[StillLeftBehind]

I have been given the diag of Bipolar 2. I have been on meds for 3 months now. I am seeing my primary when needed but mostly once every 5 months. I am now on a once per month visit with my psychiatrist and once every 2 or 3 weeks with a counselor. I take 400 mg Seroquel and 40 mg celxa every morning and 5 mg zyprexa as needed(I take it more often than not). I notice my ups mostly as not sleeping very well or at all and being high strung. I feel like my brain is moving way to fast for my mouth or body to keep up. It's like thumbing through a dictionary at 100 mph. I have a hard time sitting still (not all the time but more often than not)because either my feet or legs are shaking or bouncing up and down. When I get an idea I tend to proceed with out any thought or never follow through with the project. My downs are the typical hopeless feelings and I go through in my mind why I should continue living. Before the meds I would go though the cycle every few weeks or so and even cycle within a day or two. I feel better but I still have a problem with the downs. I told my counselor how I feel and she told me to tell my pdoc that I have these thoughts and I have the means to follow through but I do not have a plan. The only reason that I do not have a plan is that I do not want to make a mess for anyone else to clean up.Has anyone else gone though something similar? How did you handle it?

[Victoria'smom]

Yes, I tend to remove the objects for a while. It doesn't take long to not care who finds/cleans you.

[cocoabeans]

Or figure out a plan that doesn't involve much worry about clean up or who finds you... But do you want to do it or do you entertain the thought as a way to relieve anxiety and pain?

Sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I've got this bipolar label so I'm bound to have an "up swing" eventually. By the way, I'm not medicated these days but if my husband has any say and this **** keeps up, I may be back on the prescription wagon.

[Darth Bane]

i have bipolar 2... when depression hits i just wait for it to get over... you know how it is ...you can predict you will be depressed in next few months,there are signs... slowly you are in worst depressive phase... i wait for about year without doing anything(not taking meds but i read novels,self help books,watch movies).... after that i know depression will be over in next few months... so i wait... then mania comes,i have lot of energy i try to compensate the damage depression did to my professional life...

so my depression lasts 3 years...of which one year is very bad... but hypomania/normal will be next 5 years... during depression these daily/weekly mood swings continue of course... i always decide not to get depressed,do exercise,eat healthy food... but haven't succeeded in it... but still i hope for it...

[ajmich]

Interesting thread everybody. Darth, am I understanding your cycles can include as long as 5 years of hypomania/normal..?? I have only dreamed of it lasting so long. Learning about my BPII Dx and gradually realizing my cycle times are not common -- presents mainly as major depression for a couple months, sometimes a year... my hypomania is mild (and wonderful!) but has been very infrequent and only lasts a few months, abruptly followed by a deep crash. In between are normal or mixed, usually functional but often blah with little passion for anything. Anyway thx to all for comments, eventually maybe my brain will make sense to me, HAHA, right!

Originally Posted by StillLeftBehind

I have been given the diag of Bipolar 2. I have been on meds for 3 months now. I am seeing my primary when needed but mostly once every 5 months. I am now on a once per month visit with my psychiatrist and once every 2 or 3 weeks with a counselor. I take 400 mg Seroquel and 40 mg celxa every morning and 5 mg zyprexa as needed(I take it more often than not). I notice my ups mostly as not sleeping very well or at all and being high strung. I feel like my brain is moving way to fast for my mouth or body to keep up. It's like thumbing through a dictionary at 100 mph. I have a hard time sitting still (not all the time but more often than not)because either my feet or legs are shaking or bouncing up and down. When I get an idea I tend to proceed with out any thought or never follow through with the project. My downs are the typical hopeless feelings and I go through in my mind why I should continue living. Before the meds I would go though the cycle every few weeks or so and even cycle within a day or two. I feel better but I still have a problem with the downs. I told my counselor how I feel and she told me to tell my pdoc that I have these thoughts and I have the means to follow through but I do not have a plan. The only reason that I do not have a plan is that I do not want to make a mess for anyone else to clean up.Has anyone else gone though something similar? How did you handle it?

It sounds like a mixed state to me look into it. Hope ur better soon.

[StillLeftBehind]

Thanks for all the replies. There seems to be as many ways to handle Bipolar depression as there are people. I will look into the mixed state with my pdoc. It seems to me that I cycles every few weeks. I would not know what to do with myself if I have to go through each state every few years.

[Manicman 1013]

I was tracking my manic cycle on a calendar. It seemed to be similar to a woman's menstrual cycle. 3 weeks or so of feeling "normal", (whatever the heck that means) then I'd start going up.

For me the up portion of the cycle just meant I was more "on." Funnier than I normally am, quicker. Like the synapses in my brain were freshly oiled and firing clean. This went on for 1 to 2 days followed by a downward slide lasting 2 to 3 days.

During the down time I was short tempered, quick to snap at people and give them a piece of my mind, whether they deserved it, or not.

I was also likely to spend one day of my down time in bed because I just couldn't deal with people. They were too damn annoying and I just didn't have the energy.

