Bipolar and Recovering from a Hospital StayMood swings are pretty terrible mentally, but they also affect the body physically. I remember when my partner Ivan got out of the hospital after three months. He was just so tired. His body was tired and he needed a lot of time to recover. My mother was on a plane ride during that time and happened to talk to a doctor sitting next to her. She told him about Ivan and the doctor said, “It can take up to a year for someone to get back to where they were before they got so sick.” None of us wanted to believe this! But it was basically true. The good news is that Ivan completely got back to normal sooner than a year, but it was a tough year for sure! It has been thirteen years since then. That seems impossible! He still deals with a lot of mood swings, but overall he is doing very well.  He never got that sick again. I am thankful! Julie

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Just Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder?

Then yo are at the right place. I remember very well when I was diagnosed. I was 31 and had just come down from a mild manic/psychotic episode after a manic trip to China.  I was misdiagnosed with depression, and then finally got the bipolar diagnosis. I was actually very happy to finally know what was going on!

I always want to say congratulations when I hear that someone has a diagnosis. Not because I think having bipolar is something to cheer about. It’s not. It sucks. But I say congratulations because you at least know what you have and there is a lot of help out there to treat it. It didn’t used to be that way. Believe me!  I was diagnosed with rapid cycling Bipolar II in 1995, one year after my partner at the time was diagnosed with Bipolar I.  Those were tough years.  There were no treatment plans on the market. I was still very ill three years after my diagnosis, and that’s when I create my Health Cards treatment system. If you were just diagnosed, it probably means you’re scared and worried about the future. I was and sometimes still am, but that’s just part of having an illness. I always tell people to think of insulin dependent diabetes when they think about bipolar disorder management. Until the bipolar disorder is really under control, we have to check our moods every day just like a person with diabetes checks their insulin. There are many people who get a diagnosis and find the right meds immediately. There are others, like myself who have mood swings almost every day. It’s a pretty diverse illness! As you can see, I manage my mood swings well enough to have a business and great relationships, so you can do the same. Believe me, if I can manage the illness, you can too. It takes time, but time passes anyway- so you might as well learn to manage the illness now that you have the diagnosis. I had full on bipolar symptoms for 14 years before I was diagnosed. I wish someone had caught it sooner!  So, congratulations on your diagnosis. Now you know that there is nothing wrong with you- there is just something different going on in your brain.

Julie

PS: if you are visiting the blog from amazon.com, click here for the actual blog page:  www.bipolarhappens.com/bhblog

More About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Six characteristics of OCD

1. Overestimation of Risk
2. Excessive feelings of responsibility
3. Controllability
4. Overimportance of thoughts
5. Intolerance of ambiguity
6. Perfectionism

People with bipolar disorder may share some of these characteristics. I certainly deal with 3, 4 and 5 regularly!

Julie

I have experienced OCD for most of my life, but I never really understood the term technically.

Many people with bipolar disorder have OCD symptoms, especially under stress. I know that my OCD obsessions come from dating situations, travel and work stress that puts me under too much pressure.

What is OCD?

The initals say it all- Obsessions that lead to compulsions that become a disorder when they affect a person’s ability to lead a ‘normal’ life.

 Obsessions are thoughts- compulsions are the actions a person does to calm the obsessions.

For example, if a person has the thoughts- “I left the stove on. I left the stove on. Oh my god I left the stove on. My house will burn down. I left the stove on. I left the stove on.”  the compulsion to calm the thoughts is to go back to the house to check that the stove is not on. Then for a minute, the person feels better and the obsessive thoughts stop. But if the person has OCD, the thoughts come back almost immediately and then the compulsion happens again.

 It’s a terrible way to end. OCD can be treated with antidepressants and talk therapy- but it’s a tough illness to treat. People with bipolar disorder usually  have OCD in episodes that are triggered by certain situations.  

 If a person with bipolar disorder has continual OCD symptoms without the mood swings, they are often diagnosed with bipolar disorder and OCD.

OCD is one of the seven classes of anxiety disorders which means it’s all about fear of what might happen.  I treat my OCD by removing the trigger than causes the OCD- such as staying away from dating. This has really helped.

If you have OCD symptoms that don’t seem to go away no matter what your mood, it’s a good idea to see a psychiatrist. Remember, people with bipolar disorder have to be very careful about taking antidepressants, so make sure you have a doctor who understands bipolar disorder as well as OCD.

Julie

Hi, I just received this question from Sandra:

Julie, is irritability a sign of hypomania? I’m also going from calm and patient to incredibly angry in minutes (seconds?). Any ideas? I do have an appointment to see my therapist today.

Answer: Oh yes, mania can cause irritation and anger. It’s called dysphoric mania. You can also be scattered, unable to do tasks calmly, snappy and weepy. The main problem is that it affects your sleep. If you have dysphoric mania and depression- it’s a mixed episode. If you go from mania to depression and back, it’s called rapid cycling.

