[starshinelady]

Hello everyone,

I posted about a month ago for the first time and received so much great feedback. I finally had my psychiatrist appointment and she's diagnosed me as being on the bipolar spectrum. I'm not classic, type I bipolar, but more likely bipolar II. She's still pondering the specific classification, though.

I've been started on a low dose of lamictal that will be gradually increased. 25 mg/day for 2 weeks, then 50 mg/day, etc.

Does anyone have advice for someone newly diagnosed on the bipolar spectrum? Any lifestyle changes or anything else I can do (besides meds & therapy) to help? The "phases" or "episodes" of hypomania/mania have become very difficult this past year. The lack of sleep and risky behavior has become intolerable.

What advice would you have most liked to know when you were newly diagnosed?

[Blueberrybook]

I honestly don't know. Just know that medication, while useful is hardly ever the complete answer. Don' t be surprised if they tweak and tweak and keep tweaking your meds.

I think the most important thing is to know yourself. Know your triggers. Know what tends to happen first when you start to get hypomanic/manic; it is always lack of sleep for me. Always reach out to your pdoc and/or therapist for help when you need it. Go to the ER if necessary. Just take it one day at a time.

Exercise helps me, but I'm an overexerciser; that's what got me diagnosed with an eating disorder and into the mental health system in the first place. But it does help a lot of people, and it helps my anxiety too. Practice good sleep hygiene. If you are getting 4 hours of sleep a night, you know in your brain, that is not enough. If you can't sleep on your meds or on your own, ask for help. My #1 trigger is lack of sleep (tends to steer me right into hypomania and then full-blown mania). Learn what your triggers are.

But I think most important is to get help when you need it.

[Daonnachd]

The thing that seems to make a difference for me though I would rather avoid it is time in the sun. I had several different docs suggest more time outside getting sunlight because it stimulates production of serotonin in the brain, but it wasn't until we got a dog and I started walking him that I discovered it works.

[*Laurie*]

I think you're off to a great start. My very first suggestion is to be sure you have the best sleep schedule you can possible have. Sleep is the foundation of living successfully with BD.

I have sometimes found support groups to be more helpful than individual therapy, as far as getting support and information for a specific mental illness.

I find this forum and especially this board extremely informative and helpful...the support here is tremendous.

Stay on your meds. I think that the biggest problem with having BD (at least for me) is getting stable on meds, then thinking, "I've been misdiagnosed. I'm really sure I have...I think I should go off medication." When that has happened to me, I spoke with my pdoc about it. Sometimes there is a med that can be lowered or dropped. If so, that's great. But a mood stabilizer is so important when treating BD.

[BipolaRNurse]

What *Laurie* said above about feeling like you've been misdiagnosed. I've been diagnosed FOUR TIMES with bipolar 1 and sometimes I still think the doctors have made a terrible mistake. This always seems to coincide with me experimenting with my meds and thinking I need to stop a few of them, which never ends well. I've been battling hypomania all spring and summer, and what did I do but quit taking Zyprexa. It didn't last long because I couldn't sleep at all without it, but I'm still tempted to play with it even though the dose has been increased because of all the trouble I've had with the hypo. I don't know if I want to come down/off the meds because I really believe I'm overmedicated, or if it's the hypo talking.

So there you have it---even we "experienced" bipolar people can't get it right sometimes. Go easy on yourself and learn everything you can about your illness...coming here is a good start. We're not experts on the disease, but we're experts on our own bodies and minds and we are all different. Welcome!

[*Laurie*]

^^^ Good post.

[Movingon69]

Things that have worked for me:

1) Journaling - it is amazing how helpful it is in identifying when I'm about to go into a mania or depressive state.

2) There's a saying that if you have a lot of friends you have no true friends. I've recently learned this is true. I have four friends I was comfortable sharing my dx with. They check on me regularly. Sometimes they just come sit with me and let me cry. Not everyone is comfortable sharing their dx. So that's a personal decision.

