Archive for the ‘Bipolar Treatment Tips’ Category
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
I’m here in my office using all the ideas I can think of from my books! I have an article due- it’s going well- but getting the work done is literally physically painful! My brain feels like it’s going to explode and my body is very uncomfortable- it’s a mild form of dysphoric mania where my mood is mildly down but my energy is agitated. I’m definitely having trouble concentrating. Dysphoric mania is the opposite of euphoric mania (where things feels good!) – psychosis is often a part of dysphoric mania, though I’m not feeling any psychotic symptoms. When I start seeing things- then I’ll worry about psychosis. This all has to make me laugh a bit. I’m so used to these mood swings- and so used to writing about bipolar disorder that I am no longer even scared of the odd symptoms-
How I will get my work done:
Set an extremely specific goal for myself: Regarding my article- there are many, many steps to the process- but everything starts with one step- so I decide on one thing and focus on it until it’s done. Such as getting all of my quotes in the right sections of the article. When I get off track, I say- Julie, do the quotes only- then you can move on to something else. This definitely lessens the worry.
I know where a lot of this is coming from- I had a reaction to Zoloft- this led to a two week suicidal downswing, then three and a half days of mania- one day of euthymia ( a stable mood!), then a few days of going in and out of depression and now the dysphoric mania.
This is the same bipolar I’ve always had, but now I have a plan in place to manage it. My tips in Get it Done When You’re Depressed help with mild dysphoric mania.
Ok, time to finish my one step in the article.
Julie
PS: It defintely helps to imagine a calm place.
Tags: agitated mania, Bipolar Disorder, dysphoric mania, Get It Done When You're Depressed, Zoloft
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, Mania | 1 Comment »
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
Things have been tough- but I’m much better today. I can tell I will be able to work withouth so much PAIN! I am sure you know what I mean. When you get sick- whether it be depression, agitated mania, anxiety, OCD, ADHD stuff- it just makes it hard to sit down and work. I use my tools of course- but it sure is better when I can work wihtout having to use my tools all day.
At least I have them. I recently received a comment asking about my treatment plan. I use my Health Cards treatment plan everyday and have done so since 1999. It has saved my life. I also use the ideas in my books- they are based off the Health Cards. Here are my main treatment plan tips:
1. Have a plan in place BEFORE you get sick. That is what keeps me going- I know that when the mood swings start- I have something ready to help automatically.
2. Surround yourself with people who know you have bipolar disorder and can help just by being there. They don’t have to talk about it with you, help you feel better, give you advice or feel sad for you- they just have to be there when you want to hang out.
3. Create strong bonds with people who can handle your tough days. These are special people!
4. Remind yourself constnatly when you’re sick that IT’s AN ILLNESS>> I CAN SURVIVE THIS.
5. Go easy on yourself when you do something that makes you sick.
6. Take your meds- and if you haven’t found the right meds, keep trying forever.
I could go on and on. These are just some of the basics- my books talk about all of my ideas in detail. I do read my own books- they are treatment plans already in place that I can use when I get sick. That is the ultimate goal of managing the illness.
We can and do get better.
julie
Tags: , bipolar advice, bipolar tips, Bipolar Treatment Tips, health cards treatment system for bipolar disorder
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
There are a lot of bipolar disorder medications that can cause a dry mouth- anti depressants, mood stabilizers and anti psychotics are equal opportunity employers when it comes to side effects. Our bodies are so different – which means that some of us will have a dry mouth with Tegretol while others will have eye problems- but over all, dry mouth caused by bipolar disorder medications is very common.
My mother, who is on Lamictal, found an excellent product that she says helps a lot. It’s called Breath RX. Those the products are for bad breath, they actually help moisten the mouth more than any other product. They really work.
MANY people with bipolar disorder have trouble with their teeth. I know that I do! One theory states that our mouths get too dry from some med side effects and our teeth get brittle. These breath mints can help as they keep the teeth hydrated! At least that is the idea!
I doubt that this company ever thought they would make a product that helps people with medication side effects!
Here is the link. My mom gets them in stores.
https://store.breathrx.com/refresh.php
Julie
Tags: , dry mouth, medication side effects bipolar, medications, side effects
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips | 3 Comments »
Monday, June 15th, 2009
I just received the following comment from Eddie:
Thanks for sharing the secret and lucky I found your blog. Going to have a look at your videos in a second.
I have been doing some blogging therapy – I have never been offically diagnosed but I positive I have some mild form of bipolar. Clyctomania I believe its called.
Any comments/ thoughts would be great.
Hi Eddie,
Cyclothymia is harder to diagnosis for sure- I suggest that you start a mood swing chart where you chart your moods every night- it’s easy to do. I will do a blog on it soon with a link to a download mood swing chart- there is one in the back of my book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder along with one of my charts- the book is all book stores- so you could look at it and start your own.
I have charted my mood nightly for the past seven years. It has been invaluable.
Cyclothymia can be so hard to diagnosis as it is often seen as moodiness- the depression is easy to spot- though it can be seen as negativity which further compllicates things! The problem is the mild mania. This is harder to spot- which is why charting the mood helps.