 You will need to check your meds- if you’re on an antidepressant, it’s possible it is causing this- if you’ve recently had a stessful event in life, that can be the problem as well. I’ve found it’s usually medications or a trigger that starts something. Or, it can just be the darn illness. There are many meds that can cause irritation, that’s for sure!

If you go to the right of the blog, you can click on the mania tab and read a lot about the different kinds of mania. I’ve had a lot of mania the past week. It’s tough!

Julie

PS. If you’re reading this from amazon.com, you can visit www.juliefast.com/bhblog to see the blog from my server.

My brother just called and said there was an excellent episode of Law and Order- an extremely popular crime TV show here in the US- that addressed bipolar disorder. One of the detectives had trouble with his daughter and thought she was on drugs, it turned out she was manic. Oh yes, some of us have been there.

I didn’t catch the show. It’s great to see bipolar disorder handled correctly in the media. It took long enough!

Julie

Five mood swings in one day!

I doubt that is a record, but it sure wears me out. In that past week, I’ve had at least 20 mood swings. They are mild, but certainly strong enough to chart. Yesterday I had three distinct upswings. The day before that, I had a few upswings and an intense hour long downswing where I immediately started crying. I’ve also been twitching a lot which means there is something not right with my Lamictal dose.

What is causing this rapid cycling? Though I’m glad it’s on the manic side instead of being constant depression, I know it’s not good for me. I can feel my adrenaline pumping and I feel like jumping out of my skin.  The chemicals are racing through my brain much faster than they normally do. I feel like talking to strangers

So, what’s going on?  I have to be a detective to figure this out. Here are my ideas:

The weather here in Portland, Oregon has been exceptionally beautiful and sunny. We had a dark summer, so this is fantastic. But it’s mania inducing.

I wrote about a guy thing that was happening at the coffee shop where I write that got me a bit flustered. Though the whole thing could be a manic fantasy in my mind.

My Lamictal isn’t working correctly.

I’m sure it’s a combination, but I’m leaning towards the Lamictal problem. This has happened to me in the past. I took some extra last night to see if I could calm down and stop the Lamictal twitching. I had to take Ativan to sleep.

I will keep you posted.

Julie

PS: If you would like more information on bipolar mania or rapid cycling, you can click on the buttons to your right.

I’ve been on both Abilify and Lamictal. Abilify if an antipsychotic used to treat psychotic bipolar symptoms as well as mania. Lamictal is a ‘mood stabilizer’ that’s actually an anticonvulsant drug used to treat bipolar depression. It’s not a drug used to manage mania. But, it does help people with rapid cycling.

Abilify is an atypical antipsychotic along with Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa. Atypical means the drugs are newer and have less side effects than the older ‘dirty’ drugs such as Thorazine and and Haldol.

I’m having some tough side effects with my Lamictal tonight and they remind me of what my friend Sherri went through when she was on Abilify.

We both had restlessness, leg pain, an uncomfortable body and trouble sleeping. This is called Akathisia.  Technically it’s an inability to sit down. Abilify is known to have this as a side effect, whereas my Lamictal problems tend to be from not having enough meds in my system. It’s all complicated and interrelated.

Abilify has been a miracle drug for many people. Lamictal has been a miracle for me- but akathisia is a tough side effect.

 I am such a fan of drugs, but I also know that we have a limit in terms of the side effect tolerance. I can handle my Lamictal side effects, Sherri ended the Abilify and went back on Zyprexa. Meds are completely individual. So, if you’re having trouble with one drug, there is a good chance you will find one that works. Never give up!

Julie

Mania is a strange thing. It completely takes away  reasoning if you let it. Last night, I went into a mild upswing around 10PM, but I was able to keep it in check. I knew it was there as it’s been happening all week. While I was in bed reading and writing in my journal, I suddenly had the strong urge to go to karaoke and drink! It just felt like such a good idea. It was fleeting, and of course I didn’t act on it, but god almighty, that is ridiculous. Especially considering that I have cut my social activities in half in order to stay stable enough to work.

I stayed in bed and managed to sleep with the help of Ativan and a little extra Lamictal.  But it worries me.

julie

I dress like a bum if I’m depressed- especially if I’ve gained weight. One day, my dear friend Janea said something I’ve never forgotten.

Julie, the is no reason a person can’t look great every single time they walk out the door.

She is right. I feel better if I look good.

So I threw out all of my junk clothes. Actually, I cut a lot of them up so my brother could use them as paint rags. Yes, they were that bad!

I now only have presentable clothes in my closet. And I always look good.  Anyone can get nice clothes on a budget- because as Janea also says:

You can dress inexpensively if you have good taste!

julie