Anyone with Bipolar spectrum disorders?

Keep your Head Up.

Hi, my son has been diagnosed as bypolar. He has depression, eating disorder, sleep problems ADHD, terrible anxiety. He's been on meds. But hates the feeling of not being himself. Also anger....hates meditation, mindfulness too. The same has days he feels done...Hasn't found anything that helps....

I was diagnosed with bipolar in my thirties. It a very difficult journey to finding out what works for you as far as medication. Recently I did a mouth swap by my physician for genetic psychotic evaluation and found out that I can only take 5 helpful medication. The others would cause some form of reaction. This is a new genetic test and I recommend for all ages. The test also includes benzodiazepines that will work or not. Also the older you age the less medication required. It was a difficult journey, but if I can help someone from my experience; especially the younger bipolar people then I fulfilled my humanity.

Sincerely
Tom

I have had bipolar disorder since I was six, I’ll turn sixty end of this month. Here is what I have learned..,

Most doctors do not have a clue, unless they are afflicted as well.

Nothing works all the time. You have to do your own research.

You must have a game plan to present to your provider,

Keep a journal of everything, I do a video journal every night.

Lithium is the cheapest most effective drug I’ve taken.

Everything has side effects, everything.

This next one is going to be controversial,

Decide under what conditions you would take your life. Having done that you don’t have to worry about suicide any more unless those conditions become a reality.

I have been suicidal starting at six and it is with me constantly. But I’ve yet to have the conditions I’ve set for myself come to pass, obviously.

Then fight for your life like the soldier in the trench because you are.

You might want to read a book titled Brain Energy, they are making progress.

Good Luck!

I was diagnosed with Bipolar at the age of 39. Prior to this diagnosis, a well-meaning physician misdiagnosed me with depressive disorder. He prescribed an SSRI (Celexa) which led to severe mania including two bipolar manic rage episodes in which I was almost arrested. I sought help from another physician who diagnosed me with bipolar (finally!). I was then referred to a psychiatrist who recommended that I submit a swab of my cheek cells (buccal swab sample) for a combinatorial pharmocogenomic test which revealed that Celexa would cause a significant gene-drug interaction. The test also revealed that I had extremely low serum levels of folate and I have been taking prescribed folate supplements to help with my depression. I wish I had known about this test before. I think that anyone who exhibits depression or manic behavior should take this test. So far, I have only tried medications recommended based on the test results and I have had no severe side effects or manic behavior. The test I took was not covered by my insurance. It is very frustrating because it should be available to anyone who might benefit from it.

I agree strongly with comments. It is a frustrating journey that bipolar people have to take to achieve a stable condition. It’s a lifetime journey. I hope the best for you. Mania is a true torch for body and mind.

Tom

My husband was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 over 30 years ago and was stable for about 23 years. But then 7 years ago he started suffering from anxiety then depression-highs and lows from trying different SSRI etc. His psychiatrist has had difficulty finding the right meds to help stabilize him. Now he has MCI too. I recently read on here about gene testing and wanted my husband tested but st this point our primary and psychiatrist didn’t recommend it for him. I wish we had known about the testing sooner as I would have insisted on it. I’m glad it has helped you. It seems to have helped others too.

<p>Hi, I have a son who has gone thro tremendous events. Loading a marriage and 2 small children. Lost his license from a dui., Has suffered many set backs , does not take his meds. Last night I saw a full blown episode of anger. His has now got his car back and license, the car has the wheel fall off. In our driveway so sell was safe, but the anger that followed was awful. Of course his brother and I wanted to help, he started yelling and threatening, throwing thing s ,ended smashing his windshield from throwing a lug but at it....what do you do in these situations? By th e time he was done he had said awful ,hurtful things. We were upset. Like how do you handle this......</p>

I was diagnosed bipolar 2 at 59, after years of being treated for general depression. The diagnosis explains many years of my life, frankly, and came after being hospitalized while actively suicidal. I was mess. We're still working on medications, and that's been a journey in itself, but in the meantime I stumbled this tool, which has been very helpful:
https://insights.emoodtracker.com/
The basic version is free, and with it you can log your sleep and your mood swings, as well as keep notes. I've been listing what I eat every day in the notes, because I have a tendency to stop eating altogether when I'm in the depressive cycle. I shared access to this with my counselor and my psychiatrist as I feel comfortable with both, and there's a growing amount of data in there that gives them information to work with. By keeping notes that they're able to read, they're getting details I might have forgotten by the time my next appointment rolls around.

For me it has helped me pay closer attention. I had a recent episode when I first went manic, recognized this was happening (this was a first for me), and then the switch flipped unexpectedly and with no warning, and I felt the depression coming on. The really deep depression I get, which is always accompanied by suicidal ideations these days. I got in the program and just kept notes over a 24 hour period as I fought against waves of depression washing over me. It helped me navigate and ultimately avoid a serious bout this time (again, a first, both that I saw the depression coming and I did more than just tumble into it, I fought it; I had a tool to use).

The result is that both my doctor and therapist have a written record of exactly what was going through my mind as the episode played out. Really helpful. And the calendar feature where you can see the arc of your moods over a time span revealed that even as my mood was rapidly escalating before the cycle switched, I had been logging both good moods and mild anxiety. The anxiousness sprung from some stressful situations in my life that I felt I was handling well, but did that anxiety help push me into the depressive cycle? I don't know yet, but knowing that was happening on the cusp of taking a dive gives me something to work with. Something to watch for.

I have a lot of information stored on this page, and it's helping me pay better attention. It might be worth you setting up an account and simply tracking what's going on. In my case, I'm actually finding it more helpful than any of the meds I've been on since my diagnosis.

What a great tool, @depressedbutnotdead. I appreciate you sharing this with others in this discussion group and I'm especially happy that it is helping you.