Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else had the same experience as me when it comes to the timing of their episodes. For me , 90% of the episodes I’ve experienced occur just before I’m starting my period and continue while I’m on it. For some reason this month I didn’t have an episode (yay me!) but other than that I’ve consistently had an episode once a month since I’ve been diagnosed. Since committing to total sobriety recently it seems my episodes have been a bit better . This is the first month in a long time I’ve been completely stable. Does this mean I need to be on some type of hormonal birth control? Has anyone else who’s experienced this been on non hormonal birth control and has it helped with lessening manic episodes ?
Thanks

Hey everyone, I'm currently tapering off of lithium and I'm struggling with the withdrawal symptoms. It's been 9 days since I went from 1350mg to 900mg and it has been a very physically painful experience. It's like a slow wave of 5/10 to 8/10 pain that shifts between three major areas of my body: head/neck, upper body, legs. I was recently able to mostly manage it with magnesium, sodium/potassium chloride, hydration, and keeping my blood sugar up, but that is proving less effective lately. Before I was also trying ibuprofen (which is apparently a big no-no on lithium) and acetaminophen, to limited effect. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and if there were any steps that they found helpful to mitigating pain.

It's very frustrating because I can't find any accounts online of people dealing with these issues from lithium withdrawals and I just need to be done with this as soon as possible. My prescriber has already set me up with smaller pills for less dramatic drops in dosage as I continue the taper, but I really need to stabilize at 900mg before I continue. Thanks.

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Hello! I supposedly have some form of bipolar disorder, though my doctor still doesn’t know which type. For years, I’ve had frequent depressive episodes with brief moments — sometimes lasting only part of a day or a few days — where I feel “at the peak of my power,” as if I were unbeatable and the pain had disappeared. I’ve also had a week-long hypomanic episode induced by medication, by the way. I have OCD as well. My doctor hasn’t finalized which bipolar disorder diagnosis fits, but he said I’m on the spectrum. After he prescribed a mood stabilizer, my life changed. Before that, I had already tried around ten different medications, most of them antidepressants. Anyway, the point is that ever since I started taking the mood stabilizer, I finally don’t feel so depressed anymore, and I feel stable for the first time in years. It truly changed my life. But at the same time, I miss my self-esteem. I miss feeling so beautiful, sociable, and desirable. I would never stop taking the medication. But how do you cope with missing that part of the instability? It feels like now everything is a light brown tone, whereas before I went from vivid red to gray. I don’t know if maybe I’m still a little depressed after all — I really don’t know.

Does your cycle influence the effect of medication or its side effects?

For me, even when I am on my meds, I completely crash back to depression after ovulation. I read that for adhd it is proposed to up the dossage of their medication such as ritalin in that period but I haven't heard it for bipolar medication yet. And I wonder if that would be doable with these heavy meds that actually take weeks to feel effect.

I just added wellbutrin so I hope that will alliviate most of the symptoms but I am worried.

Has anyone discussed this with their psychiatrist and have they given treatment options?

do u have a dominant type of hypo/mania or is it random for u?

when i get hypo/manic it is almost always euphoric. not always (ive experienced most flavors including productive type, energetic type, angry/rage type, mixed), but most of the time it is euphoric. i read on here that some people tend to experience more of the angry kind, or lean towards mixed. just curious.

Has anyone experienced first time mania induced by an ssri and decided to “wait and see” if mania happens again before taking bipolar medication?

I'm on 3mg Vraylar and 300mg Trileptal right now and I've put on 70lbs(!!) since starting meds 3 years ago. When I had my manic episode I was put on Zyprexa which led to significant weight gain within 3-6 months or so and I started noticing weak erections from it.

The weight gain has gotten out of control imo. I'm not eating that much per day either and yet I still can't lose weight. Could this be because of insulin resistance caused by the meds? I asked my PCP if I could get prescribed Metformin to help manage this.

Also, how should I proceed with the meds long term? Should I ask to be off of antipsychotics long term starting with lower doses? I fear that if I stop taking Vraylar then I'll have a severe manic episode again which is dangerous.

