New Dx Questions

Oooooo what Tattoo ??? Thats always a pick me up

Pegasus, neon pink with rainbow wings on left side of my chest. Makes me feel better every time I look at it.

I love my tats.

Sounds awesome

My first tat does make me happy. But I am feeling frustrated and a bit angry. I think I feel better but also a bit manic and depressed at the same time. I am tired but not sleepy, can't sit still, cranky,

Maybe heading into a Mixed episode?? Talk to your Pdoc, best to catch that hell asap.

My meds have been adjusted, some up and some down. Still swinging back and forth but not as widely or wildly. Still in PHP / IOP, obsessing on going back to work

PDoc worried tat was a manic idea, assured her it was bucket list. And it is a bucket list, all 3 of them are; however I admit that I intend to get 3 of now 4 planned tats by Christmas might a bit of a manic idea ...

I love that Tattoo .... I am chomping at the bit to get my next one ..

hang in there ! Your working through stuff ,

Just home from in patient. Back to PHP tomorrow.

Hang in there Trying to get to a point where your stable enough to really benefit from PHP is a pain , but it will happen.

Scared the #€[[ out of myself and my SO. Slowly making progress inspite of myself I think and to my amazement. Coming to acceptance, getting the right mix & doses of meds (I think), tho I feel like a zombie. Realized / remembered? some things while there, and fessed up to, that I always thought were normal and they are not. So patience? Still no good at that, and kinda anxious about going back tomorrow ...

I feel for you. It can take a while to figure out the right med combination and I know it's a frustrating process. Hang in there!

I have a T now. Better, not stable, no idea what that is ... Got rids of meds that made me groggy but now do not sleep great again. Augh

Oh dear ,

I'm sorry that your riding the "Please let me find some stability" ride. Its a suck ride!
I'm glad your new T might be a great help...

What meds did you switch too ?

Hi,

Got rid of some meds. Adding Risperidone tonight, ... Trying to avoid reactions I have had to others and to not need lithium ...

Augh ;( trying yet another med:
Risperidone (Risperdal)

And Having side effects ;(

Running out of options other than lithium ...

Feeling better since hospitalization / in-patient, still in PHP / IOP.

Got T This is good.

Really do not want to take lithium. I am better on depakote but not stable. I know lithium is gold standard but really thrown by what I read about it ...

Lithium has good points and bad points... What concerns you to most ?

Have you read An Unquiet Mind? As Kay Redfield Jamison describes being on lithium, I DREAD losing the color, music, "life" from my life. Already lost enough. Afraid of not thinking clearly. Worried about side effects as I seem to react to everything so far but trazadone, LexaPro, and Depakote.

That was her results. I have read her book, I found it rather useless in my daily dealings of Bipolar, just my opinion of course

Lithium is started out usually at 300mg , then up to 600 mg and maybe further increases depending on your blood serum levels.

Most common side effects when starting.... dry mouth, mild GI upset, headache. etc etc . So yeah "typical" side effects of damn near any medications psych or others.

I approached every single psych med with the same thought process... I will give it a chance.... but if A,B,C happens I will get off it.

So make your personal list of " non acceptable side effects" and stick to them.

Maybe try Lithium out, If you notice your losing important things then by all means tell Pdoc and stop taking it.

If you do decide to give Lithium a chance make sure you increase your daily amount of fluid intake.

'Nuther med change. Replaced risperidone with Zyprexa. Investigating lithium. Guessing that long standing bipolar, late Dx, etc. is making finding meds difficult.

Be mindful and watch your intake of cabs and sugar, Zyprexa is notorious for weight gain. Many people have fabulous results from it.

Seems like most people can take a year or even more to find just the right combinations of medications and doses. It's really a balancing act.

I was a late diagnoses age 47 ,but I don't think I had it any rougher than a younger person diagnosed except in T of course I had alot more baggage to wade through, but that said ... I also have a bit more wisdom due to my age , again a Balancing act.

Bipolar sucks indeed , but it is manageable and you can and will lead a great life.

Well, had issues with Zyprexa too, seems that whole class of meds is not for me. Going to wash out of all but Depakote and trazadone over Christmas, then probably will be on lithium. The roller coaster continues.

First dose of lithium tonight. I have comes to terms with that. Hope it might help me stop crying over everything and nothing. Spouse is not happy I am taking lithium, thinks I "sold out to the medical machine", never mind that nothing else has worked ...

At this point it doesn't matter if your in Big Pharmas back pocket, You need stability, Just because your on X meds today doesn't mean it will always be so.

Finding stability right now is most important so that the Therapy your having will actually stick and you'll learn how to use it all .

Just remember to increase your fluid intake. Very important .

Be easy on yourself

Hi Workhorse..wow you've had it hard with all t he med changes..hope this is the right combination for you. take care