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Bipolar Disorder

raz

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Well, I finally got the official diagnosis today. After my battle with depression that lasted from 14 to 20, then recovering from it from 20 to 23, which led to resuming antidepressants over the last 4 months due to depression and anxiety returning, I have been diagnosed with bipolar.

I have been on Prozac since the beginning of February, which was the third antidepressant this year that it took before I found one without side effects I couldn't handle. After 6 weeks of being on it, I threw my budget and diet to the wind. I then became obsessed with casual sex, which led to soliciting prostitutes on a daily basis. I also drank a few drinks on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 3 weeks, I accrued $15,000 in credit card debt, and gained 40 lbs in the last 6 weeks.

My psychiatrist had a lithium test done, which came back 0.3. Healthy levels are 0.7-1.2. I was immediately switched from Prozac to Lithium 2 weeks ago at the first chance of Bipolar being present. This explains my inability to find control over my depression the last several years, but at the first time, this is just scary to deal with. It's a big change.

Any thoughts?
 

Southern Kross

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Well, I finally got the official diagnosis today. After my battle with depression that lasted from 14 to 20, then recovering from it from 20 to 23, which led to resuming antidepressants over the last 4 months due to depression and anxiety returning, I have been diagnosed with bipolar.

I have been on Prozac since the beginning of February, which was the third antidepressant this year that it took before I found one without side effects I couldn't handle. After 6 weeks of being on it, I threw my budget and diet to the wind. I then became obsessed with casual sex, which led to soliciting prostitutes on a daily basis. I also drank a few drinks on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 3 weeks, I accrued $15,000 in credit card debt, and gained 40 lbs in the last 6 weeks.

My psychiatrist had a lithium test done, which came back 0.3. Healthy levels are 0.7-1.2. I was immediately switched from Prozac to Lithium 2 weeks ago at the first chance of Bipolar being present. This explains my inability to find control over my depression the last several years, but at the first time, this is just scary to deal with. It's a big change.

Any thoughts?
Wow, it sounds like you've had a rough time. I'm glad you've found the right diagnosis. So many disorders seem to be (dismissively) misdiagnoised as depression. Do you feel any sense of relief from the diagnosis? Is the medication having any affect so far? I know my friend has a form of bipolar disorder (though not a serious as yours) and responded very well to the medication. The effect is so profound that she can feel the medication leaving her system - she can sense her brain chemicals altering and her mood slipping, before even checking the time for her next dose.

I guess there are a lot of new things to get your head around but at least you're on the right path now. That's a major part of the battle over! :yes:

Good luck! I hope things start to change for the better :)
 

burymecloser

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Sorry about the news. :( Hopefully now that it's diagnosed properly you'll be able to get some control over it. Were you diagnosed bipolar 1 or 2? Sounds like 1 to me, but it's an important difference. How do you feel on the lithium so far? Do you mind if I ask what other antidepressants you've been on? Four (including lithium) in the last year is a lot.

Bipolar is a scary diagnosis, but it is treatable. Good luck. :hug:
 

raz

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About 5-6 years ago, I was up to 80mg of Paxil for my major depression. I slowly tapered off that as the depression was controlled. This last December, I went back on 20mg of Paxil, but it killed orgasms, so I switched to Effexor XR. The Effexor XR made me feel trapped inside of my head, so I switched to Prozac, which started this ordeal after several weeks.

I've been prescribed the Lithium for 2 weeks. After 4-5 days on it, I started to feel less compelled to follow impulses and make plans to go out spending money on hookers. I didn't want that feeling to end, so I saw I had 3 Prozac pills left, and took those for 3 days so that I could have another weekend of fun. Then I resumed the Lithium this weekend when I ran out of Prozac.

It's just....scary. The psychiatrist said he was 98% sure, but he looked at my blood work, and I said, "so, this confirms I'm bipolar?" he said, "Not really yet" It just seems as if there's doubt still, and I want to know what we have to do to erase the doubt and figure out what's really going on. They said it was Bipolar 1.
 

Eruca

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Well, I finally got the official diagnosis today. After my battle with depression that lasted from 14 to 20, then recovering from it from 20 to 23, which led to resuming antidepressants over the last 4 months due to depression and anxiety returning, I have been diagnosed with bipolar.

I have been on Prozac since the beginning of February, which was the third antidepressant this year that it took before I found one without side effects I couldn't handle. After 6 weeks of being on it, I threw my budget and diet to the wind. I then became obsessed with casual sex, which led to soliciting prostitutes on a daily basis. I also drank a few drinks on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 3 weeks, I accrued $15,000 in credit card debt, and gained 40 lbs in the last 6 weeks.

My psychiatrist had a lithium test done, which came back 0.3. Healthy levels are 0.7-1.2. I was immediately switched from Prozac to Lithium 2 weeks ago at the first chance of Bipolar being present. This explains my inability to find control over my depression the last several years, but at the first time, this is just scary to deal with. It's a big change.

Any thoughts?

This has taken far too long to arrive.

