[Blueberrybook]

OK, I'm pretty sure now I'm definitely having hypomania. My husband told me this morning he's been noticing things for the last too weeks, especially my interrupting other people while talking more & more (and it's been harder to listen to people and not keep interrupting them while talking), sentences trailing off and then changing topics abruptly, confusing the person I'm talking to, talking rapidly, slurring words, and wording sentences strangely (which is because I forget the word I'm looking for, usually some very common word).

I've just been feeling better & better, getting more productive, running longer distances (11 miles this morning), losing weight as a consequence. My sleep is around 6 hr. a night, so not super horrible, but it could be better.

My husband told me to call my pdoc, and I listened to him because generally once family members start noticing, I really need to call before full-blown mania hits. I left a message at the front office for my pdoc to call me. I'm not sure when he'll call back. Sometimes, he responds in the morning, other times not until 5 PM or just after.

So we'll see. I hate to lose this energy, but the racing thoughts are getting bad. I'm forgetting tasks in the middle of them. I will put all the dirty laundry in the washing machine, add the detergent, then leave, forgetting to start it or think of something I need to do, then start on that immediately or forget it completely.

The pdoc did up my Adderall, but that was just last week, and if my husband saw it 2 weeks ago, I'm not sure if that is the culprit. I'm also on some Wellbutrin too; I haven't been on it long, but maybe over 2 weeks, I'm not sure. I've thought about stopping the Wellbutrin cold turkey, but I've read there can be withdrawals and you might need to taper, or it could be the pdoc will suspect the Adderall or adjust dosages on stuff. We'll see.

It's good that you and your husband are now in tune with changes in your behavior. It seems like something you should discuss with your psychiatrist, especially being on potentially activating medications. You may also want to mention your exercise, including the distances and times for running the distances (how many minutes per mile). I gather you are an exercise enthusiast, which is great, but for some people vigorous exercise can be a trigger for mania. Actually, so can excitement.

[Moose72]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

I gather you are an exercise enthusiast, which is great, but for some people vigorous exercise can be a trigger for mania. Actually, so can excitement.

I know that when I get out of judo I am full of endorphines which can kick up hypomania. It can set the tone for the day.

[Blueberrybook]

Yeah, I'll mention those things. He still hasn't called, and if it's not a huge emergency, he will do it after his last appointment usually, anywhere from 5 to 5:30.

[MoodyMountain]

Dexedrine definitely triggered me. Adderall may have too, but I didn't know about the bipolar then, I just thought it was ADHD.

[Blueberrybook]

Hmm, pdoc never called back, which is unusual for him. Either the front desk didn't give him the message, or he forgot. I'll call tomorrow again. It's not emergency urgent. My mania doesn't spiral completely out of control unless my sleep goes, and that is still OK. Could use more sleep, but 6 hours a night is pretty good by chronic insomnia standards. I had a few early awakenings this week, which probably didn't help either.

My pdoc does have a cell phone you can call for emergencies, but while it's something that I feel does need to be addressed soon, it is not that type of emergency. It's OK if I have to wait a day or 2; the bottom won't fall out.

[Wild Coyote]

I hope you have heard from your pdoc.
I also hope you can rest tonight.
Thinking of you.

WC

[Scooter9]

Did you finish your antibiotic? Maybe that has something to do with it.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by cln1812

Hmm, pdoc never called back, which is unusual for him. Either the front desk didn't give him the message, or he forgot. I'll call tomorrow again. It's not emergency urgent. My mania doesn't spiral completely out of control unless my sleep goes, and that is still OK. Could use more sleep, but 6 hours a night is pretty good by chronic insomnia standards. I had a few early awakenings this week, which probably didn't help either.

My pdoc does have a cell phone you can call for emergencies, but while it's something that I feel does need to be addressed soon, it is not that type of emergency. It's OK if I have to wait a day or 2; the bottom won't fall out.

We were writing at the same time and you'd posted first, so my last post is in error. Sorry.
I hope you will sleep well tonight!
We'll both be chasing down pdocs tomorrow.


WC

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by Scooter9

Did you finish your antibiotic? Maybe that has something to do with it.