Cyclothymia is cyclical- thus the name! It means that your moods will eventually form a pattern. The depression form of cyclothymia is called dysthymia. That’s what my mom has- lamictal has helped immensely. Be careful of taking anti depressants as they can cause the mania to get worse!
It’s great that you’re exploring your moods and finding out what works for you.
Julie
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar affective disorder, bipolar depression, bipolar depression medications, Bipolar Help, bipolar illness, bipolar mania, bipolar questoins, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolar triggers, bipolarhappens.com, bp magazine, ciclothymia, cyclothima, cyclothymia, DBSA, dysthiamia, dysthymia, general bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, help me bipolar, julie fast, juliefast.com, loving someone with bipolar disorder, manic depression, manic episode, meds for depression, mild depreesion, mild mania, NAMI/DBSA, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, terrible bipolar symptoms, what is cyclothymia? depression help, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips | No Comments »
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Bipolar Disorder Treatment and Animal Friends
I call my cat Bibi my depression companion. It always amazes me at how much better I feel when I spend time with her. Even when I’m crying and feel I can’t function- I can still pet Bibi!
It is the same with my mom’s dog Cookie. It’s hard to be depressed around her. I have had days were I sit in my mom’s backyard in a depressed stupor- but I always feel better when I see Cookie.
Petting an animal releases endorphins- throwing a ball with an animal increases endorphins! So it makes sense that our animal friends could help us all manage this illness more successfully.
Bibi needs a lot of attention. It’s hard to focus on her sometimes, but I make myself see it from her perspective. She really loves playing with string- even if it feels like a Herculean task to play with her, I make myself do it. I always feel better afterwards.
Is there a pet in your life that can help you feel better?
Julie
Tags: animal therapy bipolar disroder, Bipolar, bipolar affective disorder, bipolar depression, Bipolar Help, bipolar hope www.juliefast.com, bipolar illness, bipolar mania, bipolar questoins, bipolar rapid cycling, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolar triggers, bipolarhappens.com, bp hope, bp magazine, DBSA, general bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, help from animals depression, julie fast, juliefast.com, loving someone with bipolar disorder, manic depression, manic episode, NAMI/DBSA, research animals bipolar disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
I recently did a series of interviews for a large mental health website called healthyplace.com. Here is one of the first videos I recorded. I’d like to set this up a bit before you watch it. I went through a terrible experience in 1994 when my partner Ivan got very sick and was in the hospital for three months in a manic/psychotic episode. I was scared, overwhelmed and very confused about what was going on. I never met his doctor when he was in the hospital! The nurses were wonderful, but no one actually explained the illness or why he was so sick. I literally had to do everything on my own. Things have changed a lot of course! I wrote books on this experience myself- so the information is more out there now. The video below is a response to the question of what we can do to work successfully without health care professionals when we or someone we care about are in crisis. I want to say that I sound pretty forceful in this video- and I do believe what I say- but I want to also make it clear that the health care professionals in my life are 100% a part of my team. I care about them and respect them deeply!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmGAX9QqEkU[/youtube]
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar affective disorder, bipolar depression, bipolar depressoin tips, Bipolar Help, bipolar illness, bipolar mania, bipolar questoins, bipolar rapid cycling, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolar triggers, bipolarhappens.com, bp magazine, DBSA, Depression Help, depressnoi, general bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, help me depression, julie a fast, julie bipolar writer, julie fast, julie on television, julie on youtube, julie's bipolar disorder books, juliefast.com, loving someone with bipolar disorder, manic depression, manic episode, NAMI/DBSA, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, Video's | 1 Comment »
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
Where Can I Find a Psychiatrist?
I often get letters from people throughout the US asking if I know of psychiatrists in specific areas.
Hi Julie,
Maybe you can help? I’m bipolar and on Medicare trying to get a psychiatrist in the San Jose, CA area and am having a hard time finding someone. Do you happen to know someone in this area? Thank you.
Brent
Hi Brent,
I don’t know of psychiatrists in certain areas- but I do have a suggestion. If there is a teaching hospital in town, I would call and ask to make an appointment with the head of the psych department. It’s not likely you will get in, but they will definitely have great references for other psychiatrists! If there is no teaching hospital- it’s fine to call any hospital and see if they have an outpatient psych program. They will even be able to direct you to private doctors. The Medicare makes it difficult, but if you keep calling, you will find someone!
I also suggest that you look for a psychiatric nurse practitioner. They are an excellent resource and often much easier to find than a psychiatrist. I always suggest that a person get fully diagnosed by a psychiatris and then if possible, move to a psychiatric nurse practitioner for medication management. There are not enough psychiatrist in the US. We often have to find qualified alternatives. In your case, it will probably depend on who will accept medicare.
Good luck. I have been lucky with my health care professionsals and hope the same for you!
Julie
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar affective disorder, bipolar depression, Bipolar Help, bipolar illness, bipolar mania, bipolar psych, bipolar questoins, bipolar rapid cycling, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolar triggers, bipolarhappens.com, bp magazine, DBSA, general bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, health care professional bipolar disorder, julie fast, juliefast.com, loving someone with bipolar disorder, manic depression, manic episode, NAMI/DBSA, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatris bipolar disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, where do I find a psychiatrist, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, Reader Questions | No Comments »