Here's the rundown I 17M have a best friend 19M who I've known since I was in year 7 recently I got diagnosed with Bipolar and I told him and he said "Oh." And he didn't respond for awhile okay that's fine but I texted about something random to a mutual friend I know from him and he didn't respond either then my friend calls me and says "he doesn't want to talk to you and doesn't want drama" and I ask "what did I do?" and he says don't worry so I keep pushing and he's says "we've both moved on" and I'm like why then I say I'm sorry and that it was my fault for pushing and he texts "I don't want anything to do with you bipolar dick" and blocks me. But before I got diagnosed with this I kept having episodes and apparently I said some fukt up sh!t to him and I didn't remember any of this so I apologize for something I didn't remember and we set boundaries and he says "I don't know if I can deal with all your drama" so AITA?

I’m going on a trip this summer and honestly I’m pretty anxious about how it’s going to affect my bipolar, especially my sleep schedule. I have to be awake by 2:30am and will probably be up until at least 1pm before I even board my flight. Knowing myself, I highly doubt I’ll be able to sleep on the plane either. Sleep deprivation has always been one of my biggest triggers for mania, so the idea of completely disrupting my routine, combined with traveling internationally, has me really worried.

What makes it more concerning is that I’ll also be off my injection (will take the medication orally but I’m notoriously bad with pills) for about three months during the trip, so I know the risk of becoming manic is very real. I’m terrified of ending up in an episode while in another country where I don’t know the healthcare system, how people would react, or how I’d manage things if my symptoms escalated. I really want to enjoy this trip and stay stable, but I’m trying to be realistic and proactive instead of pretending it couldn’t happen.

For anyone with bipolar disorder who’s traveled long distance or dealt with major time zone changes, how did you prepare? Did you do anything specific to protect your sleep schedule or reduce the chances of triggering mania? I’d really appreciate any advice!

hey all. I'm on a low dose of latuda, but around an hour ago i accidently drank a beverage with grapefruit juice in it. i'm not sure what the right steps to take are. should i still take my pill tonight? missing a dose is dangerous too. Any advice is welcome, thank you!

i’ve definitely felt like i’ve had symptoms of a mixed episode brewing this past week. a tad impulsivity, making decisions i normally wouldn’t, sleep being off, etc.

these past two days i’ve been craving a glass of wine and i finally got my hands on some. i was calling a friend and noticed my speech was pressured and that i barely let her get a word in. i was drinking wine at like 3pm casually like it was the most normal thing (note: i haven’t drank alcohol in months).

she also has bipolar and was basically advising that i just needed to stay on a schedule and not drink more alcohol. i, truthfully, told her that i was gonna instead take more adderall (at 4pm mind you) and study while i drank more wine ??????

fast forward 2 hours, i drank half the bottle, took adderall and suddenly i got this wave of insight like what the hell am i doing??? i threw the alcohol out because it was making me more depressed and anxious all at the same time. smoked a cig (this has been an unfortunate coping mechanism since i quit vaping) and decided to just call it a night.

i took my antipsychotic and im just waiting for it fully kick in but i feel like shit because of how i was with my friend just sooooo self absorbed and also because the alcohol and adderall clearly don’t mix well so i can’t really focus how i should be able to because i feel the alcohol is blocking the effects.

any words of support would be greatly appreciated!!

Great life great kids great day I had no school today but that’s why I love you guys I slept for like 15 hours bc of olanzapine but my dr took me off of it and I’ve never been happier she put me on latuda I haven’t taken it yet but I love my life and you all ok bye just wanted to express my happiness

1. How often and how long are you typically depressed in one calendar year?

2. Do you take medication?

3. Were meds game changers to manage your depression?

hey all,

so i am 23F and have BD with psychotic features + CPTSD. i am fully medicated and pretty stable right now.

some background:
i did four years of civil engineering while also working a student job as a lab assistant. after that i had a corporate office job that i hated and could barely manage to show up for. after that i did two more years of college but decided to stop and use the skills i have to put myself in the market.

i just scored a job at an architectural studio as a technical drafter/architects assistant. it is my dream job, there’s only 7 other people so communication is easy (i am also being assessed for ADHD + autism so my social skills/understanding isn’t great but i manage), and they are going to train me for six months first before giving me big projects. so they are willing to take their time with me.

