Bipolar disorder anyone?

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
I'm bi-polar. I was taking massive doses of risperdal and lithium. Turned me into a zombie.
I was a drunk for decades which made the downs absolutely horrible. Once I stopped drinking the ups weren't as high but the downs became far less horrible.
I stopped taking medication once I stopped drinking. Sure I still go up and down but its manageable now.
When I'm up I don't sleep for days and when I do its for a couple hours at a time at the most.
When I'm on a low its tough to even get out of bed.
The meds for it are meant to level the person off,so no ups or downs however in achieving that I became a total zombie with no real emotions. I never felt anything,not happy,not sad just monotone without any real feelings.
I finally decided I had to deal with it without meds. At first it was hard but once I became able to feel when the switch was gonna flip I could prepare myself so it wasn't as bad.


I've been diagnosed with major depression, but the more I read about bi-polar, the more I think I may have a mild case of it. Your symptoms sound identical to mine but to a smaller degree.

How often does your mood switch from depression to euphoria? I am on like a 2 week cycle and I know enough about myself now to just deal with it and work through it. I was on medication but hated it. It zombified me and I never got any "euphoric phase" back.

To the OP, if there are kids involved, it could be postpartum depression.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
I'm bi-polar. I was taking massive doses of risperdal and lithium. Turned me into a zombie.
I was a drunk for decades which made the downs absolutely horrible. Once I stopped drinking the ups weren't as high but the downs became far less horrible.
I stopped taking medication once I stopped drinking. Sure I still go up and down but its manageable now.
When I'm up I don't sleep for days and when I do its for a couple hours at a time at the most.
When I'm on a low its tough to even get out of bed.
The meds for it are meant to level the person off,so no ups or downs however in achieving that I became a total zombie with no real emotions. I never felt anything,not happy,not sad just monotone without any real feelings.
I finally decided I had to deal with it without meds. At first it was hard but once I became able to feel when the switch was gonna flip I could prepare myself so it wasn't as bad.


The world needs more people that pay attention to themselves like you do. Well done!

 

[Patman]

I hope I don't offend anyone here but I came across this funny t-shirt a while back and this thread reminded me of it:

 

[doitmyself]

Lots of excellent suggestions above. Compassion and empathy has always been a hallmark of this group. Kudos.

One of the challenges of dealing with mental issues is the stigma associated with seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist. Once one learns that mental issues can be like any physical disease such as asthma, then half the battle is over.

While good diet and exercise are important, some people need more. The brain "wiring" is not functioning properly and the right medication and/or counseling can help.

Best of luck. Be supportive. Seek professional help.

 

[4D-56]

For a couple of reasons, im very much against taking meds and against the mainstream western medicine model, but thats just me. There are some cases where I will say that meds are needed. My Mother being one.

I do firmly believe though that if we get deep enough into removing toxicity and acidity from the body, along with the right exercise, enough sunlight and support networks, and some other key elements, these conditions are completely reversable. Whether or not people want to take it into their own hands and get that deep into it is another matter. I guess I did it this way based on my opinions as expressed above, but I do know that the timing was right to do what I did.

If anyone wants to hear more about a deep well of knowledge that ive gained on my road of health& wellness, id be happy to share

Life is short and people have the right to take their own route to their own version of wellness.

 

[artificialist]

I have had it since late 1999. It seems like if I am not Bipolar, I am having some other psychological problem instead. I have been taking medicines every day since 2000, they are the only things that work. I still have problems, though.

 

[callbay]

I hope this site helps your situation. It's about how to deal with people with a personality disorder like bipolar.

http://www.outofthefog.net/Disorders/BipolarDisorder.html

ALso checkout the 100 traits of people with personality disorders on the same site.

 

[Barkleymut]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
I have had it since late 1999. It seems like if I am not Bipolar, I am having some other psychological problem instead. I have been taking medicines every day since 2000, they are the only things that work. I still have problems, though.


do not be afraid to seek another opinion, my best friend thought for 3 years he had depression. He was supposedly seeing one of the best shrinks in Virginia. He got another opinion and changed meds and it literally changed his life. He is a new man and is 100% better. The answer is out there somewhere but it is not easy to find. Best of luck.

 

[Barkleymut]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I hope I don't offend anyone here but I came across this funny t-shirt a while back and this thread reminded me of it:

I am not offended by much, but medical conditions are not funny imho. I know you are a good guy Pat, but imagine if you were really self conscious about your condition and u saw a shirt like that on someone that has no idea about the Hades that your life is on some days.

