Breakthrough mood swings happen when a mood swing is stronger than bipolar disorder medications.
I have a friend with bipolar I (one) who has been on lithium for over 15 years. It has worked well, but about every three years, a serious manic episode breaks through. Considering that she was mania free for so many years, she wasn’t ready for the last one.
As all people with Bipolar I (one) know, mania can be devastating. It’s so important that all of us look for bipolar disorder symptoms all of the time so that these mood swings can be caught early. If you’ve been on meds a long time, you still have to look for possible changes.
Julie
Click here to read more about the Health Cards. These are what I use to keep my mania from taking over my life.
Hi Julie
How can you tell when a mood swing is about to happen to a loved one?
Hi Gregory,
This is the question I aim to answer in all of my books. All mood swings follow patterns- which means they start with small signs of what a person thinks, says and does. When I created my Health Cards Treatment System- the point was to teach myself to recognize my own symptoms so that I could treat them and ultimately prevent them from taking over my life. A large part of the system involves my family and friends. They had to learn to recognize when I was getting sick as well. We all use the Health Cards.
You can read about them on bipolarhappens.com.
I also chart my moods daily. This is an invaluable tool. I can’t remember all that happens to me- my moods are too all over the place to track on my own. If you go to the back of my book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder you can see the mood swing tracking chart I use. It
Hi Julie
My loved one was diagnosed for depression and was prescribed medication. Is it possible for bipolar people to get misdiagnosed for just depression and not know the magnitude of their condition.
Greg
I hope she has her kidney functions tested Lithiun wreaks havoc on kidneys over such a long period of time. My friend after taking lithium for 16 years had to have a kidney removed and her donor was her daughter.