[jaysmotogp]

Curious if others have ever had this issue.
I've had four serious catatonic occurances in the last three years. First time ER said Acute Stress, and benzo'd me and i came out of it(was in it for almost four hours). Wife thought i was having a stroke.
The told my wife to give me(forcebly if she had to) ativan if it occured again, which it did.
Later i would realize that those events occured while i was so deep in depression that i couldnt take it and my brain just shut down (or whatever a brain does in that situation).
Fast forward to nine months ago and Pdoc said it was related to the BP.
I have never heard of that though, and havent seen anything like that on the board here(so far)
Has this happended to any one?
Thanks
J
p.s. when i mean catatonia, i mean total shutdown, no talking, no moving, not even blinking, none. I dont remember whats happended later, or maybe bits and pieces.

[bizi]

Yes I have experienced this before when I went off my meds and was given paxil for depression not telling her that I was bipolar. It was awful. I feel for you. Only happened once and I don't really remember much about it though I was staring at a blank tv screen.

bizi

Once in the ER, after trying to jump out of my husband's moving car, I experienced a short period of mutism and inability to move, with staring. Just prior in the ER, I had been screaming and rolling around the ER entrance floor. The mutism and paralysis of sorts happened after they got me into a wheelchair.

Maybe 30 mins later, in the ER bed, I started screaming again. I believe they gave me some injection.

The hospital psychiatrist was not 100% sure the mutism/freezing was catatonia at first. Though I was immediately sent to the psych hospital, the next day I was sent back to the general hospital for a CT scan and EEG. The results were negative for seizure activity (there are some types of seizures involving similar staring/mutism/freezing). Given that, they concluded that it was a brief form of catatonia. There are various forms of catatonia.

[still_crazy]

yes. i think that's why i was diagnosed along the schizophrenia-spectrum until I was "accurately diagnosed" (note the sarcasm). anyway...

i didnt know this until recently, but they lump all kinds of stuff under Bipolar I, including some episodes of psychosis, dissociative stuff, and even writing way, way too much (Hypergraphia). so...

hopefully, if you choose to go for treatment, that will help prevent or reduce the intensity of anything that comes up in the future.

[MickeyCheeky]

I'm so sorry you're struggling, jaysmotogp and everyone who has experienced Catatonia What you've described sounds terrible... I hope you and your Pdoc are able to find something that can help you cope with it in case it happens again - let's hope it doesn't. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this

[Moose72]

Yes its happened to me a few times. Before diagnosis though. Ive been diagnosed 13 years.

[Faltering]

I recently experienced catatonia in a depressive episode.

It sounds like the OP is talking about catatonic stupor, but there is also an excited/agitated form of catatonia. I haven’t experienced that, but I did have the stuperous kind several years ago, though it was undiagnosed at the time.

Right before it happened, I was told that I had psychomotor retardation due to severe depression. But the catatonia was different; much worse. I have very few memories of about a 6 week period. What I do remember is moving only when forced to, being forced to eat, and speaking only a few words, which all felt like it required Herculean effort. Apparently, all I did was sit/lie completely immobile, with my eyes shut for almost the entire 6 weeks. My only other memory is of a nurse screaming in my face at a day centre because she had asked me a question and I didn’t (couldn’t) answer, so she screamed right in my face that I was incredibly rude not to answer. I didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t move, or talk. Anyway, as I said, it went undiagnosed/untreated and I came out of it myself, somehow, about 6 weeks later.

I don’t remember how I felt, I only have a handful of memories from that period but, when I realised what had happened, I am petrified by it, and the thought of it ever happening again. I was completely vulnerable. I have no memory of if anything bad could’ve happened to me. I had no way of protecting myself. I had no control of my body or my situation at all. It is easily the thing that terrifies me the most, and I’ve experienced a lot of scary **** over the years.

Catatonia, whether stuperous or excited, isn’t a diagnosis in its own right. Nor is it only related to a few specific conditions. It’s probably most famous in schizophrenia (my current diagnonsense), but can also happen in bp, depression, PTSD etc, and lots of physical health conditions too.

to anybody who has ever had the misfortune to experience this. I hope to god that we never, ever do again!

*Willow*

[downandlonely]

I don't think I've experienced true catatonia (although I do struggle with motivation when I'm depressed). For me, when it gets to the point where I can't think clearly, I know I need a med adjustment.

[jaysmotogp]

Originally Posted by WeepingWillow23

It sounds like the OP is talking about catatonic stupor, but there is also an excited/agitated form of catatonia. I haven’t experienced that, but I did have the stuperous kind several years ago, though it was undiagnosed at the time.

Right before it happened, I was told that I had psychomotor retardation due to severe depression. But the catatonia was different; much worse. I have very few memories of about a 6 week period. What I do remember is moving only when forced to, being forced to eat, and speaking only a few words, which all felt like it required Herculean effort. Apparently, all I did was sit/lie completely immobile, with my eyes shut for almost the entire 6 weeks. My only other memory is of a nurse screaming in my face at a day centre because she had asked me a question and I didn’t (couldn’t) answer, so she screamed right in my face that I was incredibly rude not to answer. I didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t move, or talk. Anyway, as I said, it went undiagnosed/untreated and I came out of it myself, somehow, about 6 weeks later.

I don’t remember how I felt, I only have a handful of memories from that period but, when I realised what had happened, I am petrified by it, and the thought of it ever happening again. I was completely vulnerable. I have no memory of if anything bad could’ve happened to me. I had no way of protecting myself. I had no control of my body or my situation at all. It is easily the thing that terrifies me the most, and I’ve experienced a lot of scary **** over the years.

Catatonia, whether stuperous or excited, isn’t a diagnosis in its own right. Nor is it only related to a few specific conditions. It’s probably most famous in schizophrenia (my current diagnonsense), but can also happen in bp, depression, PTSD etc, and lots of physical health conditions too.

to anybody who has ever had the misfortune to experience this. I hope to god that we never, ever do again!

*Willow*

What you describe sounds eerily similar to what i was experiencing and yes it is terrifying knowing it could happen again. It hopefully may not though as they all occured before i was diagnosed and now i have a pretty good med regimen.
Thanks👍

[jaysmotogp]

Thanks all for your input.
On one hand i feel relieved knowing its not just me, but on the other hand i am saddened that others here have indeed experienced it too😞.
Thanks again take care🤗

[Tucson]

Yes, this did happen to me many years ago. It did happend to me at least once a few years ago when taking care of my mother. That time in my life was really nightmarish.