Im bipolar, pdoc thinks its bp1 but isnt totally certain yet. I was put on lamictal but it took away my personality, gave me memory loss, and constant suicidal thoughts. pdoc didnt seem bothered and said i would get used to it. i decided to come off it. now i feel great, but sometimes i feel both great and terrible at the same time. i feel excited, i want to do stuff, taste things, basically get out there and live. When im on meds, i dont feel like that, im much more patient, and sensible but tbh why would i want to be patient and sensible when i have the gift of bipolar? What do u think?

[Leed]

Hi Cally ~ After you got off the meds, you felt great. Now you feel both great and terrible.

Hmmm. How long does this "terrible" last? Does it go on for days or weeks? If it does, then you definitely need medication of some sort. The problem is finding one that isn't going to cause you these nasty side effects. It's just a trial and error situation. Unfortunately there's no other way to find out what's going to work. I've been very lucky in that I never have had any side effects from these meds. And they always seem to work. Right now, I'm on Prozac and it's working great.

If the "terrible" DOESN'T last for days or weeks, perhaps you dont' need medications afterall. I would say that you should see a therapist. Many times therapy can solve a lot of problems. I've been thru therapy, and it was the best gift I could have given myself. I have never regretted it!!

I wish you the very best! God bless you Cally, and please take care! And please keep us informed as to what happens, ok? Hugs, Lee

Thanks on my first appointment my psychiatrist said he thought i had more long lasting highs than lows. Most of the time i feel either somewhat high or a bit of both. The terribles tend to last generally a few hours our a few days, before i can pick myself up a little. I think the mixture of high and low keeps me from feeling too bad too often its a shame i cant see my doc for 8 weeks, but i'll keep going til then Thanks for reading this and helping me out

You should pose this question on the BP board. Several members who post there seem to do well w/o meds

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by cally

Im bipolar, pdoc thinks its bp1 but isnt totally certain yet. I was put on lamictal but it took away my personality, gave me memory loss, and constant suicidal thoughts. pdoc didnt seem bothered and said i would get used to it. i decided to come off it. now i feel great, but sometimes i feel both great and terrible at the same time. i feel excited, i want to do stuff, taste things, basically get out there and live. When im on meds, i dont feel like that, im much more patient, and sensible but tbh why would i want to be patient and sensible when i have the gift of bipolar? What do u think?

I also have BP 1. I had really bad manic & hyp episodes before I was diagnosed & on meds. Since being on BP meds I haven't had one (knock on wood). So I believe in meds for me. There are ppl who post in the BP forum that do not take meds. From my understanding it takes a lot of discipline and requires a strict regimen. The other non-med option is to ride the wave, dealing w/ the episodes as they come.

i would be better posting it the bipola section. i didnt see it before this. thanks

[Neptune83]

Have you tried alternative therapies like acupuncture and such? Also it may sound lame, but diet and sleep can really effect your mood.

[Darth Bane]

normally bipolar is every day-every minute struggle. struggle against negative thoughts. doctors think without meds bipolar patients spend half of their life in depression and unproductive. for me it is 2-3 years out of 8 years so kind of true. i am not taking any meds. when depression hits me i take rest from work for months and try to recover. but honestly it sounds stupid even to me. i wont mind taking lithium at all if they reduced side effects of it on kidneys. and for antipsychotics there is no question of me taking them since i dont have any delusions yet.

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by cally

Im bipolar, pdoc thinks its bp1 but isnt totally certain yet. I was put on lamictal but it took away my personality, gave me memory loss, and constant suicidal thoughts. pdoc didnt seem bothered and said i would get used to it. i decided to come off it. now i feel great, but sometimes i feel both great and terrible at the same time. i feel excited, i want to do stuff, taste things, basically get out there and live. When im on meds, i dont feel like that, im much more patient, and sensible but tbh why would i want to be patient and sensible when i have the gift of bipolar? What do u think?

Hi Cally,

You say in your profile that you were taking Lamictal for seizures -are you taking another anti-seizure medication now to replace it?

The decision to be on meds I guess would depend on how you feel. If your symptoms are interfering with your life, distressing you enough to need to take them. Do you feel this is the case? Did Lamictal just make you more patient and sensible or did it really increase the quality of your life? If you decide to take meds, you could try something else, there are many to choose from and maybe you could find one that doesn't have the side effects you've experienced. Good luck.

[BipolaRNurse]

Originally Posted by Darth Bane

and for antipsychotics there is no question of me taking them since i dont have any delusions yet.

Lots of people, myself included, have never had delusions but take APs to help tamp down our mania when mood stabilizers aren't enough. IOW, you don't have to be psychotic to need an antipsychotic.

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by Darth Bane

normally bipolar is every day-every minute struggle. struggle against negative thoughts. doctors think without meds bipolar patients spend half of their life in depression and unproductive. for me it is 2-3 years out of 8 years so kind of true. i am not taking any meds. when depression hits me i take rest from work for months and try to recover. but honestly it sounds stupid even to me. i wont mind taking lithium at all if they reduced side effects of it on kidneys. and for antipsychotics there is no question of me taking them since i dont have any delusions yet.

As BipolarNurse said, AP's are very often prescribed for BP, delusions or not. Lamictal has helped a great deal with my depression, not in preventing and getting me out of mania. I, no doubt like many others, would like nothing better than to not have to take them.

If bipolar were just about negative thoughts, some CBT and then voila! I wish it were so easy/simple. I wish I could take months off from work when in a very bad way. I'm glad for you that you've been able to keep things under control as you have.

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

Lots of people, myself included, have never had delusions but take APs to help tamp down our mania when mood stabilizers aren't enough. IOW, you don't have to be psychotic to need an antipsychotic.

I'm one of those people that were
prescribed a AP, and I've never
been psychotic or had delusions.