Seriously Raz's doctors/shrinks WTF have you been doing all this time?

Raz you have been failed by the medical establishment. :/
 

miss fortune

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:hug: what's helped me out a lot?

- getting into a regular sleep pattern in which I get ~ 8 hours of sleep a night

- cutting back on caffeine consumption

- no alcohol

- healthy food

- exercize every day

my shrink suggested it a few years ago and I was slow about following his suggestions but when I did things evened out for me A LOT... I definitley feel closer to being a normal person :yes:
 
O

Oberon

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I then became obsessed with casual sex, which led to soliciting prostitutes on a daily basis. I also drank a few drinks on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 3 weeks, I accrued $15,000 in credit card debt...

Any thoughts?

Dang, that's expensive.

Far more economical to find a woman who's also bipolar.
 

raz

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Dang, that's expensive.

Far more economical to find a woman who's also bipolar.

I'm sorry I didn't have that amazing advice and control a month ago....

Save your one liners for a situation you understand?
 
O

Oberon

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I'm sorry I didn't have that amazing advice and control a month ago....

Save your one liners for a situation you understand?

...it wasn't intended as serious advice. And yes, I will butt out.
 

Lady_X

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wow raz...i'm so sorry to hear that. :(

i hope things start to normalize for you now. :hug:
 

sLiPpY

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Well, I finally got the official diagnosis today. After my battle with depression that lasted from 14 to 20, then recovering from it from 20 to 23, which led to resuming antidepressants over the last 4 months due to depression and anxiety returning, I have been diagnosed with bipolar.

I have been on Prozac since the beginning of February, which was the third antidepressant this year that it took before I found one without side effects I couldn't handle. After 6 weeks of being on it, I threw my budget and diet to the wind. I then became obsessed with casual sex, which led to soliciting prostitutes on a daily basis. I also drank a few drinks on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 3 weeks, I accrued $15,000 in credit card debt, and gained 40 lbs in the last 6 weeks.

My psychiatrist had a lithium test done, which came back 0.3. Healthy levels are 0.7-1.2. I was immediately switched from Prozac to Lithium 2 weeks ago at the first chance of Bipolar being present. This explains my inability to find control over my depression the last several years, but at the first time, this is just scary to deal with. It's a big change.

Any thoughts?


Yes! Sue! Sue the incompetant Psychiatrist and Eli Lilly! aka the manufacturer of Prozac. :yes:
 

miss fortune

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along with my previous suggestions, I'd also suggest getting some nice dependable friends who will always be there for you, whether to cheer you up, take you out or just listen to you for a bit... they're very high on the list of resources to have :yes:
 

Thalassa

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Yes! Sue! Sue the incompetant Psychiatrist and Eli Lilly! aka the manufacturer of Prozac. :yes:

It's not that easy. People are projected into manic episodes all of the time from antidepressants, and the claim is always that the person had underlying bipolar disorder to begin with. You can't just sue people for that.

Not everyone has bipolar disorder, and therefore are not adversely affected by SSRIs in this manner. Raz's behavior is so completely over the top and self-destructive that it's obviously mania, not hypomania - not to mention that he took his last three Prozac pills for "a weekend of fun" after being advised not to.
 

miss fortune

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actually too little sleep or too much caffeine can trigger mania as well... though suing and getting a bazillion dollars would be fun! :holy:
 

sculpting

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Raz you should use caution with the lithium-it actually has a lot of very negative side effects and a very narrow toxicity window. They have about two generations of antiepliptics on the market that work very well for treating bipolar but do not have all the horrible side effects of lithium. The lithium levels can also be tricky to level off as the best dose for treatment can actually already be causing bad side effects.(My mom has taken many of them.)

Anyways hugs to you and I am glad to hear you have found a path forward. My best wishes for you...
 

Thalassa

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Raz you should use caution with the lithium-it actually has a lot of very negative side effects and a very narrow toxicity window. They have about two generations of antiepliptics on the market that work very well for treating bipolar but do not have all the horrible side effects of lithium. The lithium levels can also be tricky to level off as the best dose for treatment can actually already be causing bad side effects.(My mom has taken many of them.)

Anyways hugs to you and I am glad to hear you have found a path forward. My best wishes for you...

Yes, that's true. Ask your doctor about Trileptal or Lamictal. A word of caution though: you CANNOT stop taking anticonvulsants cold turkey, so you MUST take your meds regularly if you're on them.
 

raz

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This is just so much to take in. It means the Bipolar has been sitting there my entire life, and it starts to explain a lot. I'm just still scared and not sure what to do at this point.

I keep wanting to just sit and cry or drink alcohol.
 

miss fortune

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:hug: I understand... and I'd suggest taking a walk as opposed to the other options... routine movement can have an amazing impact on calming people down :)
 

prplchknz

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I find that people will always say but you don't seem _______ and it's like ok....You just have to know where you stand and realize that other's comments don't always matter. They're not inside your head.I find pacing helps to calm me down.
 
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