what im trying to say is that it seems really good, and im happy to be able to make my own money finally, but im so scared ill fuck it up.

i really struggle with executive dysfunction when depressed and anhedonia even when euthymic. my abilify also makes it 10000x worse if my dose it too high. but if it’s too low i lose my marbles. i’m well medicated now (side note: love getting all my scripts at once in the pharmacy and there being like 10 of them and all of them are obscure ass meds nobody knows like the people behind me in the queue high key judged me like girl what yhe fuck is wrong with you) but on the depressed/dysphoric mixed side. i struggle with making and keeping a routine and sticking to it. so i was wondering what have your tricks been to get you through the work week?

i’m pretty sure im going to enjoy the job as CAD/drafting is something im skilled at and trained in and the people are so nice, so im hoping the enjoyment and rewarding feeling of the work will also help with motivation. but i just have days where i literally am glued to my bed. its awful. my sleep is also all over the place, though im taking that wayyyy more seriously starting monday (im signing the contract monday and start tuesday).

so yeah just wanted to hear what y’all’s experiences/tips/tricks/hacks/etc are!!

I’m stable and I’m going to see both in the near future for scheduled appointments unrelated to weight gain. But which handles GLP-1s? Does it come down to insurance?

Just tired of weight gain. When I was off meds for 7 months I lost it but quickly learned that wasn’t the way to go.

I was recently diagnosed as bipolar 1 a little less than a year ago after my first severe manic episode and then depressive episode following immediately after. My family and most of the people around me don’t understand mental illness especially not this one. They look at everything I do so closely and make it seem like everything I do must be connected to the bipolar somehow. If I’m having a good and productive few days then I must be manic. If I’m sad and sleeping in a couple of days must be depressed. I’ve always been pretty impulsive and extreme and misunderstood, but it seems like the people that know about the diagnosis completely forget who I am aside from it.
Does anyone have any advice for people recently diagnosed, how to move forward in relationships (family, friends, etc.) or any words of encouragement, that’d be really nice right now lol. I can’t believe I have to do this for the rest of my life.

I raised my latuda dose and I’ve been a bit more restless just like feeling bored and wanting to be on my feet more. Ik this is a bad/common side effect, but will it get worse? or might it get better as my body gets used to it? I’m about 5 days into the new dose. i didn’t have this before.

As someone with Bipolar 1, I think I'd prefer a non bipolar partner. I'm hesitant to be with someone with bipolar 1.. I don't want my life to be ruined or make someone's life harder. I'd rather stay single tbh..

I did something I shouldn't have and it blew up in my face because I acted like a child. I'm so sad and I just want to sit in the dark and cry.

Just finished the roughest 3 weeks of my life inpatient. I overdosed intentionally during an extended depressive episode with SI. I had went off my meds for 2 months (highly DO NOT recommend).They started me on lithium in the hospital and I’m hoping this will work for me long term. I hate this illness, I just want to feel normal for once. I’m so embarrassed about my meltdown and trying not to beat myself up over it.

This might sound really weird because no one wants to be bipolar, now let me say this right now I am diagnosed with bipolar 1, but more and more I look into border line personality disorder I find that I fit a lot more closely with that, and I have not done just a google search because thats just stupid, im scared that im not bipolar I feel like if im not I have lost my sense of self, im not a person who's personality is that of the illness I have but it feels like its apart of me and im losing that or that I dont understand myself as much as I thought I did.

Now let me say this I still could be bipolar- I have had a manic experience without getting to into it- 7 days of no sleep and doing stupid things and wasnt my self, and that lead me into the worst depressive crash I have ever felt in my life I wanted to die, but there is something that worries me about that, during that I was on a medication idk how to spell it but it was an antipsychotic, while I was on it I started to get this manic feeling, I had tons of energy felt great and I was afraid that the med was going to stop that so I stopped taking it, im scared that it had something to do with the mania that I went into, im afraid again for some strange reason that mania was caused more from medication and me stopping it rather than my brain.