6 months ago I started 1 hour a week therapy sessions with a Psychologist.
5 months ago I started on generic Depakote.
Between the two I feel a great improvement. My highs aren't quite as high, which I miss a bit, but my lows are nowhere near as low. For that I'm very grateful.

Good luck to you, and to all of us.



))))>>>Peace & Hugs<<<((((

Dumb question, you might think, but how much wheat are you using daily?

Evidence now (because of re-engineering of gluten in wheat in the 1950's by agricultural scientists) is out there which indicates that the exorphins in gluten contained in wheat, barley, rye, (and possibly)oats have an addictive effect on the brain.

It acts on the opiate centers causing addiction and the craving for more at about 2 or 3 hour intervals. If you have a "wheat belly" it's best to get rid of it, if you can. Stopping the use of wheat will help do that. That's a strong clue that you might have a problem with wheat sensitivity.

In addition, Dr. Wiliams in his best-seller called What Belly implicates the exorphins in wheat as a cause of wide emotional swings and bipolar blasts.

It's well worth your time to read or at least to cut back on wheat if you are bipolar.

I've stopped the use of grains, and it has been remarkably helpful for me. (That and sugar; removal and/or reduction of those two do keep things calm and serene for me.)

Wheat raises blood glucose levels higher than sugar does, and it's one of
the most acidic-reacting foods we can ingest. Acidity is a very large part
of many problems in the Western diet.

[tew1063]

I'm biplar type 2, also. I haven't entertained ending my life in a long time but I also chose to rid my home of weapons that could be used for such a purpose. When I'm in a down time, I always tell my husband, I feel he needs to know what he's dealing with. i get numb. I then sink into depression so bad I don't really care about anything. What keeps me going is learning that this to shall pass. And it always does.
Blessings and prayers...Tammy

Originally Posted by StillLeftBehind

I have been given the diag of Bipolar 2. I have been on meds for 3 months now. I am seeing my primary when needed but mostly once every 5 months. I am now on a once per month visit with my psychiatrist and once every 2 or 3 weeks with a counselor. I take 400 mg Seroquel and 40 mg celxa every morning and 5 mg zyprexa as needed(I take it more often than not). I notice my ups mostly as not sleeping very well or at all and being high strung. I feel like my brain is moving way to fast for my mouth or body to keep up. It's like thumbing through a dictionary at 100 mph. I have a hard time sitting still (not all the time but more often than not)because either my feet or legs are shaking or bouncing up and down. When I get an idea I tend to proceed with out any thought or never follow through with the project. My downs are the typical hopeless feelings and I go through in my mind why I should continue living. Before the meds I would go though the cycle every few weeks or so and even cycle within a day or two. I feel better but I still have a problem with the downs. I told my counselor how I feel and she told me to tell my pdoc that I have these thoughts and I have the means to follow through but I do not have a plan. The only reason that I do not have a plan is that I do not want to make a mess for anyone else to clean up.Has anyone else gone though something similar? How did you handle it?

[StillLeftBehind]

Thank you all for your input. I am glad to see that I am not alone

[bpinOk]

Far from alone... I to am suffering through bp2 depression right now, o how I miss the hypomania

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by StillLeftBehind

I take 400 mg Seroquel and 5 mg zyprexa as needed(I take it more often than not)

I hate to add more worry to your already full list, but both of those AP's can make you gain a lot of weight. Make sure you weigh yourself weekly and track your weight, so that you can report any changes to the psychiatrist promptly.

Also, two AP's together are not a very good idea. Make sure the psychiatrist really means it rather than is just being careless. Also, make sure the psychiatrist KNOWS that you take Zyprexa more often than not. Maybe he/she thinks you take it once a quarter PRN and thus does not worry about its side effects.

Most of all, you need to tell your psych everything that you have told us. That is the best way to get accurate treatment. Write it down, don't hold back, no matter how difficult it may be.

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by StillLeftBehind

I have been given the diag of Bipolar 2. I have been on meds for 3 months now. I am seeing my primary when needed but mostly once every 5 months. I am now on a once per month visit with my psychiatrist and once every 2 or 3 weeks with a counselor. I take 400 mg Seroquel and 40 mg celxa every morning and 5 mg zyprexa as needed(I take it more often than not). I notice my ups mostly as not sleeping very well or at all and being high strung. I feel like my brain is moving way to fast for my mouth or body to keep up. It's like thumbing through a dictionary at 100 mph. I have a hard time sitting still (not all the time but more often than not)because either my feet or legs are shaking or bouncing up and down. When I get an idea I tend to proceed with out any thought or never follow through with the project. My downs are the typical hopeless feelings and I go through in my mind why I should continue living. Before the meds I would go though the cycle every few weeks or so and even cycle within a day or two. I feel better but I still have a problem with the downs. I told my counselor how I feel and she told me to tell my pdoc that I have these thoughts and I have the means to follow through but I do not have a plan. The only reason that I do not have a plan is that I do not want to make a mess for anyone else to clean up.Has anyone else gone though something similar? How did you handle it?

Hi StillLeftBehind,

It sounds like your medication has helped you somewhat with your ups but not so much with the depression. I'd talk to your psychiatrist about it and work on it in therapy. I'm sorry you're in a bad place -good luck.