Any rapid cyclers out there?

I just went through a six-week depression, which is pretty abnormal for me. Typically, my moods are ultra, ultra rapid. My pdoc diagnosed me with bipoar NOS, he said I seem like an ultra rapid cycling-type. Sometimes my moods cycle so fast, I'm not sure if it is part of the bipolar or not. For example, yesterday I felt kind of down in the morning, not too bad.... Then I was ok, then at night I started going up, up, up.... couldn't stop talking, laughing a lot, then started getting really agitated until the point that I felt sick. The "up" wasn't a good feeling at all... So uncomfortable, I didn't know what to do with myself. Eventually took a Klonopin and was able to calm down after awhile. Today I feel pretty normal. Does anyone go through really brief and/or rapid mood cycles?

Hi Pink,

I don't have rapid cycles, but some people do. You need to talk to your pdoc and see if your meds need to be adjusted.

I wish you well.

Jan

Everyone has their own experiences with this illness but with me mania isn't always a time with just a lot of energy and producitveness. Agitation, impatience and anger are not unusual. It must be very hard that things are changing so rapidly for you. Maybe you could call your pdoc to try and minimize the cycling? Take care.

Yes. I'm also an ultra rapid cycler. My highs and lows typically only last a few days. Right now though, I haven't been getting any highs, probably because of the depakote. So it is usually something like 3 days fairly normal, then 3-4 days depresesd, then 3 days normal again, and so on. It's a real drag knowing that the good periods are so short-lived.

I agree with Jan, on this. And due to my own personal experience with Bipolar, and other stuff, be sure to also rule out if there is some sort of hormonal/thyroid stuff going on. I say this only because for many years I had been told many of my symptoms of complaint at GP, Internest, and an idiot endocrinologist was due to "depression", got treated without success, later was told I was Bipolar (probably true) and have been on meds, but low and behold, I was found to have Hashimoto's disease with thyroid nodules (some still growing) thyroid meds have been increased, and now in follow up, with determinationn of surgery or not in the next few months.
So many of my symptoms had been overlooked, it took a physician's assistant, not even an MD to look into this, helping to determine what my main core problem(s) were or are.
My pdoc has started to see positive changes, even a few years back starting thyroid meds and seems to be on a fence of what my "real" existing problem(s) and a possible over DX on the Bipolar vs Hashimoto's disease.
Sorry if I'm on a soapbox right now, even redundant, but I hate to see anyone suffer like thousands and myself.
Mind you, yes, a person can have both or many disorders, mentally and/or physically, but after my years wasted (I think they have been) I urge people to persue the physical aspect as well as the emotional/mental before making a final decision.
Okay, this has been a long winded (maybe boring, too) reply, but I needed to put my 2 cents in on this, which comes from my heart.
I'm wishing you lots of luck with this, and also urge people with this DX to try to think of things in our 3D environment (people,places and things) that may contribute to our cycling, cause stuff like that can be a portion of what we are going through.
Oh man, there can be so many factors that contribute to what we are going through, besides brain chemistry and heredity.
Now, I'll step off of my soapbox. LOL!!
Feel free to hang out here, there are so many terrific people you can share experiences,info and support with.
Welcome to PC.

Hey... thanks everyone... Actually, when I was first diagnosed with panic disorder some years ago, I got my thyroid checked out to rule out any problems with that, and it came back normal, at least at that point.... A girl in my class has Hashimoto's disease, and she had an episode last week.... I was helping her through it and was amazed how much the symptoms mirrored a panic attack.... But anyway... I'm going to talk with my pdoc, I've been on Trileptal since the summer, and he added Lexapro two weeks ago. The six week depression lifted, but still going through a lot of periods of agitation. My thoughts were racing like crazy this morning with anxious thoughts so I don't know if that's a "high" or if it's just my anxiety or both. I know that highs include racing thoughts, but it's not like I was having a flight of ideas or anything like that, it was all anxiety and catastrophic type thoughts. I'm trying to work on a big paper for grad school and it's a very bad day to be working on it because I'm having a really difficult time focusing. Thanks for reading.

I am a rapid cycler. It's the pits! Sorry that you are having such a hard time. Wish you could write your paper after your meds had a little more time to work.

