[bjames]

I am in the middle of crisis right now, so I'm sure I'm being affected by this. My grandfather died over the weekend. I was already hypomanic a week before that. It had seemed that it was over with by Friday because I was in a remarkably down mood for that whole day and night. He died on Saturday. I have felt so many alternating feelings since then, I don't know if him dying could have re-triggered more mania feelings or if this is grief like I've never experienced before, or what. I couldn't reach the doc Monday and slept almost all of yesterday's business hours, so he doesn't know what's going on with me yet. I'm flipping moods like a fish out of water. From crying to feeling like I'm climbing out of my skin to utter calm and then back again. But the real question is is it abnormal to have a manic episode the first week of December (which the doc did nothing about, so I didn't call last week when it started again) and then to have another one so soon? When I've been pretty much only on the depressed side of things for a full year previous? And did I go back into hypomanic state again? Is that likely from stress? I know we aren't docs but I'm mostly wanting to know if any behavior like this has happened to others and if so, how did you manage it?
I'm sorry, I'm kind of rambly...I am feeling hyper and haven't been to sleep all night. My thoughts are all scattered.

[Darth Bane]

you are supposed to feel bad right now... sleeping business hours,facing grief,feeling down everyone will do that if they were in your position.... perhaps its normal, eat something healthy... if you don't eat your body wont get what it needs and it will screw up your brain chemistry... being bipolar we just cant afford that... and you need to adjust your sleeping schedule to normal immediately... its another trigger for depression ...

i really hope my bipolar doesn't evolve... i always try to be in good mood... but it is continuous effort... effort not to think negative thoughts... sometimes my head hurts... but, what will be will be.... if only we could do something about it... its funny how much helpless we are sometimes... and call your pdoc immediately... when depressed we tend to postpone things...

[bjames]

Yes, I am great at procrastinating calling the pdoc. I don't know why. I am waiting for business hours to open and then I am calling him. Dealing with all my symptoms seems too much sometimes and I just want to hide my head in the sand...

[Tiger_Lily]

My experiences of bipolar have changed over the years. At the beginning, I found it difficult to identify the causes of my mood swings. Sometimes I could identify a cause, sometimes I couldn't. It left me with only basic functioning and sometimes not even that.

Eventually I agreed to take meds, that affected my mood swings as well. I was rapidly cycling, which was new for me. I tended to go on and off the meds, but it cause impairment, as well suicidal ideation and aborted attempts, each time.

When I got to the point where I was suicidal, despite the fact the my life was good, I decided to agree with any treatment my pdoc recommended. It lead to new meds, which I finally took consistently. I was pretty stable for years, and my mood swings were triggered by identifiable triggers.

I'm triggered quite consistently now, because I decided to go back to university, but I am OK. My bipolar evolved, negatively and finally positively. I would recommend to keep trying the treatments your pdoc or T recommends. Depression and bipolar are treatable.

Psychiatrists go with the meds, meds, meds, and rarely discuss changes in the diet that are very likely a large part of the mood swings and depression, especially .

I had to get pro-active in my care before things really began to resolve. One of the
biggest helpful effects for me is recognizing when I am becoming agitated, irritable, or having bouts of insomnia. Two lemons, squeezed into 8 oz of water help that.
(If it hasn't worked in 4 hours, repeat the process; that should alleviate the strong
agitation and irritability, as well as insomnia, for some. (There's a rational reason
for use of the lemon, but that's a subject for another time. Right now, you need help.)

Recently, the work of Dr. David Williams called Wheat Belly offers a way to help
the symptoms of bipolar illness (that and Omega 3 fatty acids). That book is really an eye-opener about the effects that wheat has on our systems, including mood swings, depression, insomnia, etc. It just goes on and on. When we get sick enough from the meds, then it's time to do some serious thinking on our own about how to improve our physical well-being. (It isn't just wheat; it's barley, rye, and possibly oats--any grain
with gluten in it. It is the gluten, in part, that does a number on us.)

This illness can be virtually arrested by care of another type--meaning the diet changes that alter moods and mood swings.

No alcohol, please. Watch the intake of caffeine if you are sensitive to it. If you are, cut it out of your diet--that means no soda pops, coffee, tea, chocolate, or anything else containing caffeine. Cut way back on wheat; if you can, eliminate it altogether.
(The quality of your nutrition is not diminished by removing wheat from your diet; you may easily supplement by adding raw nuts, seeds, green vegetables to supplant the
vitamins and minerals contained in wheat.)

The best thing I can offer is to ask that you read Wheat Belly. If that doesn't change your mind about diet and its effects on mood swings, migraine headaches,
weight gain, sky-rocketing blood glucose levels, nothing will.

Take care of yourselves--meds treat the symptoms; they don't get to the cause.
Diet changes might help to do that.

Feel better soon.

[catsrhelm]

My grandfather died over the weekend. I think you could be in grief. Grief can trigger different feelings.
I couldn't reach the doc Monday and slept almost all of yesterday's business hours, so he doesn't know what's going on with me yet. I'm flipping moods like a fish out of water. From crying to feeling like I'm climbing out of my skin to utter calm and then back again. But the real question is is it abnormal to have a manic episode the first week of December (which the doc did nothing about, so I didn't call last week when it started again) and then to have another one so soon? When I've been pretty much only on the depressed side of things for a full year previous? And did I go back into hypomanic state again? Is that likely from stress? Yes hon, stress can do strange things to you.

I think that you are just a victim of bad body chemistry. I have to remind myself of that when I cycle into depression. You may want to talk to your doctor about either getting medicated or about how you have been feeling so that you can get properly medicated. You'll feel so much better once you are medicated right.
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[Odee]

I imagine the grief and stress with bipolar is just a terrible mixture causing any sort of unpredictable results. I don't know that it's necessarily that it is your condition evolving (although I imagine that it can over time) but so much that you're in a tough place right now with events in your life.

[~Christina]

I am sorry for your loss, anyone losing a loved one is going to feel down and will need time to grieve. calling your Pdoc may be a good idea.There is no pill that will take that grieving process away it's just something everyone must go through. You can do things to ease your grief a bit. Get outside even if its only for a few minutes, meditation, try to eat healthy, exercise of some sort, walking is great, enjoy something in nature, plant a tree for your Grandfather. Any activity that engages you, allow yourself to grieve but know that you can and will keep moving.

[bjames]

Thank you everyone for the kind words and the helpful ideas. I am waiting on a call from my pdoc right now.

[Anneinside]

My father died on January 2nd. I was busy with arrangements and visiting with relatives who came to the funeral for the next week and a half. My mood stayed uh. Not good, not bad. Now in the last week I have become depressed....sad, think about self-injury and suicide sometimes, no energy, isolating, nothing is interesting, flat affect (couple of people told me)....now I wait for ECT scheduled next Wednesday. I don't want to change my meds.

As to your question, there is no regular schedule for episodes of mania, hypomania or depression. You could be stable for a long time and then suddenly have episodes of depression and mania, then stable again. No one knows when an episode will come.