 

[wander2039]

Good to see those that have it mostly under control. The guy I knew that had was fine he took his meds, got to feeling better and stopped taking them and that's when the problems started. Go figure after Saturday everything is fine now. I think she slept almost 16 hours Friday-Saturday. Survived this one at least.

 

[rjundi]

If a person is bipolar you have a fat chance of getting them to the seek help when they are in the manic or hypo manic state. Better than drugs.

Wait till they drop to the depressed side and then work with them. Also a key thing is seek a psychiatrist/psychologist not your generalist. Speaking from experience of a close person being diagnosed as depressed incorrectly and getting anti depressants was a wreck. The person flew into manic state for 3-4 months and life was difficult at best and impossible to get them help.

 

[PSS]

It may take the police to intercede at some point and compel treatment.

Good news in a case close to me was it was very treatable with Lithium.

 

[threeputtpar]

Ugh, after Carnoobie and his major troll fest on mental health issues, I'm a bit reluctant to participate in these types of threads. That said, I'd suggest taking a good look at the person's diet.

GMO and Monsanto, in my opinion, is responsible for nearly all of the mental health issues in this country today. Unless you grow and make your own food products, you cannot escape the Frankenfood that fills the grocery stores these days. I don't think that even places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's can escape the genetically modified food stuffs that dominate the market.

Conspiricacy warning: with the proliferation of drugs to treat all of these suddenly rampant mental health issues, I wouldn't be surprised if pharma wasn't supporting Monsanto. One hand washes the other.

Personally, I've made significant improvements to my mental health issues by cutting out diet soda from my routine. Aspartame should be considered a poison.

 

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
Ugh, after Carnoobie and his major troll fest on mental health issues, I'm a bit reluctant to participate in these types of threads. That said, I'd suggest taking a good look at the person's diet.

GMO and Monsanto, in my opinion, is responsible for nearly all of the mental health issues in this country today. Unless you grow and make your own food products, you cannot escape the Frankenfood that fills the grocery stores these days. I don't think that even places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's can escape the genetically modified food stuffs that dominate the market.

Conspiricacy warning: with the proliferation of drugs to treat all of these suddenly rampant mental health issues, I wouldn't be surprised if pharma wasn't supporting Monsanto. One hand washes the other.

Personally, I've made significant improvements to my mental health issues by cutting out diet soda from my routine. Aspartame should be considered a poison.


You compared me to Carnoobie

... You're correct about aspartame, more natural the better. Diet soda etc really messes me up.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: andyd
Got down to barely manageable for 30 yrs by self medicating. Luckily , I'm a happy drunk. When I sat down with the surgeon, we both agreed an anti-depressant would help me through the breast cancer I had just been diagnosed with. Insurance refused to cover what he prescribed,so I settled on a generic. It has turned me into Elwood P. Dowd. I don't have a pookah or anything, but I'm cheerful to the point of goofy.



I self medicated too. When I needed to level out I'd smoke grass however it gets expensive when smoking 1/4 ounce a day. It does help the ups and downs though. Helps appetite too which while on an up hunger is a foreign feeling.



Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: Clevy
I'm bi-polar. I was taking massive doses of risperdal and lithium. Turned me into a zombie.
I was a drunk for decades which made the downs absolutely horrible. Once I stopped drinking the ups weren't as high but the downs became far less horrible.
I stopped taking medication once I stopped drinking. Sure I still go up and down but its manageable now.
When I'm up I don't sleep for days and when I do its for a couple hours at a time at the most.
When I'm on a low its tough to even get out of bed.
The meds for it are meant to level the person off,so no ups or downs however in achieving that I became a total zombie with no real emotions. I never felt anything,not happy,not sad just monotone without any real feelings.
I finally decided I had to deal with it without meds. At first it was hard but once I became able to feel when the switch was gonna flip I could prepare myself so it wasn't as bad.


I've been diagnosed with major depression, but the more I read about bi-polar, the more I think I may have a mild case of it. Your symptoms sound identical to mine but to a smaller degree.

How often does your mood switch from depression to euphoria? I am on like a 2 week cycle and I know enough about myself now to just deal with it and work through it. I was on medication but hated it. It zombified me and I never got any "euphoric phase" back.

To the OP, if there are kids involved, it could be postpartum depression.