When I look at a mood chart, I have to laugh because I can go through all of the moods in one day sometimes!

Hope things get better for you soon!!!

I've been checked for hyperthyroidism and have been using a c-pap machine for sleep apnea. Even if I feel well rested, it never makes a difference. I'll be fine a few days and down and dark for a few days. I don't think the AD's are helping much either. The only dramatic difference for me came when I started taking depakote.

I see my pdoc tomorrow and I'm going to demand a dx, instead of just getting the runaround.

I am a rapid cycler and it can really be trying at times. I find if I get cycling too fast My Doc usually puts me on a higher dose of seroquil. That helps for a while.

I have been checked for thyroid issues and all that stuff. For me I always hoped it was that because I honestly did nto want ot believe I was bipolar.

Hugs

I'm a rapid cycler. And yes, it is crazy. It's too bad there isn't more research available on this condition. Or any kind of bipolar. Oh well!

Rapid cycling is confusing and exhausting... thank god for klonopin!

June: So Klonopin helps you with cycling? I thought it was only for anxiety or panic attacks. I am on Xanax right now, but my doc is wanting to switch me to Klonopin as it lasts longer. I'm glad to know that it might also help me with rapid cycling!!

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june30 said:

I'm a rapid cycler. And yes, it is crazy. It's too bad there isn't more research available on this condition. Or any kind of bipolar. Oh well!

Rapid cycling is confusing and exhausting... thank god for klonopin!

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June, it's interesting that you said that. My "highs" are rarely enjoyable-- they normally consist of terrible agitation and irritability. I normally take a Klonopin when I feel this way and it really helps to calm me down, and put me more at a baseline. I had been wondering if anyone else experienced this.

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Jkeyz said:
June: So Klonopin helps you with cycling? I thought it was only for anxiety or panic attacks. I am on Xanax right now, but my doc is wanting to switch me to Klonopin as it lasts longer. I'm glad to know that it might also help me with rapid cycling!!

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Actually, now that I'm thinking back, I remember two semesters ago when I had taken psychopharmacology in school... my professor was teaching us about the tranquilizers and he said that Klonopin was the one that could also have some mood stabilizing properties... So it makes sense why we would get those results from it!

They had told me, "your tests are within normal range", for years. My endocrinologist and others that I read books written by them, said that doesn't always matter, some may need a small dose of thyroid meds. to help set things right.
It's always good to be tested every 3 yrs, and if on thyroid meds, every 6 months to 1yr, is recommended.
I'm not saying it's always thyroid issues, but they sure can cause havoc, even being DXed incorrectly with mental disorder(s). It was just a physician's assistant that felt the nodular feeling, that the other docs seemed to fail to feel, I'm happy my GP was out that day, otherwise I'd still be more ill than I am. Feeling crappy still but a little improvment.
Hyperthyroidism can fuel feelings of anxiety, insomnia,hypersexuality, racing heart, some pdocs can mistake for bipolar.
Hypothyroidism has many symptoms of depression, so again it goes unnoticed and they hand out antidepressants,etc.
Several years I suffered,several years being looked upon as a "hypochondriac" I am sure, then I progressively get worse physically, all the stuff that signals Hashimoto's.
It can never hurt to look into other factors, if one can, to help prevent years wasted being wrongly DXed and medicated.
Lots of luck to you.

Hi pink,

I am a rapid cycler. Most of the time I am depressed and irritable. When I cycle into hypomania it is very short like 1-3 days and then it's right back to depression. Right now I am under more stress than usual because of life circumstance and I am also titrating up on Lamictal. Monday and yesterday I was really starting to have that hypomanic racy feeling and I took an extra half tab of Klonopin to calm down. That helped. I am hoping as the Lamictal goes higher it will control the hypomania. My hypomanic episodes only seem pleasant some of the time, other times it is energetic agitation as opposed to the depressed agitation I get when I am down.
When I was in my 20's the hypomanic episodes sometimes lasted weeks and months.

meta

I've been on Lamictal for a few years, it's great, especially for Bipolar-II, where deep depressions become more severe than hypomania.
Lots of luck with this.

thanks (((darkeyes))), I holding my breath still that Lamictal will be what I need! I will be so relieved if it helps attenuate my depressions.

Meta