anything else you can try taking? Lithium, perhaps?

Thanks! I think it's contraindicated for me right now because of my other health issues, but as I resolve those, I will keep this in mind. A good friend of mine takes it, so I have a reference there. I HATE the way my family give each other these knowing looks, and how other people will egg me on. I also just hate the feeling of losing it like that. I worry sometimes here on PC, if people think I'm drunk (I'm not). Maybe if I could carry around a tranquilizer gun, the way some people do an epi-pen...

[MissMousey]

I am a total babble mouth too!!!, When hypomanic (which seems to be triggered by stress...positive or negative...) I start the ramble...the babble and the crazy jumping from one topic to the next which makes perfect sense to me but makes it difficult for others to follow along on my crazy train of thought! Sometimes I talk so fast it's hard for people to even get the jest of what I am saying at all and it only frustrates me when I get that glazed over "HUH" look followed by the "pardon me"...grrrrrrrrrrr...come one people...get with the program here and just smile and nod! LOL...at least I try to laugh at myself but it is quite sad to be like this and not have control. I sometimes just leave...and go have a good cry! I hate being this way! I know people think I am odd...how is it that I can go from not saying a word (withdrawn and depressed) to total crazy psycho babble??? People find me difficult to cope with for the most part...I have limited relationships...and I understand why. I can't stand me most of the time...lol!!! I've found the holidays have been a huge stressor for me. Triggers, TRIGGERS...OH and more TRIGGERS!!!
I am on Lamictal 500mg, Seroquel 500mg, Abilify 5mg (just started this one half tablet nightly) and Clonazepam as needed for anxiety and extreme irate rage moments! I am not sure how this cocktail is working...(I think the psychiatrist is trying to swap out the Seroquel for Abilify) so far...not liking how I feel...but I've not been feeling well for a long time! I want the hallucinations to STOP!!!

[unaluna]

A friend of mine for over 30 years says I am the only person he has ever known who interrupts HERSELF!

Originally Posted by MissMousey

...When hypomanic ...I start the ramble...the babble and the crazy jumping from one topic to the next which makes perfect sense to me but makes it difficult for others to follow along on my crazy train of thought! Sometimes I talk so fast it's hard for people to even get the jest of what I am saying at all and it only frustrates me when I get that glazed over "HUH" look followed by the "pardon me"...grrrrrrrrrrr...come one people...get with the program here and just smile and nod! LOL...... I know people think I am odd...how is it that I can go from not saying a word (withdrawn and depressed) to total crazy psycho babble??? People find me difficult to cope with for the most part...I have limited relationships...and I understand why. I can't stand me most of the time...lol!!! ...

I could have written this. Come on people, keep up! Sooo slow-witted! Are they stupid or something?! This is brilliant stuff!
Oh yes. The Look.

Originally Posted by hankster

A friend of mine for over 30 years says I am the only person he has ever known who interrupts HERSELF!

Hahaha! I do this a LOT too! Do it in writing too... rabbit trail, loop around, rabbit trail, loop around...as you've all probably noticed and been annoyed by.
I call it parenthetical talking (or writing). I know these thoughts don't belong in the main story, but have to say/write them! (So into parentheses they go!) My mind is too crowded.
Severely depressed this happens much less because it's hard enough to string a thought together.
It's very annoying sometimes to appear as two very different people. It confuses others for sure.

[unaluna]

LOL! (then you start nesting the parentheses, [using the square ones, {then the brackets inside the squares} then trying to keep track] and is this in The Elements of Style?). Yet Robin Williams gets paid big bucks for doing the same darn thing on stage.

I can totally keep up with him. This is probably a frightening thing.

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by innerzone

i can totally keep up with him. This is probably a frightening thing.

lol that should be a diagnosis right there!!! you have me crying-laughing!