Do you tend to go thru more episodes of depression as you age?

I tend to be hypo a lot and maybe go thru at the most a depression for three days every six to eight weeks. Now when I say depression, nothing like most of you have described, not the crippling kind. I'm completely lucky in that sense and I'm sure most of you would rather be hypo, but I sometimes am just plain tired of it. My brain is so active it never stops. I literally have to be heavily medicated to even start to wind down and sleep, 400mg Seroquel, Xanax, Propranolol, and sometimes Benadryl. I'm sure my OCD plays into this as well. Anyway I saw my pdoc today and he told me that the older I get the less hypo I will be and more depression. Is this true for any of you? I'm currently 35, diagnosed at 27, onset at 15. I'm also on Lamictal.

Hi! I'm 47 and still wacky as hell. So I don't know.

You crack me up all the time. I'm having a bad day, thanks.

Lol. I've heard the same thing, but I can't tell. I'm more manic then depressed. I figure I'm going to die of a heart attack versus a broken one.

I'm having more episodes of all kinds as I get older. I'm not officially diagnosed as rapid cycling, but I know I am because I have five or six episodes a year. This past year I had a hypomanic episode as well a mixed one and three significant depressions. Used to be I'd only get depressed in the winter and manic in the summer. It was so simple then.

i never thought about this before, but i'm inclined to agree with you.

the more and more i think about it, the more and more it seems like it's a fact

i wonder why this is?

I don't know about more depressions but definitely longer lasting and harder to treat. I'm 49 and my current depressive episode started more than a year ago. I improved from severe to mild with the help of ECT but it's still hanging on. Previous episodes may have last a few months or so.

I was diagnosed at 17…i'm 25 now and there is a rather big difference between how I am now and how I used to be..

I had never heard that before, but yes, I am more depressed now than I was when I was younger. A lot more.

What an interesting question! Thanks for posting this!

For me personally I've noticed that I actually have less depressive episodes than I did when I was younger. I rarely get straight up depressive episodes anymore. I had one last spring and it was truly terrible, but it's the first straight up depression I've had in several years. I'm in a more depressive phase right now but I still have the mixed symptoms added in, so it's not a classic depressive episode.

I mostly have hypomanic or manic episodes.

I hear the older you get the manic side disappears and turns into mostly depression. I've yet to see it.

My pdoc told me that the older I get the less intense my swings will be.

Yeah that's how my pdoc has explained it also, sorry I didn't state that also in my post.

Mine has gotten worse in all ways. But i definitely tip into full blown mania or severe mixed episodes much easier now

I'm very grateful that the deeps seem to return less and less often. Hypomania is more to the front. Depression still happens (I'm taking lamotrigine) right now but don't think I'll need it for long,) hypomania too, but they're down to a couple of times a year, I think - at least that's all I remember. (Age 55)

I'm freaking hypo everytime I exhale. I'm high strung, always have and always will. I think I'll have a heart attack before anything else. Or I'm going to live to 300.

Black sheep, Somewhere online I found a graph of what to expect regarding Bipolar disorder. If I remember correctly, we spike between the ages of 20 and 30, then level out for 10 years or so, then spike again between the ages of 50 and 60 but not as high as the earlier spike, and then level out again, mind you the leveling out areas were no where near normal, but slightly better.

is it possible to actually die of a broken heart, i think i am!!!

I was diagnosed BP2 10-15 years ago but the last 3 years or so have shifted more toward full time depression. At 30, it's now the worst I've ever experienced. I can hardly move most days. I'm sure it varies from person to person.

I'm 39 and my moods have been all over the place for last 7 months or so (was stable for about 7 months before that) but mainly now irritation and severe depression. Right now I don't seem any better then when I wasn't on any meds. I have been gradually falling into I-want-to-die and sink into this couch forever mood to a few days light reprieve and then back down. It's exhausting