[Gabyunbound]

These are two different (academic) articles from the Psychiatric Times (rapid cycling) and Current Psychiatry (ultra rapid cycling).

Rapid Cycling in Bipolar Disorder: Diagnostic Issues and Treatment Options | Psychiatric Times

Ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder: A critical look*:*Current Psychiatry

If the links don't come through, google "bipolar disorder rapid cycling dsm"
and "bipolar disorder ultra rapid cycling dsm"

They're a bit long and can be hard to get through til the end, but I think they're very interesting. But keep in mind that different pdocs (researchers and not) are going to have different opinions when it comes to these diagnoses/issues, so these are not the final words on the subject by any means.

If anyone else has articles on the subjects that would be great, this is a complicated and amongst some pdocs/researchers, controversial issue.

[pirilin]

I was very tempted to say that when you pedal fast, is rapid cycling.
When you go downwind and downhill if you keep pedaling is ultra rapid cycling.
But I won't.

[Coconutzo]

If I pedaled while going down hill I would take off like a rocket!
I'd fly into god dang outer space!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[~Christina]

The DSM guideline is having more than 4 distinct episode in a 12 month rolling period is considered Rapid cycling.

Rapid cycling happens but often people call it rapid cycling when in fact they have yet to find baseline. So until a person find stability whats to compare too?

Ultra cycling is quite rare... This is often just a person that is all over the map because they haven't found baseline and the treatment meds and coping skills are not working , so adjustments need to be made its not just medications.

And just food for thought, Often Bipolar is to blame for any mood shift, Bipolar people are going to be happy or sad or pissed because the situation warrants it.

Examples:

If I am stuck in traffic and going to be late for something ,, Sure I am going to get angry... Bipolar? No traffic.

If my husband is being a jerk ,, I can get pissed and it have nothing to do with Bipolar.

If my pet goldfish dies.. Im going to be sad.

If a kid is screaming bloody murder in the grocery store and Mom or Dad doesn't try to quiet the child down... I'm going to be irritated as hell .

Of course this is just my opinion

[MBM17]

My therapist says that when a patient comes into his office who has schizophrenia, the patient still has that diagnosis even when his treatment is going well.

Same with bipolar. I am still diagnosed with ultra-rapid cycling bipolar even when my meds regulate my cycling because my bipolar naturally rapid-cycles.

In my worst mood episodes, I can literally cycle every 3 hours. It sounds unbelievable, and I wouldn't believe it unless I'd experienced it.

[Daonnachd]

Here are a couple of sites dealing with rapid cycling.

This first is quite easy reading and even has coping strategies given by real people. http://ibpf.org/article/3-stories-rapid-cycling

The second, from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, is more clinical.
Bipolar Disorder: Rapid Cycling and its Treatment - Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

[Gabyunbound]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

The DSM guideline is having more than 4 distinct episode in a 12 month rolling period is considered Rapid cycling.

Rapid cycling happens but often people call it rapid cycling when in fact they have yet to find baseline. So until a person find stability whats to compare too?

Ultra cycling is quite rare... This is often just a person that is all over the map because they haven't found baseline and the treatment meds and coping skills are not working , so adjustments need to be made its not just medications.

And just food for thought, Often Bipolar is to blame for any mood shift, Bipolar people are going to be happy or sad or pissed because the situation warrants it.

Examples:

If I am stuck in traffic and going to be late for something ,, Sure I am going to get angry... Bipolar? No traffic.

If my husband is being a jerk ,, I can get pissed and it have nothing to do with Bipolar.

If my pet goldfish dies.. Im going to be sad.

If a kid is screaming bloody murder in the grocery store and Mom or Dad doesn't try to quiet the child down... I'm going to be irritated as hell .

Of course this is just my opinion

I agree with the above, but I wanted to clarify something. Are you saying that at least some people who suffer from rapid cycling are considering normal reactions to situations as 'episodes' instead of normal reactions/normal moods?

[wildflowerchild25]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

The DSM guideline is having more than 4 distinct episode in a 12 month rolling period is considered Rapid cycling.

Rapid cycling happens but often people call it rapid cycling when in fact they have yet to find baseline. So until a person find stability whats to compare too?

Ultra cycling is quite rare... This is often just a person that is all over the map because they haven't found baseline and the treatment meds and coping skills are not working , so adjustments need to be made its not just medications.

And just food for thought, Often Bipolar is to blame for any mood shift, Bipolar people are going to be happy or sad or pissed because the situation warrants it.

Examples:

If I am stuck in traffic and going to be late for something ,, Sure I am going to get angry... Bipolar? No traffic.

If my husband is being a jerk ,, I can get pissed and it have nothing to do with Bipolar.

If my pet goldfish dies.. Im going to be sad.

If a kid is screaming bloody murder in the grocery store and Mom or Dad doesn't try to quiet the child down... I'm going to be irritated as hell .

Of course this is just my opinion

This. I fell some bipolar people are too quick to blame any mood shift on bipolar and thus think they have ultra rapid cycling when they really have a hard time regulating emotions brought on by situations.

I don't consider myself in an episode unless the mood shift lasts for three days or more.

That being said I do have technical rapid cycling because when Unmedicated I tend to go in two week cycles, so that's more than four episodes a year. Now with proper medication and coping skills I have been stable for four months. The downside is when I get depressed I tend to stay in it longer now because the medication kills any hypomania/mania.

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Gabyunbound

I agree with the above, but I wanted to clarify something. Are you saying that at least some people who suffer from rapid cycling are considering normal reactions to situations as 'episodes' instead of normal reactions/normal moods?

Yes basically I am.

I see in a lot of Bipolar people "especially newly diagnosed " "Most" have no idea what there baseline is. That was me, clueless.

For me.. I wasn't diagnosed until age 43.. Wow it was obvious that I had it all my life. I thought everyone had racing thoughts, Chronic insomnia, Over spending, some poor decisions... etc. So I have no idea what the hell baseline was

So I was slung onto the Med Merry Go Round.. It was ridiculous.. I was more up and down and swinging from light poles than before being diagnosed.

The reaction I might have to situation X might be totally different than someone elses. Hense why Bipolar is a very unique animal to different people...

Does that make sense ? My mind is misfiring alot lately

Ps just to add .. because I am old and didn't have the internet at my fingertips. I would have had to go to the library and haul a bunch of heavy encyclopedias and skim around and since it wasn't going to just hand me an answer or any clue.. I just went about my life.

The couple times in my life I was treated for depression and it was intolerable. As my particular Bipolar soup doesn't play nice with AD's

[Gabyunbound]

I was clueless in that way before I was diagnosed BP I. When a couple of years before I was diagnosed II (before full blown manic episode) it wasn't explained to me at all and I wasn't on the internet at all and just didn't look anything up in any way. No idea what my baseline was, but looking back it was a combination of true episodes, situational depression, excitement/happiness, and anxiety. The depression was at times because I had no idea what the h*** was going on and that really sucked. I think it's complicated and not just a binary episode vs baseline.

When I was diagnosed BP I I finally had a great pdoc who finally explained things to me and I started to really understand what was going on: what was baseline, what was episode, what was situational.

I get the impression sometimes that some people are embarrassed by 'situational' depression and hypomania-like symptoms and avoid accepting this like the plague. But I think it's just... Life. People with BP are susceptible to the same moods as anyone and everyone else (those who don't have BP). And I think this is a good thing, we're really not that isolated, and many of our experiences are shared with so many others, although some of our experiences are obviously very different and also subject to prejudice, including just having the dx itself...