Hi Julie,
I have a question. Looking back at about eight months of journaling, I noticed that every two months or so, my entries suggest that I was depressed. It would appear that this is cycling every two months. Could this be accurate? Anything I can do to correct it? Yes, I will bring it up with my psychiatrist at the next appointment.
Thanks!
Hi Sandra,
Bipolar disorder is an episode illness- as compared to psychotic or personality disorders which can be more stable over time. This means a person can have a few severe episodes and then none for a few years- or someone, like myself can have mood swings every day for years and years. I had 23 mood swings from the last part of April and all of May. It was not pleasant. I have rapid cycling bipolar disorder II with psychosis. It sounds like your rapid cycling follows a very strict pattern.
If you’re cycling every two months- that’s pretty regular- so you should be able to pinpoint what is going on. There are a few things- hormones, the weather, triggers, medications or just the illness itself. This is probably just your brain pattern. I did a podcast with my friend Alice- she talks about how she gets manic ever spring and depressed in the winter- like clockwork. I am definitely happier in the summer.
What matters is that you chart it. If you see a definite pattern of depression interlaced with mania- talk with your doctor about rapid cycling and make sure your meds are correct. Anti depressants can cause this rapid cycling. Also, mania can look like stress when it’s actually agitated mania. Lamictal can help a lot with rapid cycling.
It’s great that you’re seeing the patterns- it’s the best way to manage the illness. I have my Health Cards Treatment Plan- I know you have them as well- I would get out your depression card and write the times you see the change into depression and what you think, say and do right before it starts. That is how to prevent yourself from going down too far.
Julie
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
Julie:
Reading some of your posts has been very helpful–thank you! I have been having a horrible time with “mixed episodes” in where I will be up for a few hours, then out of no where, boom, I am down, then up, then down! My dr. ordered blood tests, but any suggestions on coping methods until the tests kick in?
Reanna
Hi Reanna,
Thanks for your post. I just answered your question on the blog. Julie
Hi Julie:
Thanks for an interesting and helpful blog. I have been recently diagnosed with bipolar II and so am trying to come to terms with things. I am 29 at the moment, but looking back I have been affected since my teens and my first major depressive episode was at 21. It all seems like a blur though to be honest with you and I will be pretty proud of myself at the end of this year being able to make it to 30. I certainly don’t remember any cycles or whatever, just struggling with life and to sync with society’s thoughts and emotions.
I am mood charting at the moment and since I have started on lithium (800mg/day at the moment) I seem to go through a cycle every 4-6 days; however some days I feel like I’m getting both and sometimes I just have no idea what I am feeling (dunno what to put on the chart), which I find frustrating as I think I am still trying to validate to myself that I actually have a condition, as I have these voices in the back of my mind telling me to harden the fox up. At first I got an agitated-type mania once, but after we upped the dose of lithium they have been continuously depressive, so I have started on Lamictal but am only on 25mg/day at the moment, so a little while longer before it gets to a useful dose. It almost seems like I’ve lost a piece of me without the hypomanias (was well known to give a good rant), but now I can see some of the harm it may have been doing. It seems like I have almost no ‘normal’ periods between cycles too. I was placed on anti-depressants first which put me on a weird high which I didn’t like at all, it also made me really tired as I slept but I just couldn’t get rest, lots of shallow sleep full of weird dreams and waking up with sore limbs and I got really obsessed with things, including spending about 40000 yen a month on amazon as I wanted to read absolutely everything on the planet.
I noticed you spent a few years in Japan too, I have been here for almost five years now and am going through the system here. I will be having my first session of CBT this Saturday, which should be interesting. It is mainly centred on pharmaceuticals here, but I look into things myself and the doctors are pretty cooperative, including even for my diagnosis.
I was also wondering have you heard of bipolar sufferers that get a tingling feeling on the forehead? I seem to get this every so often, I can’t figure out a pattern to it though or if it’s meant to precede something.
Anyway, apologies for the long post. Believe me, it has gotten a lot better compared to before 🙂
Hi Julie,
Thanks for the very interesting article. I was not aware that bipolar disorder followed a strict pattern. Is bipolar disorder caused by lack of serotonin production like depression is?
Thanks,
Ram
Social Security Disability Helo
Isn’t rapid cycling also a thought process, one where someone has raid thoughts about the same thing over and over? My ex girl friend suffers from this and when she gets into these rapid thoughts, and it happens all the time, it goes on for days and she can’t pull out of it!
Hi Brent! Rapid cycling is a medical term that describes a person who has three or more mood swings a year. Which is a laugh of course as many people have three or more mood swings a week! Bipolar is truly a spectrum. The majority of people have long periods between mood swings. Rapid cycling accounts for 20% of those with bipolar- I think the number is much higher.
What you describe with your girlfriend is usually called racing throughts. We all have them, especially when depressed.
Thanks! Julie