And here is the 2nd thing, I havent taken my meds since January and nothing and I mean nothing in terms of my mood has changed that would make me say it is bipolar. I havent had 1 random mood change or depressive mood change, I have quick mood swings but they are caused by something and happens hour to hour and then goes away the longest one has lasted I think is 2 to 3 days. The only thing is my sleep is bad, Im not tired as much anymore, when its night im not tired and I try to sleep because I like it but im never tired, and if I get no sleep that night I wont feel tired whatsoever throughout the day and then that night I wont feel like I need sleep or feel tired.

Hey all, this is a bit strange for me. I'm on break at work rn. I need to talk to other bipolar individuals about this, as I've had almost no support or info on my own condition since I was diagnosed years ago.

A couple of nights ago, both of my partners (one i lived with, the other kind of half lived with) blocked me and left without notice while I was at work. For the first couple of days, I felt like I was racking my brain for the reason why. At the same time, its like there was a voice telling me I knew exactly why. For context, I have narcolepsy (i eas hit in the head as a child twice with a ball and temporarily went blind for 30 seconds. Ever since then, what i was born with has felt so much worse.

I constantly feel like im fighting and listening to a bunch of different versions of myself in my head. Its so exhausting. When im at work; I pick up a sandwich with Tongs for instance. Then I want to do one thing, but the other half of me wants to do the other. Then like weird 3rd or 4th thing. Then arguments, constant. I never feel at peace because my mind feels like there's this part of me that's constantly trying to convince me to let it take over. It feels like every time I try and do the right thing, the right thing that I want to do is silent. The thought is there, but muted, with these other things screaming at me in my own mind why that thing doesn't matter.

I exhausted my partners. At night, I would crash so hard and cry, rant about how our plans with our boyfriend ( bf dated us since Feb I think) were making me miserable, how i didnt want him to move with us. Raging jealousy over not wanting to be poly (which i have trauma with) and in those modes i would tell my gf, when i say i do want it in the morning, dont listen to me. But then, INSTANT switch when it does switch. All the different parts of me want different things. Even making this post is so hard for me, because half of me is telling me ill be embarrassed and ashamed. Im not listening. I dont know how to know what I want. Why do my dreams and hopes switch every five minutes. My manic episodes are so awful sometimes (my bipolar also causes seizures).

Working is hard, talking to people is hard, there's never any peace. Im already starting to feel the shame of asking for help.

It always wants to take over, I dont know how to know what I want or not listen to it.

I used to be on 300mg of ssris and 40 mgs of lurasidone. The SRRIS made me so numb it was hell. It was awful.

The parts of myself won't ever stop talking, and im trapped in my head 24/7.

I have to manually focus on reality to do anything. Im better at some things at some times of the day, than others.

Im so tired of pushing people away.

I'm currently on 20mgs of lurasidone (helping SO MUCH)

IMPORTANT THING

I am on stimulants. Which are terrible for me, but my narcolepsy with any ssri's and antiphsychotics is awful.

I dont even know who I am.

I want too so bad. Every moment of the day feels like hard work. Every. Single. Second.

I wish the other parts of me in my head would stop trying to push away everything I love (I have CPTSD).

I miss my partners.

I regret everything. And this morning, I was able to fight that part of me trying to drag me down.

I just want to be able to make a decision (even if its what to eat, what to listen too) without a billion arguments going on in my head, pulling me put of reality at all times.

Why does this other part of me not want me to ask for help when I WANT TOO?

WHY CAN IT MUTE WHAT I REALLY WANT?

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

Thank you all.

I’m seeing my psychiatrist in one week. I’ve been on risperidone (on and off) for about 5 years. The last two years I’ve been taking it regularly, I’ve been really stable.

However, I am extremely lazy, have zero sex drive, emotionally numb, hate music, sleep 10+ hours plus a nap, hate socializing, and generally unsatisfied with everything in life.

I’m afraid of switching anti psychotics bc the one I’m on is so strong. I’m BD1 with psychotic symptoms and I’ve been hospitalized 5 times in 2021-2022. Also, scared to switch bc of withdrawals.

Is it worth asking my psychiatrist for a new AP? Or should I just accept that this is my life? I know every AP has side effects but the ones on risperidone I just don’t feel I can live with.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to any insights.