[hahayeahtotallylol]

Are you at a "baseline" mood more often following depression, or mania? In other words, is mania or depression more sudden?

For me its pretty gradual both ways, which is why I ask. Maybe a tad more sudden going from depression to hypo.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm a bit confused at the question but if you're asking what our "normal" is then I'd say I'm stable yet often crabby, irritable, stressed. Especially with my job. To me it's normal. I've upped my stabilizer to no relief so I'm convinced this is jus who I am.

Trileptal 600mg BID
Buspar 45mg
Seroquel 150-300mg for sleep
Ativan 1mg PRN
Vyvanse 70mg
Risperdal 4-6mg PRN

I don't get msgs unless the other person using tapatalk app!

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Which transitions faster for you: depression to mania, or mania to depression?

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

Which transitions faster for you: depression to mania, or mania to depression?

I would say a lot less depression but more mixed state to stability. Some meds had a bad effect on me and I went back and forth from mixed to normal for days. I have dysphoric mania so my mixed episodes consist of severe anger, irritability, aggression. It's mostly brought on by stress or a bad med reaction. I often get mixed episodes from stress at work and I'll turn into a plain nasty person. It's common for people with BP to suffer from more mania than depression or vise versa. Everyone's different.

Trileptal 600mg BID
Buspar 45mg
Seroquel 150-300mg for sleep
Ativan 1mg PRN
Vyvanse 70mg
Risperdal 4-6mg PRN

I don't get msgs unless the other person using tapatalk app!

[hahayeahtotallylol]

I had my first mixed last summer and yeah im on baseline often as well.

Sort of trying to figure out which is more common, long baseline breaks before mania or long baseline breaks before depression. For me my hypo pops me right out of depression, whereas my depression is slow and subtle in onset.

Fortunately, i am baseline often as you are it seems too. Those who frequent hypo-mania, ah, sounds fun, if not destructive. I have yet to experience a destructive high period since its only hypo, but some could argue i've hit mania. I also am not longer on soroquel so i have no stabilizer, which i like. I'm naturally dysthymic so id rather experience the feels both good and bad

[Wanderlust90]

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

I had my first mixed last summer and yeah im on baseline often as well.

Sort of trying to figure out which is more common, long baseline breaks before mania or long baseline breaks before depression. For me my hypo pops me right out of depression, whereas my depression is slow and subtle in onset.

Fortunately, i am baseline often as you are it seems too. Those who frequent hypo-mania, ah, sounds fun, if not destructive. I have yet to experience a destructive high period since its only hypo, but some could argue i've hit mania. I also am not longer on soroquel so i have no stabilizer, which i like. I'm naturally dysthymic so id rather experience the feels both good and bad

For me I had stability (well sort of, I was happy overall but only as stable as you can be whilst abusing drugs) then a slow building depression that switched into a mixed or dysphoric hypomania on antidepressants. But I spend most of my time mixed I think, on differing levels of severity, interspersed with very short lived euphoric hypomanias (usually only a day or so, up to 5 days), which then switch into depression again then back to agitated. It's all fun & games. I don't know that this is a typical course, it seems odd to me & doesn't follow a strict pattern, sometimes with mood swings or cycling within a mood episode. I don't know maybe this happens in mixed states, I seem to have a fairly unstable mood throughout the day aswell.

How good would it be to have euphoric hypomania all the time!

[Row Jimmy]

I'm a rapid cycler so my baseline is sort of thin - three or four days maybe. I hop between mania and mild depression pretty quickly.

Mania seems to be much more prevalent, maybe a week in duration. I used to be unable to recognize it but now I'm more tuned in. I stay up late and buzz around the house, accomplishing all sorts of stuff. It feels good to get things done but I need to be careful about the so-called "side effects" for me which are blaming the world for my problems, incessant ranting, rage, challenging everything and everyone, and paranoia. I think it happens toward the end of mania when I sort of crash. My mind craps out after going full bore for a week.

Depression kicks in for a few days afterward and I get down on all sorts of stuff. My mind sort of rests and I don't have the capacity to deal with life. Then I sort of flatten out a bit as a baseline for a week or so.