3) EXERCISE. I run and do yoga. When I'm feeling good I can run about 7-8 miles. When I'm depressed sometimes all I can do is get out and walk a mile. Doesn't matter what you do or how much you do it helps.

4) I'm a Christian so I spend a lot of time in prayer.

5) Sleep patterns are important, which I haven't mastered yet.

6) Get a routine in your life. For instance, the minute I get out of bed I take my medicine, exercise, shower, make the bed, eat breakfast. It goes one but I do it in the same order every day.

7) If there are "bad" habits that are impacting your recovery replace them with healthy ones. I use to sit on my back porch every night and drink a whole (sometimes more) bottle of wine and watch the sunset. Alcohol is BAD for me. I now sit out back, drink hot tea, and watch the sunset.

Those work for me. It might not for you. Keep at it you will find what works.

[Tucson]

Originally Posted by cln1812

I honestly don't know. Just know that medication, while useful is hardly ever the complete answer. Don' t be surprised if they tweak and tweak and keep tweaking your meds.

I think the most important thing is to know yourself. Know your triggers. Know what tends to happen first when you start to get hypomanic/manic; it is always lack of sleep for me. Always reach out to your pdoc and/or therapist for help when you need it. Go to the ER if necessary. Just take it one day at a time.

[snip]

But I think most important is to get help when you need it.

Outstanding post!

[liveforsummer]

Cant think of anything to add as all these posts say it all.

[seoultous]

Identify a support system outside of therapy. Friends and family can be allies but not always. Figuring out who to trust and sharing my diagnosis with them was tough for me. Not everyone has to know you have bipolar - in fact most people don't need to know. If you really have someone in your corner, it can be a good idea to have them come to an appointment (with pdoc or T) so that bipolar can be explained to them and to answer their questions.

[Unrigged64072835]

1) Get a good sleep schedule. That is key.
2) Keep a mood log until you can figure out what can cause an episode.
3) Learn to have self-compassion. If this was an easy fix for everyone there wouldn't be a Bipolar forum.
4) Develop a self-care routine. Little things will add up.
5) Have support. Whether it's a therapist, support group, whatever--have people you can talk to.

[~Christina]

Good sleep hygiene, mindfulness, exercise, stay off the couch, healthy foods, take meds, again good sleep hygiene ( that’s huge) use a mood chart to help notice a episode starting before your hip deep in one.

A good Therapist is key I think. Sure you have friends but you don’t want to overwhelm them and turn the relationship into your “ bipolar ” saga.

Be kind to yourself.

[tecomsin]

Hopefully the lamictal will even out your sleeping patterns. It's good you are aware of how closely your phases are tied to sleep.

[starshinelady]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful advice. Sleep is one of my major issues. I definitely need to focus on getting a regular sleep schedule. I have such a hard time sleeping that only gets exacerbated when I'm in the middle of an episode. I also need to make some dietary changes.

Diagnosis has been such a major transition for me. I know I'm the same person I always was, but it's interesting to finally have a label for some of my more questionable behavior. It makes me feel like less of a "bad" person since there's a valid medical reason behind some of my poor choices.

[UpDownAround]

A big one for me was coming to terms with a MI dx. It really isn't different than finding out I have some severe allergy, degenerative arthritis or some other physical ailment that derails me sometimes but that I could adapt to. I wouldn't feel like like any of those things were my fault; neither is BP. I wouldn't be ashamed of having any of those ailments (and I actually have the degenerative arthritis) and I should not be ashamed of BP. With the arthritis, I have unexpected flares out of the blue sometimes and have to cancel plans; I try to make the best of it and enjoy doing things when I have it under control, which is most of the time. I don't dwell on it and feel sorry for myself. But I did do all of these things, and to some degree still do, when it comes to BP. I need to get past that. I have gotten much better at it but still could improve my attitude about it.

How you feel about it can be as important as what you do about it.