[Starks518]

Hello all, my title says it all. Today I was diagnosed as being bipolar. I'm not quite sure what to do with this or how to process this diagnosis or what this means for me and my life now. I have had anxiety and panic attacks since 2008 and I do take medicine which has it under control (I can't even remember the last time I had a full blown panic attack). When diagnosed it didn't effect me much at all I just thought, "Well, that explains a lot. Moving on." But being told I am bipolar is something I am having trouble swallowing. Maybe it is the stigma? Maybe because I was in a relationship with someone who has bipolar and I just don't see the same qualities in me or maybe I am in denial? Any way I look at it im having a difficult time with this.

I have been prescribed two medicines, Effexor and Seroquel. The Seroquel I will take tonight. My psychiatrist said to take it at 6pm but in my past relationship I do remember my ex taking seroquel later at night due to the effects of drowsiness. Should I take it at 6 or closer to my bedtime when I would normally fall asleep on the nights I actually did sleep?

Any help or advice or...anything at all would be greatly appreciated as I sit here trying to process this information and how to tell my mom that I have this mental health disorder.

Thank you

[lunaticfringe]

Some advice I'll provide is to do as your doctor says. If you want to do something different make an appointment and talk with your prescriber about it. Also I recommend buying the book The Bipolar Handbook by Wes Burgess. There are lots of great books out there. Check out anything by Kay Redfield Jamison. Bipolar is tough and it's hard to accept. I would just say learn as much as you can and give yourself a break. That's what I'm doing for myself.

[BipolaRNurse]

You've just been diagnosed. It takes some of us a long time to process things when we are told we have an incurable (but treatable) mental illness. I'm three years in and STILL have times when I minimize the seriousness of my bipolar or outright deny its existence, although being hospitalized last fall made it clear that this is not a game and I'm not making it up.

I do recommend that you learn everything you can about the disease and the methods used to treat it. Psych Central is an almost unlimited source of information on the illness for patients and the people who love them. And if you buy only one book on the subject, make it Bipolar For Dummies. I've referred to mine so often that I really need to buy a new one.

As lunaticfringe said above, do exactly as your doctor advises and if you disagree with the treatment plan, talk it over with him BEFORE you do anything else. Too many of us mess with our meds or stop taking them entirely, much to our own detriment, and these forums are filled with stories about what happened to members who have done so. I will say that SOME people can manage their illness without meds, and more power to them; but in the early going you really need to follow your doctor's instructions and get stabilized.

A diagnosis of bipolar is quite a challenge, and certainly one we would never have chosen were it up to us. But the truth is, you can live well and have a great life even with the disorder. It's all up to you.

Welcome aboard. ((((HUGS))))

[beatlesman]

It's surprising he diagnosed you with bipolar and didn't prescribe a mood stabilizer. Getting a book is a good start. "The up and down life" was a good one.

[RisuNeko]

Aren't atypical antipsychotics like zyprexa and seroquel and risperidone used as mood stabilizers these days?

[Supersonic]

Yes, I have Zyprexa and seroquel as Mood stabilizers.

[Starks518]

Thank you, everyone. I took the seroquel last night and the Effexor this morning. The seroquel knocked me out. Which im not complaining about; that was probably the best, most uninterrupted sleep I have had in a long time. Sleep has been hard to come by in the past two months and having weeks of only sleeping 2-3 hours per night along with everything else made me feel like I was losing my mind. Maybe that's part of the reason why I ended up hospitalized.

I feel like I spent most of my afternoon googling and reading different sources of information about bipolar. Some of what I found was really helpful and then I saw the darker side. I was surprised and disappointed at a lot of sites that came up that had very, VERY negative things being said about people with bipolar. It made me feel pretty down about it and how people could be so hurtful.

I will look into the books this weekend, thank you all again!