Dealing with Bipolar while taking medications

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder just last year, after many years of having depression and mania and making mistakes and losing relationships. I am 20. I'm currently taking Prozac and Abilify for my depression and mania, but I feel extremely overwhelmed at the moment and I don't know how to cope with things going on around me. I'm currently enrolled in school, and I am usually a straight A student, but I find it hard, because of my medications, to get out of bed or to even get the motivation to do my school work or go to class. I've been missing a lot of class lately because I feel stressed out, and it's like a vicious cycle... I hate myself for missing class or doing poorly on assignments, but I continue to skip because I am so behind. I want to be open with my professors about what is going on, but I'm not sure how to communicate with them. I also have been noticing that I've been thinking about more suicidal thoughts than I usually did. I think it's also because of all the stress I have, and the expectations I have to get everything done and to do it perfectly. I also took the sanity test and it said I had some borderline traits. I was wondering if anyone had any information about borderline personality disorder and if someone could explain it to me. I've heard of it before and before I also associated some of my traits with borderline traits, but I don't know, because I have bipolar disorder and I'm not sure that you can have traits of both? I'm going to get referred to a psychiatrist soon to be able to talk to them about my pills and my reactions to them... I just want some support in the meantime to see how I can get myself out of this hole....

Hi! I think you really need to get a good Psychiatrist ASAP. The meds you are on have the potential to make things worse if you are bipolar. Everyone is different so you need a professional. If you have to go to a clinic or the ER do it!

When I was in undergrad I had to tell my teachers I was going through an illness. I didn't say exactly what was going on but I let them know I was having a hard time. I was able to salvage school and get through it.

Do you take you take the abilify in the morning or night? It's possible to have BPD and BP. Please go to your Student disability department and talk to them about what to do.

She is right about the Student Disability Office. You can disclose to them, and they help you with the Prof and other help. You might be eligible for more time on tests, or might be able to take the test in a private room. Registration priority might be available too.

I take the abilify in the morning. I heard that it tends to have the side effect of little motivation and concentration. I just talked to a professional today so I should be talking to a psychiatrist tomorrow. Thanks for the input!

Have you told your Pdoc about your trouble with meds? Maybe you need to adjust the times you take them or just different meds all together. I would advise you not to take the online quizzes to serious they are very vague.

Many people have Bp and Bpd I myself have a few traits of bpd but my Pdoc isnt concerned, Its not a diagnosis you really want unless you are 100% but it takes a trained professional to determine it ..DBT is the typical treatment.

Welcome to PC I hope you find the support here helpful

Hi there...I have both bp and bpd. Dbt is what has made the biggest impact on my borderline traits. Bpd is usually best defined as chronically lonely with low self esteem. Have trouble with intimate relationships. Have had childhood trauma usually. Have chronic ups and downs. Not trusting yr own decisions etc etc. There's more to it than that but those are some traits. I encourage you to look it up online...and talk to a pdoc about it. Many times bp and bpd mirror eachother. Check out dbt. It's dialectical behavior therapy. I spent three years in it and it did wonders for me. It's good for all diagnosises. I hope I've helped you some. I hope things get better for you soon. Take care

My son didn't function well when he took it in the morning so he took it at bed and did fine.

I've looked more into borderline traits, beyond the online test, and I think I have more connection with those traits than I do with bipolar. I remember specific instances where I have changed moods constantly within a day, and I have a lot of trouble with losing relationships, to the point I react with escalated emotions. I'm going to talk to a psychiatrist today to see if they can evaluate me/give me some more information on what I could have. It's been a long road for me in terms of mental illness... but I appreciate all of your comments and help.

Hang in there Mika77 - it took me 15 years to get properly diagnosed, and about 4 months to find a med combo that seems to be working for me. When I was on Abilify and what turned out to be too much Wellbutrin I ended up in the ER in a mixed state. If you find yourself feeling really bad please go to the ER, even if they end up keeping you there for a day or two. Since my hospital visit I have been much better.

I'm a grad student and my advisor has been very understanding. However, I'm thinking that not all faculty are like that, so going to your campus disabilities office would probably be your best bet. They'll likely give you a sheet with accommodations that you can show your instructors - this won't have your diagnosis on it.

Best of luck, and please do come here for support when you need it!

Good luck to you. I dropped out for a couple of semesters due to bipolar but went back when I was hypo and almost got my doctorate. (Did all of it but the dissertation). So be flexible with what you need at the time.