For those who don't know what "ultradian cycling" is, it's basically when you have rapid mood swings, typically multiple times a day. This is not to be confused with a mixed state, though.

Me personally? Never.

[*Beth*]

I commonly experience mixed states. I marked "unsure", but actually yes...I do have ultradian cycling occasionally.

[Merlin]

Once when I was just taking an antidepressant. It lead to my bipolar diagnosis.

I am generally not an ultradian cycler, but when I have been put on antidepressants in the past, I have. I do have a strong history of episodes with mixed features (aka mixed episodes), however, mostly those mixed features have simultaneous symptoms of mania and depression. Some had full jumps up and down. Only once did a hospital medical report label me as "rapid cycling", but that was not ultradian cycling. That simply indicated that I had had more than 4 separate bipolar episodes that year. That is not my usual, and the rapid cycling label was just that one year. My usual number of full fledged episodes is usually two or three, but they may last for some time.

Fact is, I have breakthrough symptoms a lot. They don't all meet the official DSM criteria for episodes, but some do. Though I have had some down and "mixed" times in recent years, I have a much stronger history of having numerous "blips", or "upswings" as I call them, of mood elevation. An uncountable number, since I don't mood chart. They are part of why I'm still on disability. Luck is that emergency prns and psychiatrist appointments usually stop them in their tracks. I think this year, I've had a couple official longer-term episodes of hypomania, with one having a couple full blown manic days. I have not had an official depressive episode this year. I'm not sure about last year. As for the one before that, I did have some grief over the death of my nephew. It's hard to know how much was grief, and how much really was a depressive episode. I had a couple therapists I really liked retire or move. That caused a form of grief, as well. I grieved the loss of my parrots.

[unicornlady]

I've never had multiple in one day, but I have had every 4 days, which I think counts as something.

[Scooter9]

I had it for weeks as I was titrating up on Lamictal. My mood would charge every 2-3 hours going from depressed, to hypomanic, to mixed and back to depressed again. It was awful.

I had a hard time coping with it but I somehow managed.

Things settled down once I got to my target dose.

[yellow_fleurs]

Also not sure. I struggle to tell apart my moods, anxiety and emotions sometimes. I guess when my psychiatrist told me I was in a mixed episode it seemed like my mood was up and down during the day, but my mood was probably mixed the whole time.

[sophiebunny]

I have classic bipolar 1 disorder. True mania that lasts at least 7 days and rapid cycling defined as an episode every six weeks to eight weeks with a full blown mania or depression alternating. I've never heard of cycling multiple times a day. Is it in the DSMV?

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by sheltiemom2007

I have classic bipolar 1 disorder. True mania that lasts at least 7 days and rapid cycling defined as an episode every six weeks to eight weeks with a full blown mania or depression alternating. I've never heard of cycling multiple times a day. Is it in the DSMV?

Yes this^

This is what my Pdoc goes by. I have “ rapid cycled” a few times over the years which are defined as more than 4 episodes and minimum of at least 7 days each of up or down in a rolling calendar year.

I have had times were I was up down and all around in a single day.. It was just fact that I was unstable and we beat the bushes trying to find the right meds to level me out.

Ain’t Bipolar life grand lol

[bpcyclist]

Oh, yeah.

[cashart10]

Nope. Never. I have classic BPI.