Then, I will wash, rinse, and repeat the cycle.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Wander - fixed states suck! Jimmy seems to have a fun cycle

Jimmy - fun is not the right word, but does your frequent mania keep you motivated when down? Can you handle it well or is it destructive still?

[xxblackrosesxx]

According to my doctors I get more manic epsiodes then depressive ones and I get into a mixed episode after a manic one. Both lasts for months.

[Row Jimmy]

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

Wander - fixed states suck! Jimmy seems to have a fun cycle

Jimmy - fun is not the right word, but does your frequent mania keep you motivated when down? Can you handle it well or is it destructive still?

Oh man, it isn't fun. I wish I could have a steady baseline. I can't say I "look forward" to mania because it agitates me in the end. I consider it all a bit of give and take. I still try to be creative and such but I have to admit that I've lost an edge I used to have. I used to be able to crank it on a dime......but then I'd crash and start punching things.

These days, I handle it well enough but it creeps back up on me.....I'm not destructive anymore but I still have bouts of anger and blame. Thankfully, my cycles are pretty quick so I don't linger in one state for a prolonged period of time.

[Wanderlust90]

I'm having a bout of anger & blame now. How in gods name do I reach the happy motivated hypomanic. I'm not even sure I care if it destroys me.

I am bipolar 1 and my baseline is hypomanic. I am mostly hypo with maybe 3 or 4 manias a yr and 1 or 2 depressions.

[Victoria'smom]

With meds depression. Without mania.

When I transition from depression to hypomania to mania I experience a period of time in stability in between. However going the other direction from hypo/mania to depression tends to be a sudden crash - with no period of stability experienced on the way down at all.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

I see - That's sort of what i figured was most common. A sudden crash. However i have never experienced it, and my hypo's seem to be the thing that happen more "out of the blue".

curious if anyone else has more sudden high periods

[cmc3663]

Depression/ agitation/ anger

My manias take off much quicker than depression, maybe 4-5 days from baseline to hypomania to full blown manic (which generally lasts a week or two but as long as a month). Then it usually evolves to a mixed state and eventually goes to depression.
Depressions sink much slower and last longer (usually a month or two), but don't get as severe.
Sometimes I have baseline after manic episodes, but it doesn't last very long. Most of my baseline time is after depression.
I have rapid cycling which sometimes cranks up to ultra rapid cycling, and has on a few occasions made it to ultradian cycling.

[raspberrytorte]

I always go back to baseline either way. I don't think I've ever had a crash.

[raspberrytorte]

Nevermind. I have crashed before and it was really bad. I forgot about it.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I generally go from baseline to hypomanic and then suddenly plunge into a deep depression that I slowly come out of and get back to baseline. So not only is my hypomania extremely uncomfortable (racing thoughts, insane irritability, not sleeping much etc), when I'm there I know what's next is horrible depression, and that doesn't help things.

Mixed state

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[cashart10]

My baseline...how I lived 3 1/2 years ago and many years before that, is rarely existent. I am manic for a couple of months, then mixed, then depressed for a couple of months to a couple of years. Prior to medication, my "big mania" (psychotic break) lasted about 6 months. I have no stability, even on meds. It feels hopeless.

[bbTofu]

Hypomania seems to pop very 'sudden' and out of nowhere, but in a retrospective-look it's always gradually it's just that I cannot notice it in real time.

Getting down though is much more noticeable ~ suddenly days are just 'OK' rather than 'Godly-Good'..

1 major thing for me is - when I can relate to pain of others, feel empathy, being overwhelmed by it - is when I'm coming down my hypo-mountains. cuz when I'm manic, I can't relate to pain and others being hurt, it's just like it's not there.. or no time to waste on it.. idk

[hahayeahtotallylol]

i feel that, Tofu

also, about empathy, i feel it most when baseline probably. when depressed i just can't even put myself in someone else's shoes at all. i hear the lyrics but i miss the tune. on the other hand when hypo i am sort of sadistic but in a nice way. i dont go out of my way to hurt people.. i "do me" 100%. But, if someone is with me, i will joke around and laugh to the point of them feeling uncomfortable. laugh, rage, joke, rage, laugh.. sort of fun-loving, but one sided fun-loving. fun for me, loving myself.