For me it was never consistent. I could be up for weeks then I felt the switch go off in my head and almost instantly I was deeply depressed. I would hole up in my basement and ignore everything from work to friends and wallow in the darkness alone.
Manic depression goes hand in hand with bi-polar disorder. The worst part about it is knowing you've got a good life yet still feel like life not worth living.
My poor mother endured much with me as I battled this affliction,my father and brothers saw it as weakness and felt I was just being lazy and that I should just snap out of it.
If you're seeing a definite cycle look into external inputs such as diet. I saw a post about Genetically engineered foods here somewhere and its a definite contributor as well as fake sweeteners etc.
My mom bakes buns and breads and they are the only breads I'll eat now. Processed foods can contribute too.
What helped me realize that outside influences were contributing to my mood swings was going flat broke about 10 years ago. I couldn't afford to feed myself because I went on a super bender and spent all my money on booze and coke.
So I was reduced to raiding neighbours gardens.
The 2 weeks I lived off garden veggies and canned tuna I found the low I was in wasn't as bad as every one before it,so I thought there may be a connection to diet. I'm not saying its your problem however its a good place to start with change and see how it affects your system.

Originally Posted By: Kuato
Originally Posted By: Clevy
I'm bi-polar. I was taking massive doses of risperdal and lithium. Turned me into a zombie.
I was a drunk for decades which made the downs absolutely horrible. Once I stopped drinking the ups weren't as high but the downs became far less horrible.
I stopped taking medication once I stopped drinking. Sure I still go up and down but its manageable now.
When I'm up I don't sleep for days and when I do its for a couple hours at a time at the most.
When I'm on a low its tough to even get out of bed.
The meds for it are meant to level the person off,so no ups or downs however in achieving that I became a total zombie with no real emotions. I never felt anything,not happy,not sad just monotone without any real feelings.
I finally decided I had to deal with it without meds. At first it was hard but once I became able to feel when the switch was gonna flip I could prepare myself so it wasn't as bad.


The world needs more people that pay attention to themselves like you do. Well done!


Thanks.
It's not easy. I had to break many different habits and those habits changed cycles.
Meds do help a lot of people however I didn't feel like me anymore,and I felt like this is the way God made me therefore I shouldn't be taking brain numbing pills to change. I felt like to really change it had to be within me and for that to happen I had to face it head on,with no booze,no dope,nothing. Just me.
I lost friends because I didn't do what they did anymore. I wasn't in the cliques I used to be because what they were doing I wanted no part of anymore.
I had to face my innermost weakness myself and find the strength to get out of the basement even when I felt my lowest. Once I could do that the rest was easier.
Being bi-polar is a struggle on the best of days. As long as I focused on the good in my life it makes the downs more manageable n
The ups are awesome though.
Thanks Kuato

 

[OVERKILL]

Clevy:

Have you ever listened to the Evanescence song "Lithium"? If so, do you find you relate to it when thinking back to when you were medicated?

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
After the 2nd born it's gotten much worse.


After our daughter was born, my wife was moody and short-tempered. Eventually I persuaded her to ask her Dr, and he put her on Zoloft. It only helped minimally, so she got off of it after a few months. Over time, the problem lessened, and things returned to normal, but it took about 4 years. We think it had to be a hormonal issue.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Clevy:

Have you ever listened to the Evanescence song "Lithium"? If so, do you find you relate to it when thinking back to when you were medicated?


Never heard it before. Nothing is like lithium though. I'll check it out on YouTube and get back to ya.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Clevy:

Have you ever listened to the Evanescence song "Lithium"? If so, do you find you relate to it when thinking back to when you were medicated?


Never heard it before. Nothing is like lithium though. I'll check it out on YouTube and get back to ya.


Please do, I'm quite curious, as I have no experience with this myself but am admittedly a bit fascinated by it.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
That said, I'd suggest taking a good look at the person's diet.


I agree 100% with this part. Sounds like 30% of general population has some degree of gluten sensitivity that can produce mental disorders rather than GI problems that most would expect. This is a bit emerging area, your typical MD will be totally clueless about it.

Then there is a whole gamut of other substances in our food that produce unexpected mental effects, like sugars (including milk!), food preservatives, coloring agents, diet drinks, etc.

The worst part these offending foods are actually very addictive.

Elimination diet is the best thing to do, but difficult.

Here is some good info: http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/brainallergies.htm

Quote:
Ninety-six patients diagnosed as suffering from alcohol dependence, major depressive disorders and schizophrenia were compared to 62 control subjects selected from adult hospital staff members for a possible food/chemical intolerance. The results showed that the group of patients diagnosed as depressives had the highest number of allergies, i.e. 80% were found to be allergic to barley and 100% were allergic to egg white. Over 50% of alcoholics tested were found to be allergic to egg white, milk, rye and barley. Out of the group of people diagnosed as schizophrenics 80% were found to be allergic to both milk and eggs. Only 9% of the control group were found to suffer from any allergies.