How to induce hypomania?

Don't judge me, please.

A lot going on.

Been considering dropping my mood stabiliser and just continuing with my anti depressant.

Already dropped my anti psychotic because of weight gain.

If you have bipolar disorder, what you're doing is not a good idea, in my view. If you must quit meds, why stay on an antidepressant? That could possibly do more harm than not taking the antidepressant. I urge you to ask yourself what happened the last several times you became hypomanic (or manic)? How did people react to you? What were the ramifications?

Quitting medications can make it more difficult for many people to be stabilized again. In some cases, it can bring on episodes that are worse than any they have experienced before that. Quitting medications without cooperation with a psychiatrist can sometimes anger the psychiatrist (and even therapist) enough that they quit the patient. Then the patient is left alone in the situation, and it may be very difficult to find new mental health support when the XXX hits the fan, possibly resulting in a costly psych hospitalization (or hospitalizationS) and maybe PHP/IOPs.

Please think carefully about your plan. Consider asking your psychiatrist about reducing your moodstabilizer instead of quitting it cold turkey. If they refuse, you can ask why.

Thank you ....... I'm going to carry on taking my mood stabiliser.

I still take my anti depressant because I don't want to get Sui.

I only slept 2 hours last night.

I have super powers.

When I first started taking Prozac I had a week of what I would call hypomania. I felt absolutely wonderful. Then the Prozac settled (or my own body settled) and I became "normal" (I'm also on Lamictal and an AP). To say I was disappointed is putting it mildly. I felt/feel baseline normal now and would love to find a physically safe and legal way to feel nicely hypomanic without slipping into a weird hypo. Who can blame us? Of course we want to feel terrific.


That said, I'm glad you've decided to stay on your mood stabilizer primarily because if you suddenly stop it you will likely have physical withdrawal symptoms and that's definitely not fun. But, if you decrease it slowly...well, you know where that leads. So yeah, it's entirely up to you, Hitch.

I think I’m going to stay at status quo.

The lack of sleep for weeks might inadvertently turn into disaster. Just can’t sleep. Work anxiety.

Hitch can you take something for sleep? Like even basic over the counter stuff or that interferes with your meds? Or can they prescribe something? Lack of sleep is just awful.

My pdoc has tried a few things that have not been successful and I’ve tried a few over the counter meds too

This is just my personal experience but hypo that’s induced is usually a bad trip. It goes sideways and I ended up paying a high price.

Have you tried melatonin at 10mgs (minimum) or a melatonin/valerian root combination?

Have you tried trazadone?
Prozac made me hypomanic a few times. I woke up at 4AM with all this energy and wanted to run around the block. I don't know much about mania since I don't have it.

I can’t get melatonin over the counter here. It’s something I’ll bring up with my pdoc!

I don’t believe I’ve tried that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Hitch I can’t get melatonin over the counter here. It’s something I’ll bring up with my pdoc!

Yes, that could be very helpful. I was resistant to taking melatonin for years. I was finally so desperate to sleep that I tried it. 5mg didn't do anything, but 10mg is so helpful I'm sorry I waited as long as I did to try it. Recently I told a friend who has BD about melatonin. He has terrible sleep problems. It's working very well for him. Can you order it on Amazon?

Trazodone is an old AD. It can cause hypomania. It can be a godsend but can also cause elevated mood. Has done for me.

I applaud you for staying with status quo and not giving in to temptation.

There is an online company I bought it from many years ago. It shipped from the UK. I’ll wait until we move in 2 weeks to order some.

Please don’t chase fire… it will burn you.

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Thanks Christina,

I'm going to stay on my mood stabiliser and antidepressant. The only reason I've dropped my antipsychotic is because of weight gain ...

Crazy Hitch, if you do need the assistance of an antipsychotic in the future, please know there are some that are weight neutral for many. I've been on some weight neutral antipsychotics. Not exactly now, though my current one could be much much worse, for me (our experiences vary). I've been on more serious weight gainer meds in the past, too.

Thanks Soupe! No doubt if I go true mania I’d need an antipsychotic. Just need to drop a few kilos first before I talk to my pdoc about getting back on it. I just didn’t find Abilify cut it for me ….

I have been able to lose some of Zyprexa-induced gain. I am now on Latuda and losing weight, but I am also taking Ozempic for weight loss.