[NolaMae]

I was diagnosed with bipolar in 2004. Since then I've been on so many medication combos I've lost count. No matter what meds I was taking, I would still have symptoms. Oh, they weren't as severe, but they were still there. Is there such a thing as being "medication resistant" to bipolar? Because I think I may be. More often than not, they don't improve my symptoms so much as that they just make me feel miserable from the side effects. I hate this cursed disease so much!

[UpDownAround]

Since I have been on my current meds, cycles have been less severe but much more frequent. I did have one short down cycle that went pretty deep into the abyss. I think my current meds are highly effective.

[xRavenx]

I definitely cycle. There's a big difference though between without meds, compared to me being on my meds, so they definitely help.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I still cycle. It's usually just not as severe. I'll take how I feel on meds vs off anyday

[Wild Coyote]

It's possible to have a med resistant form of bipolar illness.

My depression is usually med-resistant and has been so for a lifetime.
I am currently getting a small boost; however, its very rare.


WC

[99fairies]

I barely cycle since my new meds were added. I do struggle with psychosis once in awhile but I just have to take olanzapine for a few days and it's over.

[Victoria'smom]

Yes I still cycle but not as bad and not as long.

[Guiness187055]

Not when my meds are correct like now.

[~Christina]

I still do regardless of meds, I think the meds tamp things down alot tho , all though right now I am a rage filled mess.

Yes there are many people with drug resistant Mental illness which is so hard to struggle with.

[GoldenSnitch]

I still cycle but they are much more mild and don’t last as long as before my meds.

[BipolaRNurse]

As my pdoc put it, I still cycle---I just don't notice it as much. The meds mask it. Which is great, because my moods are basically stable; I usually just have some hypomania in the spring/early summer and mild depression in the fall/winter months. I also used to be rapid-cycling before I was put on two APs, and now I'm not.

[Pookyl]

Yes I still cycle. I no longer get the catatonic depression or the manic psychosis as long as I crank up my PRN intake at the first signs of an episode.

[Sunflower123]

Before this current med combo which has resolved my depression and anxiety, I didn’t cycle. I just stayed in a severe depression that would lift for only a day or two. I sympathize with anyone who cycles.

[scatterbrained04]

I still cycle. Now that I am on meds and seeing a pdoc, my episodes are usually shorter and less severe than they would be without meds. It almost seems like I have them more frequently though.

[cmorales]

Yeah, I do. Sometimes it's more intense than others. Back in 2015 it was bad enough that I stopped taking my meds because I was somewhat delusional and thought I was gonna go help people in Rojava, so naturally I had to learn to live without them because I wouldn't have access to them over there. More recently, I think I'm just coming out of far less intense mixed state where I was back and forth between physical symptoms of depression (with very few depressive thoughts) and more energized days. I've never experienced a cycle where everything was primarily physical as opposed to the mix of physical and mental... to be fair though, I'm not even entirely sure it was a legitimate cycle. I barely recognize (euphoric) mania when I'm not on meds so, naturally, when I am being a good boy and taking my meds and I experience "symptoms" (be they physical, mental, major or minor) it's just not likely that I'll recognize them until after they go away and I have time to reflect and think, "oh, okay, so that must be what happened."

[RomanJames2014]

I have been on and off medications for three years now and I still show symptoms of mania and depression but the cycles last a much shorter period.

For example, I had a manic Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this past weekend that involved: drinking, sex, and partying all hours of the night while working all three days vs being manic the entire summer.

I tend to show more hypomanic symptoms and slight depressive symptoms when I am on my meds.