I forgot about the antibiotic. I think I just finished it yesterday.

[Blueberrybook]

Hmm...pdoc called back and said to get more sleep at night because today I'm sounding pretty good talking on the phone. I did get an extra hour of sleep last night and didn't run this morning because I was too tired and woke up with an upset stomach. Also, it was hectic as it was my daughter's 1st day back to school, and I had to go get donuts because I have always gotten them for her first & last days of school. She is one who hates changes to routine. Now, it's just too hot to run. Pdoc said to add some melatonin to the sleep mix and see how that does for a week or so (to see if I can fall back to sleep after early waking) & to try napping in the daytime while my daughter is in school, so that I have a total of 8-10 hr. of sleep. I'm not really sure about that. He also said I could go back on Trazodone instead of Clonidine for sleep, but I hate the hungover feeling Trazodone leaves me with in the morning. Though he said that is what we'd do next. I still have good left over Trazodone pills from my old pdoc, prescribed maybe in January. She had me on Trazodone & hydroxyzine for sleep.
Possibly I could go back to that. I have hydroxyzine I can use to help calm panic attacks, especially long-lasting ones. I can nap in the day, but usually only if I take 2 mg Klonopin along with 2 of my fibromyalgia muscle relaxer pills (tizandine). I am prescribed up to 4 of the tizandine pills per day. Lately, I haven't had a fibro flare-up, so I could try that too.

I guess I have a lot of options. I not really sure which one to go with. This is why I liked my old pdoc better. She didn't give me options unless I really rejected to a med because I'd had it before, and it didn't work, or it had terrible side effects. I tell all my pdocs flat out that if a med is causing me unexplained weight gain or making me only want to eat (never feel full) and sleep (such as Remeron) because my eating disorder past, they can be 100% sure I will not take it. My most common meds side effects tend to be fatigue & dry mouth. The pdoc said the Clonidine could be the problem though, so I don't know. Maybe I'll go back in my medical records & try the Trazodone/hydroxyzine combo again.

I also only just thought about it, but I keep forgetting to take the Protonix for my stomach. You are supposed to take it on an empty stomach 30 minutes before eating anything, and I always forget about it. I have been taking it very sporadically the past month, and not at all last week (realized this while refilling my meds). Gastro doc said to take it before dinner, but maybe I'll take before breakfast; that's easiest, and it seems a lot of Protonix info sites say to take it first thing in the morning because it works best on an empty stomach. Geez, maybe I should just start by taking the Protonix first thing in the morning. I'll have to call the gastro-doc assistant and find out if he feels that is OK. Then, if it is OK, I'll have to call the pdoc and see what he thinks, considering I've been forgetting Protonix most of the time, maybe taking it 2 days in a week.

My husband did notice the symptoms around 2 weeks ago, so it definitely could be the Protonix affecting things. That is unfortunately a med I'm not getting off before December or maybe never. My next gastro-doc appt. is in December, and he is hard to catch in his practice because of his hospital rounds and doing procedures like upper endoscopies & colonoscopies, and he pretty much told me get back on the Protonix pronto because I stopped taking it after my upper endoscopy showed everything was OK. Apparently,the trauma surgeons had to alter the perforated ulcer repair strategy on me because of my having a high muscle to fat ratio, and he said I was lucky as if it happened again (I guess once you get one ulcer, you are prone to more), I could be looking at a surgery removing half of my stomach. I was running most days at the time, but normal amounts, 3-4 miles. I wasn't wanting to lose weight, or even weighing myself unless I was at a doctor's appt., and they weighed me there. I just wanted to tone up a bit. But I do know Protonix can affect a lot of meds and vitamin & mineral absorptions (especially B12 and magnesium).

Ugh! So many factors!

[Blueberrybook]

Gastro-doc's assistant actually called back, which is some small miracle as she rarely does without several voicemails and tries. She said it's OK to take the Protonix first thing in the morning. That will help me so much. The Protonix has its own pill box because of needing to be taken alone. Hopefully, I'll remember better in the morning.

So now I have to see how I do on all these meds with the Protonix. Next pdoc appointment is Sept. 5.

It is ironic that out of all these medications I take, I'd forget to take the most important one.