[LiteraryLark]

I've been diagnosed for over a year and I've had no real symptoms. The doctor says I definitely am because I had some slight mania right after getting out of the hospital and my grandmother is BP, but really I've been taking meds as prescribed and I've had no symptoms. It's weird. I've had ups and downs, but that's life, nothing relating to what I see here. It doesn't make sense to me. Should I ask the doctor again if I can be reevaluated? Our goal is to go completely off meds, but is it even worth being reevaluated? Idk, I just feel like there's a rational explanation as to why I suddenly became delusional at the hospital and that there isn't anything wrong with me.

Happy 4th of July!

[hamster-bamster]

There is a term "remission". Maybe you are in remission. There is a term also, "partial remission". I had partial remission periods - you are symtpomatic but functional, certainly not in hospital. The thing is, it is possible that you are in remission due to the medications, and in the absence of them, can become symptomatic again. You cannot tell without an experiment. I have read your posts about Harry Potter etc. and would say that you have SOMETHING - I cannot say what it is, of course, but there oughta be an explanation. If you can afford one, get a thorough neuropsychological eval. Good luck!

[BuggsBunny]

It's always worth a second opinion, especially if you have been asymptomatic since you got out of the hospital.

As for being BP with no symptoms, I am usually asymptomatic in the summer months, but heavily depressed in the winter months. Of course, this is while taking my meds, so it is likely my meds mask any summer symptoms.

If you have been medicated since you got out of the hospital is it likely that your symptoms, too, are masked by the meds, if you are indeed bipolar.

[~Christina]

Of course get a 2nd opinion even a 3rd ..

I saw my Tdoc last week and he asked me about the hallucinations and how I thought my meds were working . I said I dont know if the meds are working or not.... Then I realized the hallucinations were gone

He said often people dont realize that a medication is working until you sit back and really think about it ..

I do not like taking medications for Bipolar at all ... But.... apparently for me they are working to some degree so for now I will continue to take them

Good Luck and I hope you can get some answers

[Confusedinomicon]

About once every 1 1/2 months I have a meltdown. However, since the beginning of this year I've stopped having persistent symptoms that are detrimental to my ability to function.

I have heard for some people that they can go into remission for 10-15 years before they have another episode. Some people only ever have 1 episode. I think you need to try to go off the medication and wait a month since most meds hit you with withdrawal when you taper down. You should probably see a pdoc every 2 weeks in that case, since withdrawal symptoms can look like bipolar symptoms and you want to be watched. However, it's hard to find doctors who will agree to this. :\

[Lil Ant Lady]

i guess its possible your medication is doing the job. you might find that when you come off of them you start getting it all back again. id personally taper down the meds and watch yourself for a few months under the care of your doc and if things still are fine then ask for a re-evaluation of diagnosis xx

[Victoria'smom]

I can not tell my mood shifts because it's daily life to me. This same is true with my husband. Quite honestly I can't tell my husband's mood changes either. Mood changes usually are gradual. So it's harder to tell unless completely out of control for immediate family members. That's why therapy is so important.

My parents use to tell me I didn't need help when I was younger. 12 yrs. out of there house, I went to visit, and ran out of medication. My mom was on the phone 4 or more times a day trying to get it refilled. I wasn't worried at all, I didn't need the meds and could get them when I returned home. I guess she now agrees that I should be medicated.

They had a horrible time with my evaluation because phase like "When did this start?"and "Do you have delusions, or hallucination?" Were met with a blank stare and shrug. "Do you have strange thoughts or see things?" were met with "How am I suppose to know they're my thoughts?"

What has really helped me is an mood/event/thought chart. My chart also includes mood intensity, hours slept, notes daily, overall daily mood after evaluating what moods I had that day. Along with monthly over all mood, and monthly average nights slept. It sounds like a lot but once you get use to it it's not. There would be no other way I'd know over all I've been depressed for a little over 2 months.

If you think another evaluation would help then get one.

[moremi]

Originally Posted by Confusedinomicon

About once every 1 1/2 months I have a meltdown. However, since the beginning of this year I've stopped having persistent symptoms that are detrimental to my ability to function.

I have heard for some people that they can go into remission for 10-15 years before they have another episode. Some people only ever have 1 episode. I think you need to try to go off the medication and wait a month since most meds hit you with withdrawal when you taper down. You should probably see a pdoc every 2 weeks in that case, since withdrawal symptoms can look like bipolar symptoms and you want to be watched. However, it's hard to find doctors who will agree to this. :\

I think this is what I do and I think I am fine and normal again and then I stop the meds then three weeks later I hit the couch and remember, oh yeah... I have to take meds for a reason....

I have just done this. I was sure I was just fine and didnt need my meds. I even convinced my husband I didnt need them. Not so.... Three weeks later Im on the couch depressed feeling empty and lost again. Could this be withdrawl or is this depression coming back? How do we know the difference?

[cocoabeans]

I don't have symptoms most of the time.

I'm not on medication currently and don't really think any of my recent experiences are definitely bipolar symptoms.

I'm not sure I really have bipolar disorder, yes I've had symptoms but, I'm not sure that what I've experienced is outside of the realm of normal or if it is, that it requires anything. I question that bipolar disorder even exists.

[Resident Bipolar]

Originally Posted by DrSkipper

but really I've been taking meds as prescribed and I've had no symptoms.

There's your answer.
Meds are there for a reason.

RB ♥

[Travelinglady]

I can't say I might not have ANY symptoms, but I have gone for several years along the way without a major problem severe enough to send me to the hospital. It's been over a year and a half so far since I've had such a problem this go around . Yes, I do take meds. I tried it without them for several months, with my doc's permission, and started going seriously downhill....

Working with a doc, I think it's worth a try. And I certainly believe in second opinions. I even started with a new doc several years ago and asked that my records from the previous one not be sent to her!

[Trippin2.0]

My cycling slowed down significantly 2 months after I quit my meds. These days, I hardly have 'fullblown' symptoms. Usually just hints that I'm slightly off balance. Last fullblown depression was in March. An ever present symptom is insomnia, my life-long friend it seems. I'd get a 2nd opinion, just to be sure the heavy duty meds are neccessary...

[EverythingNothing]

Getting another opinion, as suggested, would be worth it. But I also think you should be very careful if you do decide to do something drastic such as come off meds. The thing about stability is that it's taken for granted by many people (I know this is true for myself).

Who knows, you could be lucky and not need any meds at all. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. I know for myself that even cutting back on my meds during late winter resulted in anything but stability.

[BipolaRNurse]

Bipolar with no symptoms.......sounds like Heaven to me right now. Coming off antidepressants as I am, it feels like the disorder has come roaring back after hiding in some dark place, away from me, for a few blessed weeks. There are times when I go for months without radical mood shifts, but the past couple of years have been very busy mood-wise and I'm pretty battered, so I'd love a break from it!

[Confusedinomicon]

Originally Posted by moremi

I think this is what I do and I think I am fine and normal again and then I stop the meds then three weeks later I hit the couch and remember, oh yeah... I have to take meds for a reason....

I have just done this. I was sure I was just fine and didnt need my meds. I even convinced my husband I didnt need them. Not so.... Three weeks later Im on the couch depressed feeling empty and lost again. Could this be withdrawl or is this depression coming back? How do we know the difference?

I think your medications are working. Your goal should be reducing medication so it's still effective, but in less quantity if that is possible for you. If you have the right coping mechanisms, it helps in the elimination of medication.