Not sure if I am posting in the right spot, but the Bipolar forum seemed to me the wrong place.

I wanted to know how long it takes after the psychosis seems to subside, to trust that it indeed has subsided. Or if you also have this problem.

The last month has been really rough for me. I have bipolar 1 and when I am manic or mixed I also get voices and visual hallucinations along with tactile. I do experience hallucination when I am not having have any mood episodes. So I am not really clear on that.

I just went on zyprexa and off seroquel. In the last two days I am noticing a bit of positive changes (very small tho). But it seems like its really hard for me to trust that the psychosis is over, constantly checking myself then rechecking. Same goes for the mania. Tho I feel I may drive my self crazy with this constant checking to make sure that what I hear or see exists or not.

Anyone else, any ideas to over come this?

[Perna]

I think it is an individual thing and your experiences will differ from anyone elses:

http://www.allaboutbipolar.com/2009/...ith-psychosis/

[Tsunamisurfer]

Originally Posted by Anika

I wanted to know how long it takes after the psychosis seems to subside, to trust that it indeed has subsided. Or if you also have this problem.

Hi Anika. Thanks for raising the question.
I too live with Bipolar 1, and was recently hospitalised for a psychotic episode. Within 4 days, Invega mostly removed the voices, paranoid delusions and vivid hallucinations, but 2 weeks later, some less obvious features remain. I still see grey scurrying creatures (out of focus) in my peripheral vision a couple of times a day, and my spatial sense has good days and bad days. Today it is very difficult for me to drive a car - even simply to drive straight and not hit anything because my world appears fluid like constantly shifting goal posts. My thinking is easily confused by conflicting messages. I find myself double guessing, wondering whether I really saw what I did see. Noises and crowded rooms still overwhelm me.

My pdoc hasn't given me an estimated timeframe for how long these symptoms are likely to last, but she did say the neuroleptic was probably a temporary med requirement for my condition.
She warned that stress was likely to bring back the psychosis even when it was apparently gone.
In other words, "Welcome to the Hotel California".

I hope you get a better and more encouraging answer than this.
Peter

Thanks for your reply, I think it's comforting enough to know that I am not the only one second guessing myself all the time, not that I wish this on anyone.

I was doing it in a store yesterday, and I just felt really embarrassed and hoped no one had noticed me jumping around looking scared.

I don't know if there really is a time frame. Every time I go through this it's different. So I'm not too worried about that. I just want to be able to trust my own mind. I'm sure that's the dream for anyone going through this.

The other thing bothering me is trying to understand why my mind chooses what it does for hallucinations. Anyone have a link on this, I'd love to know.

Perna, thanks for the link, I scanned it quickly, looks good, I will read it tonight when I have some time.

[dragonfly2]

I was having some bad tactile hallucinations earlier this month, and though they have subsided, I still find myself being a little hypervigilant if I feel anything touching me. I'm also still looking twice when I see odd movement, despite the fact that the visual stuff is gone too. So, no, you're definitely not alone here.

Originally Posted by dragonfly2

I was having some bad tactile hallucinations earlier this month, and though they have subsided, I still find myself being a little hypervigilant if I feel anything touching me. I'm also still looking twice when I see odd movement, despite the fact that the visual stuff is gone too. So, no, you're definitely not alone here.

Thanks Dragonfly, seems my checking is warrented *sigh*. I really thought I was in the clear, well hoping.

[dragonfly2]

I'm sorry you're still having trouble. I know how frustrating it feels.

[Tsunamisurfer]

Hang in there, Anika & Dragonfly. Seems the creepy stuff lurks for a while.
My mood chart has shown an euthymic straight line for 2 weeks now, but I felt sudden overwhelming sensations of being hunted and spied on this morning. Then I did my first photoshoot since I was hospitalised - a short one of 1 hour just before lunch - and I had all sorts of trouble keeping the camera still enough, and feeling cognitively overwhelmed. It has taken a lot of effort to keep my fight/flight urges under control (my kids probably don't think I did a good enough job ) Oh well, little steps.